NFL Week 11: 5 Survivor Pool Locks To Bank On

If you've been lucky enough to make it this far in your NFL survivor pools, then congratulations because you deserve a medal for actually picking the right team in every week thus far.

At this point in the season, you might have exhausted all your picks on the top teams in Green Bay, New England and San Francisco, so we'll give you the average or above-average teams that are locks to win this week without wasting another pick on an elite team that you could use later on.

We give you five teams that you might not have used yet that you could use to potentially survive in a fantasy league that's one of the most daunting you could participate in. These teams will be looking to take advantage of weak opponents while also looking to strengthen their run at a potential postseason spot.

Oakland Raiders

At 5-4, the Oakland Raiders have miraculously found themselves at the top of the AFC West with a one-game lead over every other team. Luckily for the Raiders, they can get some distance over their division rivals considering that Denver will be taking on the New York Jets, San Diego butts heads with Chicago and Kansas City matches up with New England. With all three division opponents projected to lose, there's no doubt that the Raiders will be looking to take advantage.

And there's little doubt that they should considering they're taking on a Minnesota Vikings team that just lost by 38 points to the undefeated Green Bay Packers. The Vikings possess the advantage of having Adrian Peterson to run against a weak Raiders rush defense that ranks near the bottom, but not much else as the team has Christian Ponder to look to as their starting quarterback.

It won't be all that easy for the Raiders as their running game might be stifled by a team that ranks sixth in rushing yards given up per game. Darren McFadden will get his yards, but for the Raiders to truly succeed they'll need to allow Carson Palmer to work his magic against a Vikings defense that currently ranks 30th in the league in passing yards given up.

Since throwing 8-of-21 and three picks in his first game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Palmer has been relatively solid and is coming off of a win against San Diego where he completed 70 percent of his passes, recorded 299 yards and finished with two touchdowns and a pick.

At 2-7, the Vikings appear ready to mail in this season while the Raiders are motivated to capture the division and create some distance between themselves and their division foes. They'll be sure not to let this opportunity slip away.

New York Jets

Tim Tebow may be 3-1 as a starter, but do you honestly think they can move to 4-1 against a New York Jets team that is hungry for a victory after falling 37-16 to a New England Patriots team that just punched them in the mouth?

Tebow and his option offense gimmick has been working against the likes of the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, but he now puts it to the test against a Jets team that ranks 15th in rushing yards given up per game. Even though the Jets aren't ranked near the top in that specific category, their defense isn't going to let up in any way, shape or form against a gimmick running game and a quarterback that can't throw that well.

Rex Ryan and the Jets love to put eight in the box and they love to blitz, which is going to spell epic failure for a quarterback like Tebow who is frantic under pressure and could make a few costly mistakes. The Jets defense is going to be looking to instill fear in Tebow and a limited Broncos team that may be playing without their star running back in Willis McGahee.

The game plan for the Jets defense is to basically shut down the run and win the game. Their offense has been limited throughout the year in terms of passing and running, but it shouldn't come as too large a problem. They might not give up more than 10 points to a Broncos team that is laying it all on the line in a quarterback that can't throw and doesn't want to spend time in the pocket.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions have been in a bit of a slump as of late. After starting off the season 5-0, the Lions have gone 1-3 with the lone win coming by way of a 35-point blowout against a Denver Broncos team that doesn't have much of an identity. Their losses have come by way of close matchups against the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons, but the most disheartening came this past week when they lost by 24 points and surrendered 37 points to the division rival Chicago Bears.

You have to believe that the Lions are angry and hungry for a win. With a lowly 2-7 Carolina Panthers team coming to Detroit, the Lions are going to pounce on Cam Newton and Company with their strong rushing defense that currently ranks fourth. The Lions are going to need their defense to put in work as the Panthers rank eighth in rushing and passing on the offensive side of the ball thanks in part to their rookie QB who has given the fans something to actually be excited about.

Both teams severely lack in rushing defense with the Lions at 27th and the Panthers at 28th, and that could mean a big day for Jahvid Best who only has two touchdowns on the season. Even if Best doesn't pay off, the Lions could always look towards their star receiver in Calvin "Megatron" Johnson, who is looking to take on a secondary that ranks 14th in the league in passing yards given up per game.

With a secondary that ranks fourth in passing yards given up per game, the Lions will most likely be able to eliminate the big plays that Newton is capable of. The Panthers don't have much of a running game outside of Newton as well, who has seven touchdowns on the year compared to their starting running back in DeAngelo Williams who only has one.

The key for Detroit is eliminating Newton and his big plays. The team might get a rushing touchdown, but the Panthers won't be able to keep up with Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and this Lions team that is looking to pick up ground in a tight race in the NFC North.

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys have been all over the place this season in terms of their record. At 5-4, the team could very well be at the top of the NFC East with a clear lead over the New York Giants if not for a few close losses which include a three-point defeat to the New York Jets and two four-point defeats to the New England Patriots and Detroit Lions.

They've only suffered one lopsided loss on the season and that came by way of a 34-7 drubbing at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. Since that loss, the Cowboys have come back with two consecutive wins that include a victory over Seattle and a 37-point blowout over the Buffalo Bills. If the Cowboys can finally get it together in time for the postseason, then taking on a Washington Redskins team that they already beat and is in the midst of a five-game losing streak shouldn't be a problem.

The Redskins bring a solid defense that ranks ninth in passing yards given up and 18th in rushing yards given up, but they take on a Cowboys team that is among the league's best on the offensive end. Tony Romo has allowed Dallas to rank sixth in passing while rookie Demarco Murray has enabled the Cowboys to be ranked ninth in rushing. Either of those attacks should be enough against an inept Redskins team that ranks on the lower half in the NFL when it comes to offense.

Dallas has already won the first meeting which came in a Week 3 victory at home where they managed to eek out an 18-16 victory. The Redskins have been on a tremendous slide as of late and are coming off of an abysmal loss where they couldn't score a touchdown against a Miami Dolphins team that only had one win on the year prior to beating Washington.

If the Cowboys are serious about making the postseason and winning the NFC East, then beating the Redskins will be priority No. 1.

Atlanta Falcons

Both teams may be 5-4 and in the midst of a race towards the postseason, but you could easily bank on the Atlanta Falcons besting the Tennessee Titans at home. Matt Ryan and Company are coming off of a depressing overtime loss to New Orleans where they were downed after making a frantic comeback and they're looking to make up some ground in the postseason race while also attempting to avoid a two-game losing streak at home.

Three of the Falcons' four losses have come against the league's elite teams with Green Bay, New Orleans and Chicago all taking a win away from Atlanta. They only have one quality win on the year which came against Detroit, but they have also come up victorious in games against Philadelphia, Carolina, Seattle and Indianapolis.

The Falcons are looking to make a statement and they'll be looking to make one against a Titans team that's going to have no answer on the ground for Michael Turner. The Falcons running back has seven touchdowns on the season to accompany 788 yards and will be taking on a defense that currently ranks 22nd in rushing yards given up per game. The Falcons can air it out with Ryan, but running the game through Turner may be the smarter option here.

Matt Hasselbeck has surprised us all with the direction of this team that he has taken over and he could get his fair share of completions in, but he just doesn't have enough weapons to match up with Atlanta on either side of the ball. Tennessee can't run the ball like Atlanta can and it's going to result in a Falcons victory.