Image Credit: (Gary Vasquez/USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
Twitter: @nicholasmullick
With Week 5 now officially completed, there were a lot of games that had a lot of upset and hopefully you guys survived. As always I will discuss the rules for a survivor pool. It is a weekly contest where people select one team straight up per week to win their game. If a team chosen won, then they advance to the next week, but keep in mind that the team chosen can’t be used for the rest of the season. If a team that they chose for that week loses, well they are eliminated from the pool.
So now that the rules are set it is time for me to give my Top 5 options, a trap pick, and a survivor pick I would have made for the week if it was still alive for Weeks 6.
1. Los Angeles Rams vs Carolina Panthers
With how disappointing the Rams have performed this season, this may be the only week that I have a ton of confidence talking about taking the Rams in survivor. Carolina just fired there head coach and coordinators. PJ Walker is now starting and will be learning a new system in this matchup which is an issue. If you have the Rams take them and don’t look back.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers
This seems like a mismatch as the Buccaneers are the better team. Their defense is just destroyed by injuries and the offense is run by an incomptent offensive coordinator in Matt Canada. This should be an easy pick and I would not worry about taking the Buccaneers this week in survivor. They would have the number 1 spot if the Buccaneers are the home team.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts
The Jaguars this week spread wise are my superloc. However the Colts are just a mess right now with their defense filled with injuries and QB Matt Ryan looks like he is nearing the end of his career as he has not performed well this season at all. While it is a division game the Jaguars should take care of business against the worst team in the NFL according to DVOA.
4. Green Bay Packers vs New York Jets
This will be a telling game for both teams, but the Packers should take care of business this week. The Jets may be hot right now, but Green Bay is desperate for a win after getting upsetted by the New York Giants. I said this in my Week 6 Spread article, LaFleur is 10-0 against the spread after a loss. I looked into it more, but LaFleur is also 10-0 when coming off of a loss. With the Packers also being the home team, they are a solid choice to take this week.
5. Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos
This is the riskier pick to make of the week as the Los Angeles Chargers are not the home team and are in a divisional matchup. However this could be a good spot to take them. Especially as Russell Wilson is dealing with a shoulder injury and the Broncos have an incomptent head coach who should have been fired after last week. The risk could be well worth the reward taking the Chargers in Survivor this week.
Trap Survivor Pick - San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons
With the Insane amount of injuries the 49ers are dealing with and Atlanta being a better team than originally thought. This game just has traps written all over. It does not help the 49ers that the Falcons are the home team. So the 49ers, a west coast team, will be traveling to Atlanta, an east coast city. It would definitely be wise to avoid picking the 49ers at all this week especially in survivor pools.
Record (2-3) - Week 1: Washington Commanders, Week 2: New England Patriots, Week 3: Buffalo Bills, Week 4: Los Angeles Chargers, Week 5 Tennessee Titans
Who I would of went with for my Survivor Pick for Week 5: Los Angeles Rams vs Carolina Panthers
Not going anywhere near the Chargers as it is too risky for me to pick them. The Packers are an intriguing choice, but with Aaron Rodgers being injured I will wait a week. Tampa Bay is facing Pittsburgh, but there are plenty of weeks to choose the Buccaneers.The only reason why I am not taking Jacksonville in survivor is that I see plenty more options to use the Jaguars and with how the Rams are performing I don’t feel confident with other games. So if I was alive in survivor I would have took the Los Angeles Rams.
Record (2-3) - Week 1: Tennessee Titans, Week 2: Cleveland Browns, Week 3: Philadelphia Eagles, Week 4: New York Giants, Week 5: Denver Broncos