Many people depended upon the Tampa Bay BuccaneersTo help them win their Survivor league in the last two weeks. The prophecy was fulfilled, but not as many people had hoped.
A week later, the 10-point underdog lost. Pittsburgh SteelersBucs, who were led at home by a rookie quarterback, lost to Christian McCaffrey-less Carolina Panthers, who was the backup quarterback PJ WalkerAnd the Panthers backfield creates a once-proud defense.
So, how much of an impact did this Bucs’ two-game losing streak have on the Survivor Pool world? Survivor.org.com reports that the Buccaneers have eliminated 49.6 % Survivor Pool participants in the past two weeks. It’s just been a total chaos of a year for Survivor pools. Mid-season survivor pools are starting to form soon. You might want to try a contrarian strategy each week since the chalk picks are constantly getting destroyed.
As mentioned last week, I’m going to eliminate the most selected winning team of the week according to survivor pool data from survivorgrid.com for the strategy competent of this series.
Week 1 Baltimore Ravens (22.0 %)
Week 2Â Denver Broncos (17.7 %)
Week 3 Cincinnati Bengals (18.7 %)
Week 4 Green Bay Packers (40.5 %)
Week 5 Buffalo Bills (29.0 %)
Week 6Â Los Angeles Rams (31.4 %)
Week 7 Las Vegas Raiders (15.4 %)
I am aware that these seven teams may not reflect the exact person you selected during the first six week. Send me a message in my comment section if there is a particular situation that you are interested in me looking into. If you lose so many teams, you might want to make sure that you are playing stronger teams and not waiting until the end.
Strategy 1
Week 9 Eagles at Texans
Week 11 FalconsBears vs. Bears
Save – Vikings, 49ers, Dolphins, Giants
Strategy 2
Week 8 Falcons vs. Panthers
Week 9: Dolphins at Bears
Week 10: Eagles vs. Commanders
Week 11: Giants vs. Lions
Save – Chiefs, Vikings, Cowboys, 49ers
Although this will use up the undefeated Eagles in both scenarios, both strategies will keep the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers available for the stretch run.
Week 8 Chalk Picks
| Team | Opponent | Pick % |
|---|---|---|
|
vs. Chicago |
27.4% |
|
|
vs. Pittsburgh |
16.1% |
|
|
at Houston |
8.6% |
|
|
vs. Jacksonville |
7.7% |
|
|
at Detroit |
6.5% |
Note: We have no idea what’s up with so many people picking the Broncos in this early data set from SurvivorGrid. We’ll update the data later in the week.
Survivor Pool enthusiasts weren’t the only ones to get burned by the Bucs last week. The Panthers upset dropped us to 1-1 in the chalk section last week. This week features a pair of 9-point favorites in the chalk section that we are giving the stamp of approval on.
Cowboys vs. Bears
Dak Prescott was mostly sharp in his first game action since the season opener, going 19-of-25 for 207 yards and a score in a winning effort against the plummeting Detroit Lions.
However, one thing that hasn’t gone anywhere this season is the dominant defense of the Dallas Cowboys. Their most recent impressive outing saw the Cowboys hold the Detroit Lions, who scored 140 points through the first four games of the season, to just six points.
Now, some may shy away from this pick because of the Bears’ impressive road win over the New England Patriots in Foxborough. And while the Bears offense, and Justin Fields, in particular, showed signs of life against Bill Belichick’s defense, the Dallas pass rush is a completely different story.
No quarterback in the league has been sacked more than Justin Fields this season. And no team has sacked the quarterback more than the Dallas Cowboys this season. I’m betting against Fields being able to string together two consecutive solid road outings.
Pick: Cowboys
Eagles vs. Steelers
This chapter of ‘The Battle of Pennsylvania’ features two teams heading in opposite directions. The Philadelphia Eagles are bonafied Super Bowl contenders in the NFC after starting the season undefeated through their first six games. While the Pittsburgh Steelers are still trying to figure out exactly what they have in rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Now, the Eagles offense tends to steal the headlines with the likes of Jalen Hurts, Miles Sanders, A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert all operating behind one of the most talented offensive line groups in the league, but it’s really the defense that has been the driving force behind this 6-0 start.
The Eagles defense ranks top five in the league for total yards allowed, and passing yards allowed on a per-game basis. And on top of that, the Eagles lead the league in takeaways per game.
That doesn’t bode well for Kenny Pickett, who has thrown seven interceptions in just 127 attempts.
Pick: Eagles
Week 8 Contrarian Picks
Vikings vs. Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals may have scored a season-high 42 points against the New Orleans Saints, but I’m still not buying that all is well in the desert. On the surface, there appears to be a dysfunctional relationship between the quarterback, Kyler Murray, and head coach, Kliff Kingsbury.
The Minnesota Vikings, on the other hand, appear to have gotten it figured out on the offensive side of the football, with Justin Jefferson going over 100 yards receiving the past three straight games, and the Vikings are a perfect 3-0 at home this season.
Pick: Vikings
FalconsPanthers vs.
Despite being competitive in all of their games this season, the Falcons are still difficult teams to trust. Atlanta has been behind 21-0 in two of the three games they have played. Why do I trust them?
Well, I’m doubling down against Steve Wilks, PJ Walker and the Carolina Panthers. I give them all credit for coming up against them and punching in the face, but they are 0-2 this season on the road and still in the middle of a firesale.
The Falcons must win at home if they want to maintain their hopes of winning NFC South.
Choose: Falcons
Comment below to let me know who your Week 8 survivor pool pick was.
