NFL Survivor Pool Picks Today: Survivor Strategies & Safest Pick for NFL Week 2

After the Chargers lost to the Cardinals, it reminded us that even the biggest favorite on the board is vulnerable in the parity of the NFL. Thankfully my NFL survivor picks advanced those who tailed the Jaguars as the best pick and the Raiders as the strategic play, while also nailing why the Lions were the pick to avoid after squeaking out a one-point victory on the game's final play.

I'm back with four more pieces of survivor pool strategies and picks, including my contrarian play of the week on a division favorite who has a brutal schedule to endure over the next two months.

🎯 Best NFL survivor pool picks: Week 2

See the latest NFL odds and our experts' NFL picks for every game this season.

 ⛏️ Safest NFL survivor pick: 49ers (90.5%) over Dolphins

Check out all of our NFL analysis and expert predictions for every game in Week 2.

Call me stubborn for advising that the biggest favorite of the week is also the safest survivor pick for the second week in a row, but San Francisco should absolutely be too much to handle for a Dolphins team that could very well end up with the No. 1 pick in next year's draft. 

Any concerns about the 49ers' ability to recover from last week's game in Australia are somewhat offset by the fact that Miami is playing its second straight road game three time zones away. San Francisco also has run into some of the worst injury luck over the last few seasons, so using it now in survivor pools when the most concerning injury to begin the week is to rookie wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling is a logical choice.

🐆 Best NFL survivor pick: Buccaneers (79.0%) over Browns

For the second straight week, the team hosting the Browns is not only the second-biggest moneyline favorite of the week, but it is also the best NFL survivor pick.

Cleveland may already be regretting naming Deshaun Watson its starting quarterback. Since joining the Browns in 2022, among 50 quarterbacks with 15 starts, he entered the season ranked 46th in off-target percentage, 48th in yards per attempt, and 49th in Total QBR. Watson didn't do anything last week to dispel the notion that he is a different player, as the Browns offense mustered just 272 total yards and didn't score a touchdown until garbage time in the fourth quarter.

Baker Mayfield led Tampa Bay to a 6-2 record to start last season, and this is a great get-right opportunity for the Buccaneers after committing four turnovers in a loss to the Bengals.

🦅 NFL survivor strategy pick: Eagles (75.6%) over Titans

The Raiders were my contrarian play last week because there were not likely many more weeks throughout the season where one could confidently use them in survivor pools. The Eagles are my survivor strategy pick of the week for much the same reason, but not because I don't think they're a good football team. 

Philadelphia's schedule through the first week of November after this week is: vs. Bears, vs. Rams, vs. Jaguars (London), vs. Panthers, vs. Cowboys, at Commanders. The only game in that span they're projected as more than a field-goal favorite is the home game against Carolina, but that is a week after playing in London. 

Tennessee looked lifeless in totaling just 195 yards and 11 first downs in a 13-point home loss to the Jets last week, making Philadelphia as safe a road favorite as one can find this early in the season.

❌ NFL survivor pick to avoid: Rams (77.5%) over Giants

I'm not jumping off the Rams bandwagon after they were the preseason Super Bowl favorites, even after one loss to a 49ers team that won 12 games last year, because the two teams' approaches to the trip to Australia may have mattered more than we thought. But that travel, and how Los Angeles can recover from the long flight to and from Melbourne, is one of the biggest reasons to avoid it this week.

Giants fans are already optimistic about the John Harbaugh era, and rightfully so after the team proved to be too physical for the Cowboys. It's clear Harbaugh brought an approach and discipline from Baltimore that the Giants organization hasn't seen in a while, and I want no part of opposing them when it seems the Rams' defensive line could be without both Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald.

💵 Circa Survivor contest update entering Week 2

The Chargers' loss to the Cardinals eliminated $10.3 million worth of Circa Sports survivor pool entries, which goes down as the most money lost on any single pick in the history of the contest. Los Angeles made up 7,585 of the 24,925 total entries, and 32.2% of the total entries (8,032) were eliminated before the Monday Night Football contest.