NFL Survivor League: Three Teams To Pick (And Avoid) Entering Week 18

The final week of the 2021 regular season is upon us, and that means for NFL survivor league players who remain alive, it’s one final week for all the marbles.

Depending on how you’ve strategized this season, there’s a good chance you had an idea as to who your Week 18 choice would be a month ago. If that’s the case — perhaps you have the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs, etc. still remaining — kudos for looking ahead.

There also will be players, however, who opted for a different strategy — doing all they could to secure a short-term win, with the thought of Week 18 far in the distance. For those players, especially in a league where a jackpot is awarded at the end, we’d advise hedging your Week 18 pick so there is a buck to be made one way or the other.

Anyway, here are three teams to consider and three others to avoid. Of note, all prices are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

Teams to choose:
Buffalo Bills (-16.5, -1375 moneyline)
Opponent: vs. New York Jets (+800 moneyline)
If you have the Bills remaining, it’s not by mistake. And while it’s been a rather strange season of upsets, you should feel very confident in this pick given that Buffalo still has something to play for. The Bills will repeat as AFC East champions with a win, and thus secure a home playoff game. It also sounds like the 4-12 Jets could be without two of their top playmakers, making a difficult task all the more challenging.

Indianapolis Colts (-15, -1000)
Opponent: at Jacksonville Jaguars (+650 moneyline)
Here’s another very solid option if you still have it. The Colts are in need of a win to earn a wild-card spot. The 2-14 Jaguars, who shockingly have beat Indianapolis in each of the last six matchups in Jacksonville, are on the fast track to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. It might not be smart to pick the Colts to cover the 15-point spread, but in what essentially is a moneyline bet, Indy is incredibly enticing.

Washington Football Team (-7, -300)
Opponent: at New York Giants (+235)
Admittedly, this is far more of a contrarian pick than the previous two. But for survivor league players who have exhausted all the best options, the 6-10 Football Team might be able to get you to where you want to go. And it’s more so because the 4-12 Giants are abysmal with absolutely nothing to play for. New York almost certainly will fire general manager Dave Gettleman, and perhaps head coach Joe Judge is on his way out, too. Washington, while out of the playoff picture, still feels like a team that will continue to compete. This definitely qualifies as one of those smart-for-hedging picks, though.

Honorable mention: (-10.5) Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans (+385)

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Teams to avoid:
Cleveland Browns (-6, -250)
Opponent: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
It shouldn’t shock anyone to see the AFC North champion Bengals, even if they are without quarterback Joe Burrow and running back Joe Mixon, beat the Baker Mayfield-less Browns on the road. Cleveland isn’t a team that should invoke much confidence, especially in this situation.

Green Bay Packers (-3.5, -180)
Opponent: at Detroit Lions
The 13-3 Packers have absolutely nothing to play for, with the top spot in the NFC already locked up. Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur said the starters will play this week, but who knows if they’ll be in for the whole game. Hopefully you already used the Packers prior, as Week 18 is not the best spot for them with so much uncertainty.

Dallas Cowboys (-4, -190)
Opponent: at Philadelphia Eagles
Another game with a lot of uncertainty. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy also said the NFC East champions will be playing to win, but both teams already have made the playoffs, and Dallas has had a number of players show up on the injury report. It caused Dallas to go from favored by 6.5 down to four. While NFC playoff scenarios will be impacted by Cowboys-Eagles, there’s much more to it. Dallas just doesn’t feel like a sure thing here, and there were plenty of other chances to have used them.

Week 18 pick? Washington Football Team

Teams picked (12-5): San Francisco 49ers (Week 1 win), Cleveland Browns (Week 2 win), Denver Broncos (Week 3 win), New Orleans Saints (Week 4 loss), Dallas Cowboys (Week 5 win), Indianapolis Colts (Week 6 win), Arizona Cardinals (Week 7 win), Cincinnati Bengals (Week 8 loss), Buffalo Bills (Week 9 loss), Baltimore Ravens (Week 10 loss), Tennessee Titans (Week 11 loss), New England Patriots (Week 12 win), Los Angeles Rams (Week 13 win), Kansas City Chiefs (Week 14 win), Miami Dolphins (Week 15 win), Green Bay Packers (Week 16 win), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Week 17 win)