The first week of the 2024 NFL season was as exciting as most of us hoped, with epic battles and even a few surprises. If your participation in the survival contest remains active, you are probably somewhere in the process of deciding which team to select for Week 2.
- NFL Survivor Week 2 Draft Grid: Top and Most Popular Picks
- NFL Survivors Week 3 Draft Grid: Key Takeaways
- Best NFL Free Survivor Pools in 2024
- DraftKings – $1 Million Pro Football Survivor FREE
- CBS Sports Football Selection
- ESPN Eliminator Challenge presented by ESPN Bet
- USA Today Pro Football Survivor Pool 2024-25
- Yahoo! Survival Football Challenge
- Pro Football Survivor Lines
- NFL Survivor Pools: Strategies, Tips, and Tricks
Don’t worry, we are here for you. Jugo Mobile And Pool Genius have teamed up to help you make informed decisions about survivor picks throughout the season. This column will highlight the teams that rank among the most popular picks of the week. And the teams that PoolGenius lists with the highest probability of winning.
GET YOUR PICKS NOW: PoolGenius NFL Survivor Picks
The best name in survivor pool advice and pick’em strategy, Pool Genius is a sports data site that is part of TeamRankings. Its mission is to provide you with the statistical information you need to succeed as a bettor, fantasy player and/or pool participant.
Today we go to the grid. Every week, PG updates its NFL Survivor Data GridIt ranks each team scheduled for the week based on PG (win probability) odds, pick popularity, etc. This information, along with the NFL Survivor Season Planner — are invaluable resources for serious candidates looking to develop a season-long strategy.
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Let’s jump right into the NFL Survivor Picks Grid for Week 2 of the 2024 regular season, highlighting the teams with the best PoolGenius odds as well as the most popular picks of the week. Good luck, have fun, and I hope you all stay alive to see next week!
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NFL Survivor Week 2 Draft Grid: Top and Most Popular Picks
All odds and data courtesy of PoolGenius.
| Team | PG odds | Popularity |
| 49ers vs Rams | 72% | 4% |
| Bengals vs Commanders | 72% | 13% |
| Jets vs Patriots (V) | 70% | 10% |
| Seahawks vs Dolphins | 70% | 3% |
| Buccaneers vs Broncos | 69% | 25% |
| Browns vs Giants | 69% | 14% |
| Raiders vs Panthers | 65% | 19% |
| Bills vs Jaguars | 64% | 5% |
| Titans vs Packers | 61% | 0% |
| Chiefs at Falcons | 61% | 2% |
| Lions face Cardinals | 58% | 1% |
| Texans vs Vikings | 55% | 1% |
| Steelers vs Chargers | 54% | 0% |
| Saints vs Eagles | 53% | 0% |
| Ravens vs Cowboys | 51% | 0% |
| Bears vs Colts | 50% | 0% |
| Colts vs Bears | 50% | 1% |
| Cowboys vs Ravens | 49% | 0% |
| Eagles vs. Saints | 47% | 0% |
| Chargers vs. Steelers | 46% | 0% |
| Vikings vs Texans | 45% | 0% |
| Cardinals vs Lions | 42% | 0% |
| Falcons vs Chiefs | 39% | 0% |
| Packers vs. Titans | 39% | 1% |
| Jaguars vs. Bills | 36% | 0% |
| Panthers vs Raiders | 35% | 0% |
| Giants vs Browns | 31% | 0% |
| Broncos vs Buccaneers | 31% | 0% |
| Dolphins vs Seahawks | 30% | 0% |
| Patriots vs. Jets (left) | 30% | 0% |
| Commanders of the Bengals | 28% | 0% |
| Rams vs 49ers | 28% | 0% |
NFL Survivors Week 3 Draft Grid: Key Takeaways
The first thing that comes to mind is that PoolGenius, like the bookmakers, seems to think the favorites are going to bounce back this week. No fewer than eight underdogs won outright last week, decimating a ton of entries in the survivor pool that were still standing after the Bengals’ Week 1 dud against the Patriots.
There are more teams in the 65-72% win range than last week, which should reassure the minority that hasn’t been eliminated yet. There are a fair few lopsided matchups, some good home-field advantages, and plenty of strong teams in must-win situations that almost certainly won’t get away with it this week.
The most popular pick of the week — the Bucs vs. the Broncos — accounts for a quarter of all picks in the survivor pool Friday afternoon. That gives us pause for thought for a number of reasons. For one, Denver has a solid secondary defense and Tampa has relied heavily on the pass. Second, Sean Payton — and the Broncos, for that matter — historically travel well. Consider staying away from the crowd here.
The 49ers (vs. LAR) and Bengals (vs. WAS) have the best odds to win according to PoolGenius, which makes sense given that the Rams are decimated by injuries and Washington has a rookie QB facing a hungry and angry Joe Burrow. With their home field, better health, and more playmakers, expect San Francisco and Cincinnati to both win.
The Raiders (over CAR) are the second most popular choice, but again, there are some concerns. Head coach Dave Canales demoted second-year QB Bryce Young after a disastrous season, and now Carolina is giving the ball to veteran Andy Dalton. With Canales’ track record of guiding veteran QBs to Pro Bowls, this seems like forbidden territory.
It’s hard not to like the Browns at home against the Giants. Eli Manning on the outside against Cleveland’s Myles Garrett-led defense seems like a recipe for a ton of sacks and turnovers. New York is averaging 12 points and 272 total yards per game so far this season, and the Vikings and Commanders are softies compared to the Browns.
The winless Titans, against the (likely) Jordan Love-less Packers in Nashville, also look appealing. Tennessee has arguably the NFL’s most underrated pass rush, and they won’t be making former Titan Malik Willis laugh.
Best NFL Free Survivor Pools in 2024
One of the cool features of PoolGenius is that for each survivor pool you participate in, you can customize the league settings (pool size, number of personal entries, etc.) to fully optimize your winning choices.
Every pool is different, so naturally, the strategy can change from one pool to another, even within the same week. Some pools even allow you to join mid-season, so be sure to check them out.
DraftKings – $1 Million Pro Football Survivor FREE
CBS Sports Football Selection
ESPN Eliminator Challenge presented by ESPN Bet
One of the most popular free survival contests, ESPN’s Eliminator Challenge, offers a grand prize that’s five times larger than most of its competitors. And that’s not all: you can also create up to 25 entries! Talk about a guaranteed traffic generator! The only downside is that your odds of winning will be slim given the sheer volume of this contest this year. But if you can stay on top—and even compete all the way to Week 10—imagine the rollercoaster of emotions that will be all season long!
USA Today Pro Football Survivor Pool 2024-25
One of the most popular bets, the USA Today Survivor Pool features a fantastic $5,000 first prize. The participant who survives the longest with the highest point differential wins the grand prize. What do we mean by point differential? It’s a built-in tiebreaker that reduces the chances of having multiple winners at the end of the season. The point differentials of your selections are tallied throughout the season, and the survivor with the highest point differential wins any end-of-season tie.
Yahoo! Survival Football Challenge
Yahoo, another big name in free sports challenges with prizes, offers one of the most popular NFL survival challenges on the internet. Sign up to join the Survival Football Challenge group, join a friend’s existing group, or create your own private group to play with family and friends. Custom contests allow you to play with a strike system so teams get a second or third chance if they make a bad call.
Pro Football Survivor Lines
Another free contest with a $5,000 grand prize, The Lines’ Pro Football Survivor is run by Catena Media-affiliated betting site The Lines. The contest is expected to boost visibility for the site, which has less brand awareness than the aforementioned power players in the industry.
NFL Survivor Pools: Strategies, Tips, and Tricks
Check out our full breakdown of NFL Survivor Pool Strategy, courtesy of our partners at PoolGenius. Looking for something simpler? We’ve got you covered right here.
Develop a plan at the start of the season
Decide whether your entry will be based entirely on your gut and instinctual decisions or 100% research. Plan out your picks for the first few weeks, or maybe even your picks for the entire 18 weeks of the regular season. You can never be too prepared for a group of NFL survivors.
Pivot when necessary
Like Ross trying to carry a couch up a narrow staircase in “Friends,” sometimes you have to change course. A team you thought at the beginning of the season was a sure thing to win in Week 4 might lose its starting quarterback to injury or fire its head coach. Don’t limit yourself to a plan, strategy or 18-week list of picks. Just like in fantasy and betting, sometimes we have to change our attack order.
Don’t always follow the crowd
Sheep are often slaughtered in betting, and the same thing often happens in pick’em and survivor pools. Being slightly different from the crowd not only makes for funny stories, it’s often the difference between an early exit and a real contender for entry.
Have fun with this
Remember that the odds of winning, right from the start, are statistically very low. Think of survivor prize pools as a free scratch-off ticket where you can improve your odds with a few educated guesses. But if you lose, why worry? You were expected to fail anyway, and the L cost you nothing. Sports – and any competition related to watching sports – should be fun, above all.
GET YOUR PICKS NOW: PoolGenius NFL Survivor Picks
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