NFL Week 1 Survivor guide: Strategy, analysis, and model picks for seasons start
Only the sharpest of the sharps will be left standing at the end of the year. Survivor pools are a grind.One team per week to come away victorious through all 17 weeks and plenty of contests to enter for big money.Whether it’s your sportsbook offering a tournament or you’re entering the big-boy Circa Sports Survivor pool guaranteed for $20 million and littered with professional gamblers.The fishes will all be targeting the big favorites each week, but the best survivor players are targeting the worst teams to win games early on in the year to give you options later in the year. Week 1 will separate the men from the boys. Pittsburgh is just a 3.5-point favorite this weekend, but the line ticked up a bit when Tua Tagovailoa was announced as the starter for Atlanta.
It’s a bit of a test for Aaron Rodgers to see if he can still sling it against a terrible offense. My model has the Steelers as 2.7-point favorites, so slightly less than the current spread and I don’t have any team as more than a six-point favorite.Between the Jaguars, Chargers, and Lions, this is the one I’m targeting considering I’d like to avoid the Steelers the rest of the season. The Raiders are legitimately trying to win this season and we all know that the Dolphins aren’t.Malik Willis is solid enough as the signal caller for Miami but the roster is bereft of talent, a far cry from the riches he enjoyed in Green Bay. Between Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty, the Raiders should be able to run through Miami in Week 1 and put anyone who escapes with Las Vegas as the lone team selected in the driver’s seat for the most aggressive of players.The top favorite on the board, the Chargers opened at -10 and have moved precipitously down to 8.5 at some shops.Listen, this isn’t the worst pick for Week 1, and I expect Los Angeles to have the highest exposure among applicants this week. The Chargers have a brutal schedule, but they do get the Raiders at home next week, so a top option will...