NFL Survivor League Picks: Teams To Consider, Avoid In Week 8

This NFL this season has seen mind-boggling inconsistency, and bettors and survivor league players certainly have felt the impact of the league’s parity through the first seven weeks of the campaign.

Most recently it was the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers who let down NFL survivor league players following their stunning, lopsided defeats. Both teams were among our three recommendations entering Week 7 and were two of the three most popular picks for players in Circa Sports’ well-known survivor pool.

Circa Sports revealed 98% of their 6,133 entries now have been eliminated, which might portray where all leagues are at. Circa also shared that the number of eliminations through seven weeks in 2022 is nearly double the number of eliminations at this point in 2021 and 23% more than in 2020.

If you’re among the survivor leagues still alive, we’ve highlighted a few matchups worth targeting. And given the number of competitors currently left, it’s not as crazy to use teams now that you might consider avoiding until later in the season in previous years.

Here are three teams NFL survivor league players should pick and three others to avoid in Week 8 with lines based on consensus data from the NESNBets live odds page.

(-11.5) Buffalo Bills vs. Green Bay Packers (-537 moneyline)
The Packers have looked horrendous in recent weeks. Aaron Rodgers and company followed up back-to-back losses against Daniel Jones and Zach Wilson with another clunker against Taylor Heinicke and the Washington Commanders. The offense is out of sync and the defense has left plenty to be desired. A road matchup with Josh Allen and the Bills on “Sunday Night Football” doesn’t feel like a great bounce-back spot. The Bills still have future value with road games against the Detroit Lions and Bears, but given the way the AFC East is playing out, this might be one of their best home spots remaining.

(-10.5) Philadelphia Eagles vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (-517)
The Eagles come off a bye week to face a Steelers team that hasn’t scored more than 20 points since Week 1. The battle in the trenches, on both sides of the ball, benefits Philadelphia, especially with the Eagles’ pass rush against the Steelers offensive line. Probably the only reason not to pick the Eagles in this spot is that they have multiple future plays that seem valuable. But if you’re looking specifically for a Week 8 win, Philadelphia feels to be as good as any.

(-9.5) Dallas Cowboys vs. Chicago Bears (-435)
The Bears diced up the Patriots on “Monday Night Football” with a heavy dose of quarterback runs, but it feels like the Cowboys are far better suited to stop the one-dimensional offense. Justin Fields, after all, has been sacked more than any quarterback this season and the Cowboys defense leads the league in pass rush win rate and sacks per game. Additionally, Chicago just traded edge rusher Robert Quinn, showing a fire sale is possible before the deadline and perhaps impacting the locker room. Dallas does have some future value with the Houston Texans still on the schedule.

Teams to avoid
(-2.5) New England Patriots at New York Jets (-136 moneyline)
The Patriots are entering a season-altering spot Sunday in the Meadowlands. Mac Jones is going to start for New England, but given the team’s dud against the Bears, we’re not willing to bet on the Patriots on the road against a defense that has been playing very well. If you really like the matchup, it’s probably worth waiting two weeks when they face off in New England.

(-3) Seattle Seahawks vs. New York Giants (-159)
The Giants continue to enter as the underdog despite winning six of their seven games this season, albeit against a pedestrian schedule. We’re not against using the Seahawks this season given Seattle’s impressive start, but this doesn’t feel like the best spot, especially with a mid-December home game against the Carolina Panthers still on the table.

(-3.5) Minnesota Vikings vs. Arizona Cardinals (-193)
It’s only a matter of time until the Cardinals put it all together on offense, right? This has the makings for a shootout and while Minnesota has impressed thus far, there will be better spots to use the Vikings, especially with how the NFC North has looked thus far.