(Image credit: Steve Roberts /USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
Week 7 is officially in the books and hopefully you have survived and are now looking at who to pick Week 8 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 New England Patriots did last week against the New York Jets then the participant in the survivor pool advances to the next week. But, now you can't choose the New England Patriots anymore for the rest of the season. But if the team that the participant in the Survivor pool chose the team that lost like the Carolina Panthers did against the New York Giants 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 8 of the 2021 NFL season.
Week 8 Top 5 Survivor Options
Overall Record (24-7)
1. Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets
No question who the top option will be this week for Survivor. It's obviously the Cincinnati Bengals. The Jets are completely terrible and now will have to choose to start Mike White or Joe Flacco at QB which is a complete downgrade from Zach Wilson who luckily avoided a severe knee injury as he is currently projected to be out 2-4 weeks. This game is a mismatch as the Bengals are better on offense, defense, special teams, and at coaching. Ja’Marr Chase is proving everyone who doubted him in the preseason wrong and has been fantastic in this game. I won’t be shocked if the Jets get blown out in this game. This may be your last shot to use the Bengals if you have not been in Survivor. The only other team I can see taking the Bengals is against the Pittsburgh Steelers Week 12. But the Bengals should absolutely win this game no question and a lock survivor pick this week.
2. Buffalo Bills vs Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a complete mess. This is not on coaching because Brian Flores has been a great coach and NO he should not be fired like many are predicting. I think GM Chris Grier is on the hot seat and If he doesn't make a move during the deadline then the Dolphins are toast. I have been a supporter of Tua but he made some terrible throws in this game. This defense is bad as well and Noah Igbinoghene has been a complete flop of a 1st round pick that he was not activated vs the Atlanta Falcons and was a healthy scratch (Even though he has had a nagging knee injury). To make it worse for Miami is that this team could not beat an Atlanta Falcons team that is terrible and almost choked this game. At least they came back and almost won this game. Now they have to go play the best team in the AFC East in Buffalo next week. The Bills are a lot better than the Dolphins are and I expect the Bills to win this game and dominate the Miami Dolphins.
3. Los Angeles Rams at Houston Texans
Once again the Rams are in the Top 5 options for survivor picks this week. There are many people that have already taken the Rams in survivor but this is another week to take them. Especially as they are facing the Houston Texans. I don't think Tyrod Taylor will be the starter even though he was activated from IR as I would give him another week to adapt and practice a week to be sure he is good to go. Davis Millis is a rookie and has had up and down moments so far in his career. Mills has had more down moments though and now he has to go against the Rams defense which is one of the best in the NFL Today. The Rams offense will destroy the Texans in this game and I would be shocked to see the Texans win this game. The only reason why the Rams are not higher in this game is that they are not facing the Jets and are not the home team.
4. Kansas City Chiefs vs New York Giants
This is Judgement Day for both teams here. Whoever loses this game In my opinion should not make the playoffs this season. Even though the Giants were amazing last week against the Carolina Panthers I really like the Kansas City Chiefs in this game. The Giants offense is still beaten up and the Chiefs defense should play a lot better than they have in this game. They Need to pressure Daniel Jones to win this game and I see them doing this. If Travis Kelce plays I see him exposing how bad the Giants defense is especially at Linebacker. I don't know what Patrick Mahomes is doing this season and he needs to get better in this game plus stop the dumb errors he is making in this game. Luckily the Giants defense is mediocre and has a ton of holes that the Chiefs can take advantage of. To add onto it the Chiefs will be the home team in this game. There is not a ton of future value in Survivor with the Chiefs excluding the matchup against the Denver Broncos Week 13 and the Steelers Week 16. If the Chiefs lose this game then I will be surprised and it will be extremely telling to the entire team plus could drive them to make a ton of moves during the upcoming trade deadline.
5. Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions
This is the risky pick of the week. The Eagles are one of the worst teams in the league this year and have a coach that is making questionable play-calling moves this season. Luckily the Lions are absolutely terrible this season. On offense excluding the running back core, TJ Hockenson, and Penei Sewell the Lions offense has been terrible. The Receiving core is terrible and the Eagles weak secondary should do a good job containing the Lions secondary. They are easily the worst team in the NFC today and possibly the NFL. The Lions defense is completely terrible especially with this secondary. I think Jalen Reagor and Devonta Smith will have a strong game this week. The risk here is that the Lions will be the home team but, to be honest, the Eagles are a better away team than a home team. They won both of their games being the away team Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons and Week 5 Carolina Panthers. I think the Eagles will be winning this game but it will be a close game. I think the risk is worth the reward taking the Eagles in this game.
Trap Survivor Pick: Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina Panthers
It is very tempting to take the Atlanta Falcons this week. Especially as they are facing the Carolina Panthers who have continued to struggle since losing RB Christian McCaffery. Also to add that the Falcons will be the home team as well. But here is the problem, the Falcons will be facing a divisional rival and almost choked the games that they already won so far this season. To make it worse the Falcons have to deal with the Panthers defense which is a lot better than the Dolphins defense is. Especially as the Panthers have a stronger secondary that should do a good job against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons defense is also a mess as well excluding DT Grady Jarrett and CB AJ Terrell. I would stay away from this game and don't fall for the trap of taking the Atlanta Falcons in survivor for this week.
Record 3-4 (Week 1: Jax, Week 2: Cin, Week 3: Dal, Week 4: Ten, Week 5: Bal, Week 6: Pit, Week 7: Cle)
Who I would have gone with for my Survivor Pick for Week 8: Buffalo Bills vs Miami Dolphins
This is a bit of an easier pick for me as I have plenty of options to select in survivor for this week. I can’t take the Cincinnati Bengals as I chose them in week 4 so I can't choose them. I don’t want to take the Rams as they have future survivor value against the Jaguars Week 13 and Week 16 vs the Vikings. Remember patience is a virtue and there are plenty of other weeks to take them. I don't want to take the Eagles yet and I will wait to take them later as Washington continues to struggle. This came down to the Kansas City Chiefs or the Buffalo Bills for my Survivor pick. I debated which one to take but the Chiefs have continued to struggle this season. I want to survive next week so I will be taking the Buffalo Bills this week for my survivor pick.
Teams Used: (Week 1: 49ers, Week 2: Steelers, Week 3: Panthers, Week 4: Bengals, Week 5: Vikings, Week 6: Buccaneers, Week 7: Patriots)