Week 3 of the NFL season is here! Whether you got knocked out in Week 1 or forgot to get in before the season, it’s not too late to join a survivor pool. You can enter DraftKings NFL pools 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.
NFL Week 3 Survivor Pool Picks, Strategy and Best Teams to Use
Week 3 NFL Survivor Strategy
It has been a tough two weeks in NFL Survivor! In Week 1, the Chargers wrecked survivor pools by losing as the biggest favorite of that week. In Week 2, the Bears, Ravens, Buccaneers, and Chargers, again, all lost as significant favorites. It’s always difficult surviving the NFL season, but this has been a particularly challenging first couple of weeks. However, whether you have survived this long or are joining a second-chance survivor pool, it’s important to stay the course. Try to avoid divisional games, road teams and whatever the most popular pick of that week is.
Week 3 Survivor Pool Best Pick
Chiefs over Dolphins
While I just said to avoid road teams when possible, this is a hard one to pass up. The Chiefs have looked sharp through two weeks. They dominated the Broncos in the opener and beat the Colts in overtime in Week 2. It has looked like the Kansas City of old over those two games. In big games, like the one against Denver, the Chiefs used to put their best foot forward and show why they are the best. In games like the one against Indianapolis, they would show that because of their quarterback and coaching staff, they would win every tight game, even when not playing their best.
Now, the Chiefs get to take on a dreadful Dolphins team. Miami got demolished by the 49ers last week, not scoring a touchdown until garbage time. They also only scored one touchdown last week against the Raiders. Miami currently ranks 27th in defensive EPA/play and 27th in offensive EPA/play, making them comfortably the worst team in the NFL in net EPA/play. Miami might improve as the season goes on, but for now, fading them every week isn’t a bad survivor strategy. The Chiefs should roll in this spot.
Week 3 Survivor Bold Pick
Eagles over Bears
Despite the dramatics and memes around the Caleb Williams injury, it’s hard to imagine he will play this week. The Bears have aspirations to win the NFC North and compete in the postseason. It is not worth making that hamstring injury any worse for Williams by making him play in Week 3. The Eagles haven’t looked great through two weeks, and this is a tough road game in Chicago. However, against Tyson Bagent, the Eagles should get the win. This Bears defense played much better last week against Carson Wentz, but they still have some major issues, as shown in their Week 1 performance against Carolina. The Eagles should put enough points on the board to get the win against Bagent.
Week 3 Survivor Favorite to Avoid
Lions over Jets
The Jets are not a playoff team. They are still lacking the experience, talent and coaching needed to get to the next level. However, they are much different than last year’s Jets team that was getting pulverized by almost every opponent. They showed they are much better than the bottom-tier teams in the league by dominating the Titans in Week 1. New York then proved that they can compete with the most talented teams in the NFL in Week 2, going to overtime against the Packers. This is a team that plays solid defense and can run the ball well on offense. That is always a tough team to play against. The Lions’ defense has looked feeble through two weeks, and I wouldn’t trust them in this spot against the Jets.
