NFL Week 18 survivor pool picks: $18 million on the line, plus rankings for every format

Even though only half of the remaining Circa Survivor field were able to take a favorite on Christmas, nine of the 10 made it through to the main slate as four entries lined up to back Max Brosmer against the Lions and were proven correct. Unfortunately, one of those four lucky survivors was among the three eliminated when the Bucs fell to a Dolphins team that looked finished the previous week, reducing the field chasing the prize pool of more than $18 million to just six survivors.

Week 18 may be the toughest slate to navigate all season, and that's including the limited holiday slates that saw a combined five upsets in seven games. That's because rest and motivation factors throw spreads into chaos and make it difficult to know who is going to show up with major implications for large NFL survivor pools. We just have to look to last yea when the Panthers went on the road to upset the Falcons in overtime as nine-point underdogs, while the Bears won outright in regulation as 10-point underdogs in Green Bay.

We could have as many as four double-digit favorites this week as the Broncos and Patriots compete for the No. 1 seed while the Texans and Jaguars try to win the AFC South crown, with all four teams at home and facing either teams in the lower tiers or in the Chargers' case, resting starters. Of course, in order to use any of those teams in survivor, you have to have them available, so it's possible we see overrepresentation from a team like the Vikings a second week in a row, as they are moderate favorites against a Packers team resting players.

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We'll break down our approach to the final week of NFL survivor pools and give our rankings for all the usable options.

Why listen to me? I'm 718-623-37 and up more than 32 units on ATS picks over the last eight years and even better with my top five picks each week, going 464-379-27 (55%) over the last 10 years in the Las Vegas ATS contests. While survivor 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 this season.

In Week 18, I've ranked several options for both small pool and large pool participants, weighing whether it's worth using what might be the consensus play or digging a little deeper into the options.

So which NFL survivor picks should you make for the 2025 NFL season, and which Week 18 pick could separate you from the pack? ... Join SportsLine right now to see NFL Survivor Pool 2025 strategy from the expert who's 718-623-37 on ATS picks from 2017 to 2024, returning more than 32 units!

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