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Welcome to our NFL Survivor Pool Picks for Week 3 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 all of these choices. But survivor pools are the oldest and simplest leagues out there. All you have to do is pick a team and have them win, but you can't choose them 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 ready to preview Week 3 and get you through the early-season weeks.
We're through two weeks of the NFL season and now we have double the available data points to make an informed choice about which teams we're selecting in our Survivor pools. Let's look at some teams to target and avoid for Survivor Pools in Week 3.
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Implied Point Totals, Point Spreads, and Over/Under Totals for Week 3
Before jumping into the picks for Week 3, 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 take a look at the survivor pool pick recommendations to target and avoid for Week 3.
Top Survivor Pool Picks to Target for Week 3
Cleveland Browns vs. NYG
The Browns were dispatched by the Dallas Cowboys in their home opener. In Week 2, they turned the tables on the Jacksonville Jaguars by beating them in their home opener by the score of 18-13. For Week 3, the Browns get a gift-wrapped game when they come back home to face the punchless New York Giants.
Cleveland is a six-point favorite against the Giants, who have one of the lowest implied point totals of the Week 3 slate at just 16.25 points. And why shouldn't they? They don't have much in terms of point-scoring ability besides rookie Malik Nabers, and he can't exactly throw to himself.
The Browns have the highest win probability this week against the Giants than they will all season, so strategically, now is the time to pick them above all other matchups they have for the rest of the season. While Cleveland has been middling in terms of moving the ball, their defense should be able to stifle Daniel Jones and the rest of the Giants' shaky offense. The Browns are my favorite pick of the Week 3 slate for Survivor pools.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. CAR
With the Raiders beating the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore in Week 2, we've got to adjust our priors on the Raiders, right? Well, I don't know about that, but the win was certainly impressive. Now, the Raiders turn their attention to the lowly Carolina Panthers, who have made a quarterback change prior to heading out to Las Vegas.
BREAKING: Panthers name Andy Dalton as starting QB. (via @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/eCZbucMOhM
— NFL (@NFL) September 16, 2024
Exit Bryce Young, and enter Andy Dalton for the 0-2 Panthers, but will it matter? I mean, in terms of competency, it will. But facts are facts; the Panthers are still arguably the least talented team in the NFL, have scored a grand total of 13 points in two games, and are 5.5-point underdogs against the Raiders.
Just like the Cleveland Browns previously, there is no better matchup left to use the Las Vegas Raiders in your Survivor pool as they also have their highest win probability for the remainder of the season against the downtrodden Panthers. Carolina may get a little spark from Dalton, but the Raiders are a much better team and should be able to contain the Panthers on Sunday.
Top Survivor Pool Picks to Avoid for Week 3
New York Jets vs. NE
In one of the more topsy-turvy betting lines of the season, the Jets are 6.5-point favorites at home against the New England Patriots, who have played the Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks very tough. New England beat the former in Week 1 and took the latter to overtime before succumbing 23-20 last week. The Jets have looked fine as they're also 1-1, but they haven't shown enough to be this clear of a favorite ahead of a team with the same record, even if the Jets are at the friendly confines of MetLife Stadium.
The Patriots have the lowest implied point total of the entire slate at 15.5 points, but they've played up to both of their opponents despite sizable talent disadvantages and have surpassed Week 3's implied point total in both games they've played. The Jets of course have Aaron Rodgers, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and an excellent defense, but while Rodgers has looked solid, he's looked more like the 40-year-old Rodgers than a former multi-time league MVP.
The Patriots and Jets should be closely matched, but people will see the second-largest point spread of the Week 3 slate and lock in the Jets because of that. It's a dangerous spot despite the opponent and as we know, anything can happen on Thursday Night Football.
New Orleans Saints vs. PHI
No NFL team has gotten more buzz (warranted buzz, mind you) than the New Orleans Saints have through two weeks. Just with a simple scheme change, man of the hour and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has transformed himself from the son of a former offensive coordinator and former quarterback (Gary Kubiak) to a prime head-coaching candidate in just 14 days. While the Saints were expected to beat up on the Carolina Panthers and did just that, their 47-10 dismantling of the Dallas Cowboys at home in Week 2 was shocking, to say the least.
The Saints really went from dead last in both pre-snap motion and play action to:
- 1st in pre-snap motion
- 3rd in play action pic.twitter.com/DFTZsCg4Lt— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 9, 2024
The Saints are 1.5-point favorites at home against the Philadelphia Eagles, who just came off of a massively disappointing loss on Monday Night Football to the Atlanta Falcons. Still, the Eagles are riding a bit higher in the minds of sports bettors as they're getting some respect as one of the better teams in the league from a personnel standpoint. Perhaps those oddsmakers think the Saints are a bit of fool's gold?
The Saints look for real and they're bound to slip up sooner or later. I mean, c'mon, it's Derek Carr. The Eagles have traded in an excellent offensive performance in Brazil against the Packers in Week 1 for a puzzling, mystifying performance at home against the Falcons. Despite some of that inconsistency, the Eagles can beat anybody at any given point, so I would shy away from the Saints this week as there will be better matchups on the horizon.
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