Week 9 of the NFL season is here and after a one week absence of byes we have several teams not on the schedule. That’s a welcomed sight for teams who could use a week to get healthy, but for NFL Survivor it makes our job that much more difficult. It’s why our NFL Survivor Week 9 picks are as valuable as ever, as there’s less “easy” wins on the horizon.
If you are still alive in your Survivor pool you are starting to run out of the easier spots to attack which means more risk will have to be taken. Even if you are in a second or third chance survivor pool we have to try and navigate a tricky Week 9 to set our sights on the 2nd half of the season. The good news is there are several spots worth attacking this week, with some teams that you might have available. Let’s dive into some spots to consider as you make you NFL Survivor pick for Week 9.
Atlanta Falcons: -225 vs Minnesota Vikings
The first team to consider this week might be the riskiest and one that you aren’t going to feel comfortable with. The Atlanta Falcons are far from a secure pick regardless of opponent, but they do find themselves as a healthy home favorite this week. Most of that comes from a Vikings team who lost their leader in Kirk Cousins and now turn to an unproven Jaren Hall to lead them in this spot.
That’s going to be something we can look to exploit and if your pool still has hundreds or thousands of people left then planning for a deep season run is important. Nobody is going to miss using Atlanta as they are an average at best team who rarely finds themselves north of -200 in the betting market. I will never say you can confidently deploy the Falcons in survivor, but I also think you have to consider them in this spot.
Cleveland Browns: -360 vs Arizona Cardinals
So far this season its become clear the Arizona Cardinals are not a pushover when they take the field. They proved that quickly after knocking off the Cowboys and putting the league on notice. Despite that win they still find themselves at 1-7 and a perpetual team we can pick against in survivor. They may be competitive, but more often than not they still walk away with a loss and going into Cleveland should continue that trend.
For the Browns its another team you most likely have available with not many spots worth targeting to begin the season. They have issues at QB and as I write this we aren’t sure about the status of Deshaun Watson, but regardless of who’s under center the Browns have the advantage. They have a fantastic defense, are at home, and are north of -350 in the betting market. That’s a sizeable favorite and a rarity for a team like Cleveland. This checks a lot of boxes and outside a future date at home vs Chicago there aren’t a lot of actionable spots for this Browns team in survivor.
My Survivor Pick: New Orleans Saints: -340 vs Chicago Bears
In some ways I think the Saints mirror the Browns in a lot of ways as both draw home matchups against teams struggling to find wins. The Saints find themselves north of -300 against a Bears squad who doesn’t have much working on either side of the ball. Justin Fields still isn’t ready to come back which means more Tyson Bagent under center. Its not that Bagent has been terrible by any stretch, but the Saints defense should clearly have the advantage.
On the other side of the ball, we have Derek Carr and a cast of weapons that is growing stronger by the week. Alvin Kamara is starting to find his groove and Rashid Shaheed is stretching the field with every monster reception he completes. With the lack of pass rush, and a shaky secondary this should be a spot the Saints exploit. Furthermore, given their inconsistency it’s a great team to get rid of in Survivor and as 7.5 point home favorites this is the spot to do just that. Ill call for a pretty straightforward win for the Saints this week and anyone who rosters them in survivor.
