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Welcome to our NFL Survivor Pool Picks for Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season! There are so many different pools, fantasy leagues, weekly bets, and futures bets that it's hard to decide what to do with these choices. But survivor pools are the oldest and simplest leagues out there. All you have to do is pick a team and have it win, but you can't choose it again.
All season long, I'll bring you weekly survivor pool advice for NFL teams to target and teams to avoid each week. Survivor league strategy is a major part of winning your pools, and this article will help you through the 2024 NFL season.
We're in the thick of the bye-week season, but get a reprieve as Week 13 has zero teams on bye before culminating with a final six-team bye-week finale next week. Let's look at some teams to target and avoid for survivor pools in Week 13.
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Implied Point Totals, Point Spreads, and Over/Under Totals for Week 13
For detailed Survivor League strategy, and tips to help you win your league, check out our "How to win your Survivor League" guide.
Before jumping into the picks for Week 13, it's helpful to get an overview of the slate with implied point totals, point spreads, and over/under totals from betting markets. All implied totals come courtesy of FantasyLabs each week.
Now, let's look at the survivor pool pick recommendations to target and avoid for Week 13.
Top Survivor Pool Picks to Target for Week 13
Kansas City Chiefs vs. LV
It got incredibly dicey over the final few minutes of the Chiefs vs. Panthers last week, but on the road, Kansas City pulled out a narrow victory over a suddenly plucky Carolina Panthers team.
It looked like the Chiefs were playing with their food a little bit in this game, but on Black Friday, they head back home to the friendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium for an AFC West matchup with the hated Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chiefs are the largest favorites on the Week 13 slate, with oddsmakers spotting the Raiders 12 points. Las Vegas also has the smallest implied total of Week 13 with just 15.25 points and with good reason. Outside of Brock Bowers, Maxx Crosby, and Jakobi Meyers, the team is a barren wasteland of talent.
mahomes to d-hop, chiefs lead 27-16.
📺: #KCvsCAR on CBS/Paramount+
📱: atnfl.co/watch— notNFL (@notnfl.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 2:16 PM
At home, the Chiefs should roll here, but for Survivor pool players, this Week 13 matchup with the Raiders represents the likely last opportunity to realistically select the Chiefs. Kansas City has a remaining schedule of LAC, at CLE, HOU, at PIT, and DEN left on the docket, and there's not a matchup there where you feel as confident in selecting it as you have this week with the Raiders.
Next to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, the Chiefs are also a very chalky play, but one that you should take advantage of if you still have them available to select in your Survivor pool.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at CAR
While the Carolina Panthers have been more competitive lately, it's not like they're a good team. They're not, so riding the momentum of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 30-7 drubbing of the New York Giants last week should propel us to this week, where even on the road, the Bucs should take care of Carolina.
Tampa Bay is a 6.0-point favorite on the road against the Panthers and is riding high having just gotten Mike Evans back from injury, as well as a three-headed run game led by Bucky Irving, Rachaad White, and Sean Tucker that's going to be tough to stop.
🏴☠️ Bucky Wow Wow! 🏈
Bucky Irving opened the scoring with a powerful TD and didn’t stop there—finishing the game with 87 rushing yards, 64 receiving yards on 6 catches, and a whole lot of impact. 🔥
A true dual-threat weapon for the Bucs. What a performance! 💪
#GoBucs #BuckyIrving #GiantsVsBucs— Alf Colmenar (@alfcolmenar.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 4:50 PM
Even with improved play, the Panthers still allow the most points in the NFL and do not score nearly enough (fourth worst) to help counteract that. Meanwhile, the aforementioned run game and the passing game headed up by Baker Mayfield can score with anybody in the league, even without Chris Godwin, who was lost for the season.
I typically try to avoid any road teams with Survivor recommendations, but this matchup is too good to pass up. There are probably quite a few Survivor pool players who have Tampa available, so this matchup is a good one to select. If you can hold out, the Bucs get the Raiders next week, then Dallas in Week 16, and Carolina at home in Week 17.
Top Survivor Pool Picks to Avoid for Week 13
Houston Texans at JAX
The Houston Texans have had a pretty up-and-down 2024 after a rocketship ascension in 2023 that led them to be one of the teams to watch. For this week, the Texans will travel eastward to Jacksonville, where they are 4.5-point favorites against the Jaguars, who have been spinning their tires with Mac Jones at quarterback.
It's looking increasingly likely that they'll get the services of Trevor Lawrence back at quarterback, so just comparing him to what Jones has given the Jaguars, it's night and day.
The Texans have lost three of their last four games; two of them were at home to the Detroit Lions and the Tennessee Titans. No shame in losing to the Lions, for sure, but the Titans? These aren't the same Texans from last season, as they've been running the ball well with Joe Mixon. That's about the only thing Houston has been able to do to attack defenses with any consistency.
With the Jaguars likely getting Lawrence back to boost their overall offensive profile, plus the Texans playing down to opponents, I'm not looking to use the Texans in almost any capacity for the remainder of the season. After their bye, the Texans get MIA, at KC, BAL, and at TEN to finish out 2024. No thanks!
Washington Commanders vs. TEN
The Washington Commanders are favored by 5.5 points against the Tennessee Titans and that seems like quite the spread given the downward spiral the Commanders have been in for the past few games.
The Commanders have lost three straight games to the Steelers, Eagles, and Cowboys, and Jayden Daniels has been hampered by a rib injury that's affected his ability to throw the ball downfield. Not being able to put this team on his back in the way he was able to do early in the season is taking its toll on the team's chances for a playoff berth in the NFC.
The Titans have looked a bit better as well on offense, and combined with a stifling defense, are in most games no matter the opponent. That's a bad combo for the Commanders, as while they have Terry McLaurin to consistently threaten a defense, they don't have much more other than veterans and unproven talent.
Add in the fact that both Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler could miss Week 13's game and it doesn't make the Washington bull case any better. I would take the Titans straight up here based on how Washington is playing, so clearly for Survivor pools, I would advise staying clear of the Commanders for Week 13.
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