(Image credit Cary Edmondson/USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
Week 14 is officially in the books and hopefully you have survived and are now looking at who to pick Week 15 of the regular season for your survivor pools.
Again, I would like to remind everyone about What a survivor pool is and its rules. A survivor pool is a weekly contest where people select one team straight up per week to win their game. If a team that a participant in the Survivor pool chooses wins like the Tennessee Titans did last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars then the participant in the survivor pool advances to the next week. But, now you can't choose the Tennessee Titans anymore for the rest of the season. But if the team that was the participant in the Survivor pool chose the team that lost, like the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Minnesota Vikings, then the participant is eliminated from the pool.
Now that we know the rules in a survivor pool, here are the Top 5 options, A trap Survivor pick, and a survivor pick that I would have gone with if I was not eliminated in survivor (Again, Why is Mike Tomlin still the head coach for the Steelers again?) for week 14 of the 2021 NFL season.
Week 15 Top 5 Survivor Options
Overall Record (54-16)
1. Arizona Cardinals at Detroit Lions
This game stood out to me right away when the lions were winless and Arizona was undefeated during the season. The Lions already got their win this season and their goal is to tank for the rest of the season and secure the 1st overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Cardinals just have more talent than the Lions do and should dominate all games. I would be very surprised if the Detroit Lions win this football game.
2. Buffalo Bills vs Carolina Panthers
Buffalo has struggled a lot lately but they should do a lot better in this matchup as the Carolina Panthers are a complete mess. They have lost their last 5 games and again have not been the same since RB Christian McCaffery suffered a season-ending injury. The Panthers don't have a good QB on their roster as Sam Darnold is injured and both Cam Newton and PJ Walker are inconsistent. I have no idea who will be the starter of this game but I think the Bills should take care of business against a weaker opponent in the Carolina Panthers especially when the Bills are the home team in this matchup.
3. Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
This is another no-brainer pick here as the Giants will once again have to start Mike Glennon at QB. He wasn’t awful last week but I would rather have Daniel Jones at QB over Mike Glennon. The Giants are a team that looks like they have given up on the season. The Cowboys are on paper the better team to choose from excluding at Head Coach. Even though the Giants are the home team the Cowboys are a great choice to choose in survivor for this week.
4. Los Angeles Rams vs Seattle Seahawks
The Los Angeles Rams are another easy choice even though it is a divisional game. The LA Rams beat the Cardinals with all the injuries the team is dealing with and CB Jalen Ramsey and TE Tyler Higbee not playing due to being placed on the Covid-19 list. I think this week the LA Rams should be the healthiest they have been and face a Seattle Seahawks team who was lucky to face a terrible Texans team. It helps that the Rams are the home team so if you have not used the Rams yet this is another week to do it.
5. Miami Dolphins vs New York Jets
Yes I know it is another divisional game but the Miami Dolphins should absolutely win this game. The Jets are a complete mess right now and have been eliminated from the playoffs. But hey it's about developing the QB and rookies and not about wins and losses this season am I right. The development of Zach Wilson has not been that good at all and the Jets got to go to Miami who is desperately trying to keep their playoff hopes alive. I think they can do it as they have gotten a lot better and the Dolphins have a good coach in Brian Flores. I would be shocked if the Miami Dolphins lost this game.
Trap Survivor Pick: Cleveland Browns vs Las Vegas Raiders
This is a game that many believe the Browns should win. I don't blame them after the Dark season that the Las Vegas Raiders have had this season. However I kind of like the Raiders in this matchup. Especially with how underrated the Raiders pass rush is and I can see him crumble under pressure. Plus Darren Waller will most likely be back for the Las Vegas Raiders and his return should have an extra boost for the Raiders offense. I think the Browns are all not 100% healthy yet. I think the Raiders will beat the Browns in this game so stay away from picking this game via survivor.
News just broke that the Browns will be entering Covid mitigation protocols. Due to the growing covid cases that are affecting the Browns. Now I would absolutely stay away from picking the Browns in this game. They will have improper practices with mainly virtual meetings. Who knows what will happen now or if this game will happen. The Browns will not be facing a team that loves playing down to competition like they did the last time this situation happened during the playoffs. Remind me again why Mike Tomlin is still the head coach of the Steelers again?
Record 7-6-1 (Week 1: Jax, Week 2: Cin, Week 3: Dal, Week 4: Ten, Week 5: Bal, Week 6: Pit, Week 7: Cle, Week 8: Atl, Week 9: LV, Week 10: Pit, Week 11: SF, Week 12: Dal, Week 13: Min, Week 14: No)
Who I would of went with for my Survivor Pick for Week 15: Arizona Cardinals at Detroit Lions
I can't choose the Buffalo Bills as they were my survivor pick for Week 8. I can't choose the Rams as they were my Week 13 survivor pick. I want to hold off on taking Dallas as they face the Washington Football Team for Week 16. This came down to the Miami Dolphins and the Arizona Cardinals and I got to say it was a tough decision for me to make. Miami does not have a later choice to pick but I try to stay away from divisional games in Survivor pools unless it is a mismatch. So, I will take the Arizona Cardinals for my Survivor pick this week.
Teams Used: (Week 1: 49ers, Week 2: Steelers, Week 3: Panthers, Week 4: Bengals, Week 5: Vikings, Week 6: Buccaneers, Week 7: Patriots, Week 8: Bills, Week 9: Colts, Week 10: Ravens, Week 11: Browns, Week 12: Bears, Week 13: Rams, Week 14: Packers)