NFL Survivor Pool Week 2 strategy: Don't fade the Cardinals, and breaking down every worthy option

Week 1 can always be surprisingly tough for survivor pools, with all 32 teams available to every participant but no real indication of how good each team is. We saw the NFL's top three contenders in the Chiefs, Bengals and Bills all lose, while the Super Bowl favorite in the NFC (Eagles) likely deserved to lose as well. None were all that popular in the Circa Survivor's nearly 10,000-entrant pool thanks to the quality of the opposition in each game, with only 85 entries being eliminated by those three AFC losses.

The most popular selection in Circa Survivor almost eliminated 3,549 more entries, but the Commanders were able to overcome a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter thanks in part to a bad Cardinals fumble that set them up in scoring range. That offensive ineptitude by Arizona is why many people are going to employ a "take the team playing the Cardinals" strategy. That'll probably work most weeks, but when facing an offense that could have problems scoring points, fading the Cardinals is taking on too much risk for a pick that's going to be very popular in your pool, no matter the size. This week, I'm not using the New York Giants despite their matchup against the Cardinals.

The Giants are definitely a contender to score very few points this week with the state of their offensive line, which may or may not have Andrew Thomas at left tackle. The Cardinals defense racked up six sacks and three turnovers against the Commanders, and while you certainly can't expect that every week, their ability to stall out drives could be trouble for a New York team that doesn't seem predicated on hitting big plays and avoiding third down. And unlike with the Commanders, there should be other opportunities to use the Giants when they're hopefully healthier. They face Washington at home in Week 7 (a slate where the clear play in the Seahawks looked awful to start the year) travel to Vegas in Week 9 (where using them would free up the Browns to use another week), and host the Rams in Week 17, when options will be dwindling for everyone. 

Why listen to me? Well, 535-450-30 (+3532) on ATS picks over the last six years and even better with my top five picks each week, going 376-290-24 (56.5%) over the last eight years in the Westgate SuperContest.  While this doesn't involve picking against the spread, I do believe by applying the strategies I've developed to have long-term success on those picks to survivor pools, we'll be in the best position to outlast the competition.

What are the best options to use in survivor pools in Week 2? And which teams should be saved to use later in the season? ... Join SportsLine right now to see NFL Survivor Pool strategy from the expert who's 535-450-30 on ATS picks from 2017-22, returning $3,532 to $100 players!