Congratulations! How does it feel to win? Survivor contests throughout the country stayed eerily intact last week. With no major upsets, chances are you are on to Week 8.
The beleaguered Patriots were small favorites over the 49ers, but Jimmy Garropolo’s return to Foxboro was successful. And the Cardinals won a wild one in overtime to give the Seahawks their first loss. But if you got eliminated by picking the Pats or the Seahawks, well, you got what you deserved. Other than those tiny upsets, chalk prevailed.
If you follow the NFL closely, however, you are fully on guard, knowing a week full of predictability is often followed by a slate chalked with chaos and upsets. Sunday is Nov. 1. Will the day after Halloween be scary for survivor players?
Here are my survivor pool picks for Week 8:
Games to consider
Green Bay Packers (-7) over Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are not only 1-5, they have proven themselves to be poor real estate investors. Flipping houses doesn’t go too well when you make transactions like the ones the Vikings made. They acquired Yannick Ngakoue on Aug. 31 for what will be an early second-round pick, then traded him Oct. 22 for a late third-round pick. Signaling a rebuild can’t be viewed as positive for team morale, yet I still don’t feel comfortable playing against the Vikings. Coach Mike Zimmer is outstanding against the spread and off a bye, and he should at least keep this division game competitive ... maybe. The Packers are susceptible to the run, and the Vikings will have Dalvin Cook back to carry the football. Be careful backing the Pack in this one.
Philadelphia Eagles (-6) over Dallas Cowboys
The putrid Cowboys have entered Jets territory: Anyone they play is a worthy survivor candidate that week. They were noncompetitive Sunday against Washington and have been completely embarrassed in the two games Dak Prescott has not started. (Maybe he’s pretty good after all?) The Eagles were fortunate to beat the lackluster Giants on Thursday and have not reminded anyone of the team that won the Super Bowl less than three years ago. However, this should be a layup for the Eagles at home if the Cowboys don’t show vast improvement. A reasonable choice, but let’s look elsewhere.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-10) over New York Giants
You know my rule: If you are facing either New York team, you can make a case to be a survivor choice. The Buccaneers have looked the part the last couple of weeks as the preseason hype perhaps seems justified. They are excelling on both sides of the ball and should handle a bad Giants team that has been struggling trying to get a second win. Even so, I also have a rule about picking road teams, so I will politely decline on the Bucs and look to use them later.
The Pick
Kansas City Chiefs (-21) over New York Jets
How much analysis do you need here? You’ve seen these teams play, and the Chiefs can basically name their score in this one. For those of you who have saved them and would like to advance comfortably, here is your free spot on the bingo card. The Chiefs will score early, late and a lot in between as you cruise into the second week of November in your survivor contest. Congrats ahead of time on the victory. Time to get back to work for Week 9.