Congrats on navigating the first month of the football season and avoiding an early bustout. We pinpointed five potential Survivor Pool picks in Week 5 including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers if you haven’t used the Bucs yet, along with the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Ravens.
Last week, a lot of unfortunate souls faded the New York Jets and New York Giants and both 0-3 teams prevailed. The Jets defeated the Tennessee Titans for their first win of the season, and the Giants rallied back for an upset in the Superdome when the New Orleans Saints collapsed in the fourth quarter.
| NFL WEEK 5 SURVIVOR |
| MATCHUP | PICKÂ | LINE |
| Tampa Bay Bucs (3-1) at Miami Dolphins (1-3) | Bucs | TB -10 |
| New England Pats (1-3) at Houston Texans (1-3) | Patriots | NE -9 |
| Minnesota Vikings (1-3) at Detroit Lions (0-4) | Vikings | MIN -10 |
| Dallas Cowboys (3-1) at New York Giants (1-3) | Cowboys | DAL -7 |
| Baltimore Ravens (3-1) at Indianapolis Colts (2-2) | Ravens | BAL -7 |
So far this season, our correct Survivor Pool picks included the LA Rams (Week 1), Cleveland Browns (Week 2), Denver Broncos (Week 3), and Buffalo Bills (Week 4). We opted for chalk city last week and the Bills throttled the Houston Texans 40-0.
Chalk: Tampa Bay Bucs
If you did not select the Tampa Bay Bucs as your Survivor Pool picks in the first two weeks, then you have a chance to make back them in Week 5. The Bucs are the highest favorite on the betting board at -10. The Bucs survived a close shave at Foxboro last week when Tom Brady battled his former head coach.
The Dolphins head to Tampa for this interstate battle that not getting much hype. This might be the last week that backup Jacoby Brissett starts at quarterback for the Dolphins with Tua Tagovailoa expected to return in Week 6.
Beta: New England Patriots
You know Bill Belichick was wicked pissed after losing to Tommy Boy and the Bucs last week by two frigging points. The Pats are 1-3 but have a slumpbuster on deck against the Houston Texans. At this point, fading the Texans could prove to be a profitable venture in the betting department and for Survivor. If that’s the case, you can overlook the fact that the Texans host the Pats as a +9 home dog. Belichick wants revenge and the Texans are about to get shellacked for a second week in a row.
Dak and L-Jax: Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens
The New York Giants finally got off the schneid with a surprise road victory against the Saints. Now they head to the Jerry Dome for a tough division game against the first-place Dallas Cowboys. Dak Prescott looks better and better each week after returning from a gruesome ankle injury. The Cowboys are -7 favorites and the only team in the NFL with a 4-0 ATS record.
The Baltimore Ravens play the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football. The Colts should be winless were saved with an unimpressive win against the Miami Dolphins, which is why they’re a underdog by a touchdown. The Ravens played three road games through the first four weeks and eager for their second home game of the season in Week 5.
Outside the Box: Minnesota Vikings
It will be a tough pick for some folks, but the Minnesota Vikings are in a good spot here because you don’t have many opportunities with them as a potential Survivor pick this season. The Detroit Lions (0-4) have yet to win a game, but they’ve been competitive in the four losses. The Lions allow 29.8 ppg for fourth worst in the NFL and have the second worst DVOA ranked defense. Heck everyone is betting the Vikings at this point. The line opened at -8 and was -9.5 when I started writing this article, but it’s since moved to -10.
