Week 16 was a brutal one for many survivor pools as I am sure many took the Chargers over the Texans! If you are still alive heading into Week 17 congratulations and huge props to you because this NFL season has been an absolute wild one to say the least. One thing to keep in mind as we approach the end of the season, always put your faith in teams with something to play for, don’t put money/pick on teams that have nothing to lose as this time of year weeds out groups that aren’t all in! The light at the end of the tunnel is now visible so here are a few teams to keep in mind as you make those survivor league plays in the new year!

Survivor Picks for Week 17:

  1. San Francisco 49ers: Let’s go back to the well and pick on the Texans, shall we? I would imagine many haven’t used the 49ers compared to some of the other chalk in Week 17 so here goes! San Franisco will check into their matchup as 12.5-point favorites and that’s with Jimmy Garoppolo’s status still up in the air with his UCL injury. While it’s not great that we could see Trey Lance at the helm this Sunday it’s not the end of the world. I believe the 49ers can succeed where the Chargers failed last week in that they can just commit to the rushing game and lean on that to a simple victory. The 49ers average 123.7 rushing yards per game which ranks as the 6th best average in the NFL and the Houston defense allows the 2nd most rushing yards at 141.3 yards per game, this matchup is just simple math really. One other thing to add, the Texans are 2-5 as a road team this season.
  2. New England Patriots: Okay, here comes the mega chalk of Week 17! If you still have the option to use the Patriots this’ll be the week to use them as they are 16.5-point favorite over the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. New England despite the easy matchup on paper still has a ton to play for down the stretch as they can clinch a playoff spot with a victory on Sunday. On top of that they got dealt a pretty large loss against Buffalo last week and Mac Jones looked less than ideal so there’s motivation to bounce back big against a poor opponent. The Jaguars are a very bad team and that is well known at this point, but they will now be without their best offensive player James Robinson who is out for the season with an Achilles injury. Take the Patriots and relax this one is as close to a guarantee as you’ll get this season.
  3. Pittsburgh Steelers: This one is a pick for those that have a one and done format to their survivor leagues which I am sure the vast majority of people play in. I am guessing many haven’t used the Steelers this season and why would you? They haven’t done much well all season with a mediocre defense and a slow-moving offense. The one kicker for me though is the Steelers have everything to play for this Monday night as they take on the Browns. This will be Ben Roethlisberger’s final game at Heinz field and the yinzers will be packed to the gills in terrible towels for this one. In addition to that Big Ben at home against the Browns has been a record to behold as he is a perfect 13-0 in the big ketchup bottle vs the division rival over his career. Cleveland basically has nothing to play for at this point sitting at 7-8 on the season and Baker is fresh off a 4-interception loss to the Packers last weekend. Here’s to one more ride for the future Hall of Fame QB in front of the home fans!

 

Last Week: 2-1

Season 40-8