Week 6 NFL Survivor Pool Tips: Best Picks and Strategies to Stay Alive
The NFL landscape has become quite interesting in 2024. While the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings remain undefeated, there seems to be a shortage of definitive contenders this year.
Injuries have impacted previous contenders like the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins. While good, teams like the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens have appeared vulnerable.
This has made for a very difficult foray into survivor pool play, as few teams are truly dependable on a weekly basis. Picking winners in Week 6 won't be easy, as both the Chiefs and Vikings are on bye—along with the Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately, pool participants don't have the option to sit out the week alongside them.
Below, you'll find a few survivor tips for Week 6. You'll also find some top picks for the week using the latest odds as a guideline.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
General Survivor Tips for Week 6
1 of 3
If you've made it to this point, congratulations. There's essentially been a pool-busting upset every week of the season so far, and even heavy favorites have fallen. In Week 5, the Seattle Seahawks lost at home to the New York Giants, a direct result of a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown.
We'd recommend avoiding the Seahawks game this week, as Seattle will host the rival San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night. Prime-time divisional games are always dicey, and this one is especially so.
The 49ers are 3.5-point road favorites, but they're also coming off a tough loss to the Arizona Cardinals in brutal heat. On a short week, San Francisco could come out flat.
We'd also avoid the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears game on Sunday morning. Chicago has a good defense and is starting to see star-level play from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. However, the Jaguars (+2) have a sort of home-field advantage in London.
International games are always a bit odd anyway.
We'd probably avoid the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets matchup this week too. Buffalo has looked like the better team but has been mistake-prone—some sloppy late-game clock management led directly to a loss in Week 5.
The Jets (+2.5) may also get some sort of boost from the firing of head coach Robert Saleh.
"This was not an easy decision, but we are not where we should be given our expectations, and I believe now is the best time for us to move in a different direction," Jets franchise owner Woody Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday.
Firing Saleh five weeks into the season feels like a desperation move. However, we've seen teams rally around interim coordinators before—the Las Vegas Raiders did it in 2023, which led to Antonio Pierce getting the full-time gig.
There's no sense testing New York's belief in interim coach Jeff Ulbrich in a Monday night divisional game.
There's also little sense in hoping that the Cincinnati Bengals defense finally shows up for a Sunday night showdown with the Giants. The Bengals (-3.5) haven't stopped anyone this year, while Daniel Jones and the Giants have shown that they can steal wins when the opposition isn't at its best.
Trust the Eagles vs. the Browns
2 of 3
There are two reasons to trust the Philadelphia Eagles (-8.5) at home against the Cleveland Browns this week.
For starters, Philadelphia is coming out of its bye week and should have standouts like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Lane Johnson back for this one. Secondly, the Browns have (again) become the league's most dysfunctional team.
Yes, Cleveland was a playoff team in 2023 and fielded an elite defense. However, teams seem to have caught up to Jim Schwartz's defensive schemes, and the Browns offense is a total disaster.
Cleveland ranks last in offensive yards, 30th in scoring and 23rd in points allowed. Deshaun Watson is playing like the worst quarterback in the NFL, and the Browns refuse to pull him.
And while Watson did show the occasional flash before last year's season-ending shoulder injury, we haven't even seen that under new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. To make matters worse, the energy other Browns players have shown in the past is totally gone.
At this point, simply picking against Cleveland every week might be a viable survivor strategy.
Trust the Texans Against the Patriots
3 of 3
Picking against the New England Patriots every week might also be a viable strategy. While the Patriots pulled off a massive Week 1 upset against Cincinnati, they have rarely looked competitive since.
In Week 5, New England mustered a mere 10 points against a banged-up Miami Dolphins team and, naturally, lost.
While the Houston Texans (-7) aren't 100 percent healthy, they should score more than the 15 points Miami delivered last Sunday. Star wideout Nico Collins (hamstring) probably won't play, but Houston may have running back Joe Mixon (ankle) in the fold.
The Texans offense will still feature C.J. Stroud, Tank Dell, Dalton Schultz and Stefon Diggs anyway.
While Houston's defense isn't top-tier (17th in points allowed), it's hard to envision the Pats offense doing much. The only real risk here is the fact that New England is switching to rookie QB Drake Maye and could find some unexpected juice.
That's worth considering, and Houston is on the road. However, the Texans should avoid the trap and get to 5-1 this week.
Gambling problem? Call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369).
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visiting ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), visiting OPGR.org (OR), or calling/texting TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
Odds and lines subject to change. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.
.jpg?w=480)
.jpg?w=480 "NFL Draft Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Eagles Stole WR Lemon from Steelers")
.jpg?w=600 "Moment Eagles Picked Lemon 😲")
