Who to take in Week 16 in your NFL survivor pool

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]

Favorites went 12-4 straight up (SU) in Week 15. The Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, LA Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the underdogs that picked up outright victories.

The Bills won at the Detroit Lions 48-42, the Cowboys topped the Carolina Panthers 30-14 and the Rams out-uglied the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 Thursday night — all 3 winning teams were 2.5-point road underdogs. The Bucs, 3-point road underdogs, roughed up the LA Chargers 40-17.

The Bills (AFC East), Houston Texans (AFC South), and Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC North) have clinched division titles. while no division has been claimed in the NFC just yet. Keep that in mind as some teams will have more to play for in these upcoming games.

For the second consecutive week, no one was eliminated from the USA TODAY NFL Survivor Pool contest. Fifteen entries — out of 10,357 — remain, hoping to win the $5,000 prize. Breaking down the Week 15 selections, 7 advanced with the Baltimore Ravens (35-14 win at the New York Giants), 3 moved on with the Arizona Cardinals (30-17 home win vs. the New England Patriots), 2 picked the Cincinnati Bengals (37-27 victory at the Tennessee Titans), 2 had the Minnesota Vikings (30-12 home win vs. Chicago Bears Monday night) and 1 survived with the Dallas Cowboys (the 30-14 win at Panthers).

We were also on the Cardinals for our top option in Week 15 as they covered the spread as a 6-point favorites.

Our second option was the Ravens, a team that was the heaviest favorite (-16.5) this season so far. Baltimore fired out to a 21-7 lead at halftime, and 28-7 lead after 45 minutes. The host Giants were never able to get within arm’s length.

The Week 16 schedule has 6 teams favored by 6.5 or more points. The Bills (-14 vs. Patriots, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET) and Green Bay Packers (-14.5 home vs. New Orleans Saints, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET) are the 2 biggest favorites on the board.

Follow the USA TODAY NFL Survivor Pool.

– All games ET unless noted.

The pick: Buffalo Bills

Who they play: Home vs. New England Patriots – Sunday, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of NFL odds. Lines last updated Thursday at 6:33 p.m. ET.

Line: Bills -14 / Moneyline (ML): Bills -1000 | Patriots +650

The Bills (11-3) host the Patriots (3-11) in Sunday’s late window in what should be downright frigid at Highmark Stadium. There is a very minimal chance of precipitation, but the forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with temperatures at kickoff around 15 degrees, slipping to 11 degrees by the end of the game. Luckily for the passing games, winds will only be 3-5 MPH.

This is the first of 2 meetings between the AFC East rivals this season. They’ll face off at New England in Week 18 a few days after New Year’s Day.

Surprisingly, these teams split their 2 games last season, so there is some risk Sunday despite Buffalo being installed as a 14-point favorite. The Patriots covered both meetings last season as the Bills only outscored them 52-50 in the 2 games. In fact, QB Josh Allen completed just 59.2% of his passes for 434 yards with 2 TDs and 2 picks, along with 3 rushing TDs in the 2 games.

Still, the Patriots are on a 4-game slide, while averaging just 19.5 points per game (PPG) and allowing 25 or more points in each of the 4 losses.

BUFFALO IS MY FAVORITE SURVIVOR PLAY OF WEEK 16.

FOOTBALL NEVER STOPS
Live games, analysis and more 7 days a week: Get ESPN+

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3012″ ]

No. 2 option: Green Bay Packers

Who they play: Home vs. New Orleans Saints – Monday, 8:15 p.m. (ABC / ESPN)

Line: Packers -14.5 / ML: Packers -1000 | Saints +650

The Packers (10-4) are still in the mix for the NFC North Division title, but time is ticking. With 3 games remaining, Green Bay is 2 games back of the Lions and Vikings, who are both 12-2 and have clinched playoff berths.

The Saints limp into Lambeau with QB Spencer Rattler expected to make a second consecutive start with QB Derek Carr (hand, concussion) likely out the of the season. To make matters worse, RB Alvin Kamara suffered an adductor injury in Week 15, and he is a question mark for Monday night.

If the Saints are rolling with Rattler and RB Kendre Miller (46 yards on 9 carries in Week 15) with no Kamara, the Saints don’t have a prayer, pun intended. Even if Kamara can play, it’s going to be a tall order.

Worse news for the Saints, there’s a 40% chance of snow showers expected by kickoff. However, the precipitation should taper off shortly before halftime if the forecast holds true.

2024 survivor game log

NO. 1 OPTION

Week 1: LOSS – Patriots 16, Bengals 10
Week 2: LOSS – Falcons 22, Eagles 21
Week 3: LOSS – Panthers 36, Raiders 22
Week 4: WIN – 49ers 30, Patriots 13
Week 5: LOSS – Giants 29, Seahawks 20

Week 6: WIN – Eagles 20, Browns 16
Week 7: WIN – Commanders 40, Panthers 7
Week 8: LOSS – Browns 29, Ravens 24
Week 9: WIN – Chiefs 30, Buccaneers 24 (OT)
Week 10: WIN – Vikings 12, Jaguars 7

Week 11: WIN – Lions 52, Jaguars 6
Week 12: LOSS – Titans 32, Texans 27
Week 13: WIN – Broncos 41, Browns 32
Week 14: WIN – Buccaneers 28, Raiders 13
Week 15: WIN – Cardinals 30, Patriots 17

NO. 2 OPTION

Week 1: WIN – Saints 47, Panthers 10
Week 2: WIN – Chargers 26, Panthers 3
Week 3: LOSS – Giants 21, Browns 15
Week 4: WIN – Cowboys 20, Giants 15
Week 5: WIN – Commanders 34, Browns 13

Week 6: WIN – Falcons 38, Panthers 20
Week 7: WIN – Bills 34, Titans 10
Week 8: WIN – Lions 52, Titans 14
Week 9: WIN – Eagles 28, Jaguars 23
Week 10: WIN – Chargers 27, Titans 17

Week 11: WIN – Texans 34, Cowboys 10
Week 12: WIN – Chiefs 30, Panthers 27
Week 13: WIN – Buccaneers 26, Panthers 23 (OT)
Week 14: WIN – Steelers 27, Browns 14
Week 15: WIN – Ravens 35, Giants 14

[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″ ]

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.

[lawrence-newsletter]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1367]