Depending on whether or not you successfully navigated the first two weeks of your NFL survivor pool, it’s been a bloodbath the past two Sundays. Following a handful of major upsets again in Week 2, here are our NFL Week 3 Survivor Picks.
NFL Week 2 Survivor Pool Recap
Unfortunately, I did recommend the Ravens over the Raiders last Sunday. How could I not? The Ravens were coming off a loss to the Chiefs in Week 1 and weren’t going to drop their home opener to fall to 0-2. Or so I believed. Up 10 in the fourth quarter, Baltimore collapsed and wrecked plenty of football fans’ survivor pools, not unlike the Bengals in Week 1.
My two other recommendations were the Texans, who knocked off the Bears on Sunday night, and the Eagles, who put together the first real choke job of 2024. I don’t care that Saquan Barkley should have caught the pass on the crucial third down play: the ball should have never been in the air in the first place. Kellen Moore’s job is to call the plays. It’s Nick Sirani’s job to manage things properly. In that situation, the Eagles are playing the clock – not the Falcons.
Either way, it goes down as a bad recommendation on my part and now I’m 3-3 with my NFL Survivor Pool picks. Tread lightly.
NFL Week 3 Survivor Pool Pick: Tampa Bay Bucs
Even though Denver’s defense has been solid the first two weeks of the season, their offense is a mess. Bo Nix has yet to throw a touchdown pass and there’s little to no downfield attack to Denver’s offense. With Sean Payton rebuilding the roster, there’s also very little talent on that side of the ball, so this season becomes more about getting Nix quality experience than it is about winning anything of significance.
As for the Bucs, they pulled off one of the bigger upsets in Week 2 when they marched into Detroit and took down the Lions. Baker Mayfield looks right at home running Liam Coen’s offense, which is a version of Sean McVay’s system in L.A. One thing to be concerned about is the Bucs’ injuries. Antoine Winfield Jr (foot), Vita Vea (knee) and Luke Goedeke (concussion) are all out. Still, I like Tampa’s chances of improving to 3-0.
NFL Week 3 Survivor Pool Pick: Buffalo Bills
Believe it or not, the Jaguars have lost their last seven games with Trevor Lawrence under center. It’s not all his fault, but even though he’s not the problem, he certainly hasn’t been the answer, either. The Jags have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, but something feels off with this team. One of the biggest issues they’ve had in the first two weeks has been capitalizing in the red zone. They look good between the 20s, then fall apart the closer they get to the end zone.
The Bills, meanwhile, are coming off 11 days of rest having played last Thursday night in Miami. Many pundits believed Buffalo would fall apart after trading Stefon Diggs to Houston in the offseason. While they don’t have a “go-to guy,” Josh Allen can also concern himself with which player is open, rather than having to feed a No. 1 receiver. While there were some road bumps in the first half against Arizona in Week 1, the Bills are proving that they’re still a force in the AFC.
NFL Week 3 Survivor Pool Pick: San Francisco 49ers
The Rams beat the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Week 18 last season, but San Francisco rested starters in that game in hopes to keep players healthy for the playoffs. Otherwise, the 49ers have dominated this matchup, winning eight out of their last 10 games versus the Rams.
Yes, the Niners are banged up. Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are all out. Nick Bosa is also questionable with a rib injury. That’s a lot of talent out for Kyle Shanahan. That said, at least Jordan Mason has been highly productive in his first two games.
It’s not as if San Francisco is the only team that is banged up in this matchup. The Rams won’t have Puka Nacua or Cooper Kupp. This team was a mess last week in Arizona.