Survivor pool Week 2: Best picks, advice and strategy

Admin September 12, 2024

Hopefully, you survived Week 1 of the NFL season. If you’re are still alive in your pools, you’re probably wiping your brow, breathing a sigh of relief, and thanking whatever powers that be that you decided last minute to swap out the Cincinnati Bengals. Now that Week 2 is here though, there comes a whole new set of matchups, a whole new slew of injuries to keep track of, and a little more information to go off of.

We’ve now got a slightly better understanding of what to expect from every team in the NFL. Although one week should not be the end-all, be-all when it comes to determining a team’s chances of winning, Week 1 is a solid guide to follow when making your pick.

Here are three games that will help you survive Week 2 in your NFL survivor pools.

NFL News: Body cam footage shows police throwing Tyreek Hill to ground before Dolphins opener

NFL Week 2 Survivor Pool Best Bets:

Indianapolis Colts over Green Bay Packers

Everyone expected the Green Bay Packers to be titans in the NFC this year, and while that could still be the case, their short-term future looks dire. Quarterback Jordan Love suffered a rather serious knee injury that put doubt on when he will return. The Packers will likely trot out Malik Willis as their starting quarterback.

As a reminder, Willis has a career 52.2% completion rate and a 0-3 TD-INT ratio. Could Willis have taken a few steps forward as a passer since joining the Packers? Sure, but this is a Colts team that just took the Houston Texans to the limit. There is some concern with this Colts’ defense after they surrendered 159 rushing yards to Houston’s Joe Mixon in Week 1. A similar performance from Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs could spell disaster. However, Indianapolis can likely load the box every play with Willis under center, forcing the former Tennessee Titan to beat them, rather than Jacobs.

Los Angeles Chargers over Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers looked like the worst team in football during Week 1 after suffering an embarrassing blowout defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Saints.

Listen, every team has bad weeks. Maybe the Panthers weren’t feeling it, and maybe the Saints were really feeling it, but the fact of the matter is that the Panthers just allowed Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, and Taysom Hill to average over five yards a carry, and the Chargers are a very run-heavy team. J.K. Dobbins looked like a beast last week against the Raiders, and although Gus Edwards will get work in as well, both should see decent success on the ground against Carolina’s weak defense.

Until Bryce Young can prove capable of leading an NFL offense, the Panthers are far and away the worst team in the NFL, and the Chargers shouldn’t have much trouble taking them down this weekend.

Pittsburgh Steelers over Denver Broncos

Bo Nix averaged 3.3 yards per pass attempt in his NFL debut against the Seattle Seahawks. Now, he faces a relentless Steelers’ defense that just made Kirk Cousins look washed up. The Steelers are winning that battle. They’re winning that battle 99 times out of 100.

The only problem will be whether or not the Steelers will be able to score themselves against a very solid Denver defense. After all, they were held out of the endzone entirely in their Week 1 win over Atlanta. However, Pittsburgh has at least shown an ability to win the field position battle. Although neither offense will have much success pushing the ball downfield, the Steelers are far more likely to earn a flurry of sacks, pushing the Broncos further and further into their own territory and giving Pittsburgh more opportunity to walk away with field goals. That’s exactly how they won Week 1 and there’s no reason to believe Week 2 will offer something different.

NFL News: Dak Prescott beat Jerry Jones at his own game – again – and that doesn’t bode well for Cowboys