The NFL season is back and one of the best ways to get in on the action is by joining a season-long NFL Survivor Pool. You can enter the DraftKings $1 Million+ NFL Survivor pool for just $10 here.
The rules for NFL Survivor Pools are simple. Each week, you pick a team to win their game straight-up. If that team wins, you move on to the next week. If they lose, you are eliminated. However, you can only use each team once. So, while you want to prioritize picking a team that will win, you also have to consider your season-long strategy.
Week 1 NFL Survivor Strategy
Everybody thinks that they know which teams will be good and which teams will be bad before the NFL season starts. However, history tells us there are always surprise teams in both directions. When it comes to Week 1, the most important thing is to survive. While you want to save some good teams for later in the season, there will also be opportunities that end up presenting themselves if a team has key players out or a team emerges to be much better than anyone expected.
It’s important to look ahead at the NFL schedule and circle a couple of spots that you can save the top teams for, like the Seahawks, Rams, Bills and Ravens. However, as previously mentioned, the most important strategy for Week 1 is to survive and advance.
Week 1 Survivor Pool Best Pick
Chargers over Cardinals
This could be a big season for the Chargers. It seems like now or never for Justin Herbert to get it done in the postseason. Los Angeles has worked to improve the offensive line, and Omarion Hampton is expected to have a big sophomore season at running back. They should hit the ground running in this matchup against the Cardinals. The AFC West is a tough division, so this matchup against Arizona is a great time to pick the Chargers. The Cardinals are projected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL, and the Chargers get this game at home. This is the perfect pick to make for Week 1.
Week 1 Survivor Bold Pick
Steelers over Falcons
The Chargers will likely be the most popular pick of Week 1, as they are the biggest favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. Sometimes in survivor pools, you want to avoid the most popular pick. The rationale there is that if you avoid that most popular pick and that team gets upset, it eliminates the biggest possible chunk of participants in your pool, giving you a better chance to actually win the pool, not just survive to next week.
The Steelers are a solid pick that likely won’t be very popular in most survivor pools. This is more of a fade of the Falcons than anything. Atlanta has some great skill position players and added some young pieces on defense. However, they have a major question mark at quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa has been dreadful in the preseason, and reports out of Atlanta describe him as borderline unplayable.
Ideally, Michael Penix Jr. would be the starter, but he is still coming back from a major knee injury last season and has not gotten a full offseason. He is questionable to be ready for Week 1. So, the Falcons will either be starting a shaky Michael Penix or a dreadful Tua Tagovailoa.
While the Steelers are a borderline playoff team, early in the season is probably when you want to pick them. They are in a tough AFC North division and at his age, Aaron Rodgers’ health will always be a worry. While Rodgers is healthy and the Steelers are at home against a team outside the division, this could be the best chance to take them.
Week 1 Survivor Favorite to Avoid
Bengals over Buccaneers
The public has high hopes for the Bengals this year. If Joe Burrow can finally stay healthy, they are set up to be one of the best teams in the AFC. However, Zac Taylor has massively struggled in the early part of the season as the Bengals’ head coach. The Bengals are 3-11 in Weeks 1 and 2 under Taylor. The Buccaneers are a team that could go either way this season. After winning the NFC South four seasons in a row, they finished 8-9 last year. However, if Baker Mayfield plays as well as he did to start last season, this will be a dangerous team week to week. There should be a better spot to use the Bengals this season.
