2023 NFL Weekly Survivor Pool: Week 10 Top Picks & Plays

Welcome to Week 10 and we’re already in the second half of 2023, which is crazy to me that we’re this far into the season when it feels like it just started. Week 9 had us immediately regretting picking an NFL team with Arthur Smith as the head coach, but it feels like only he could lose to a quarterback who had been on the team for five days. The New England Patriots also lost in a 20-17 “not a shootout” shootout. We persist and hope you’re in the hunt and still standing in your Survivor Pool!
We will help you get to the promised land one week at a time with our picks, but in case you’re not familiar with Survivor pools, here’s a quick rundown.
Pick a team that wins in each NFL week. Typically, you choose a team just once, so each selection is essential. Some survivor pools have double-elimination so that you can slip up and still be in the running. Make sure you’re checking out our weekly matchup previews and our Survivor League Strategy in the Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide as guides toward picking the best winners for each week and developing a strategy.
Let’s dive right in with Week 10’s picks!
2023 Survival Pool Picks Record
Week 9: 3-2 (.600)
Overall: 33-12 (.733)
NFL Week 10 DraftKings Odds, Implied Totals, Spreads, and Over/Under
*All lines current as of 11:00 PM ET, 11/7/23, courtesy of Vegas Insider*
NFL Week 10 Survivor Picks
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears may not be a great, good, or even an average NFL team, but one thing is for sure: they’re damn sure better than the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers look abysmal and come into their Thursday Night Football matchup with Chicago as 3.5-point underdogs and with the third-lowest implied point total at 17.5. They also are likely not to have edge rusher Brian Burns either, as he suffered a concussion versus the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9 and is unlikely to make it out of concussion protocol in time for Thursday night.
At the very least, the Bears’ Tyson Bagent looks like a viable quarterback compared to Bryce Young, who the Panthers have to be feeling some buyer’s remorse after selecting Young over C.J. Stroud, who is lighting up worlds with the Texans.
It could be a sweat, but this is likely the only time you can use the Chicago Bears for the rest of the season.
Dallas Cowboys
The chalk of chalk plays, the Cowboys are a massive 16.5-point favorite against the New York Giants, who trot out Tommy DeVito to the wolves on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Nothing about the Giants’ offense exhibits confidence that they can consistently move the ball. They could legitimately score zero points in both matchups this season. Remember, the Giants did lose 40-0 at home against Dallas in Week 1, and this matchup is in Dallas.
The only roadblock to playing Dallas this week is that they have the Carolina Panthers next week, but hey, we’re trying to advance. If you haven’t played the Cowboys, the next three weeks are the best options for the rest of the season, with the NY Giants, at Carolina, and home vs. Washington coming up.
Buffalo Bills
With the Bills tied for the second-highest implied point total (27.25) in the confines of Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, they should be very comfortable handling the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football in the second-to-last island game of Week 10.
Buffalo has hit a lull over their last five games after dominating the Miami Dolphins 48-20 in Week 4. All of their games have been one-score contests, and are due to impose their will on a sub-par opponent like the Broncos. Sure, the Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs into their Week 9 bye last week, but the Bills are the better team here. Vegas thinks so as well, with the Bills 7.5-point favorites at home. It’s easy motivation for the Bills here to reestablish themselves as an AFC power, in case some people forgot.
Other NFL Week 10 Survivor Pool Options
Cincinnati Bengals
The market might be a little more hands-off picking the Bengals after C.J. Stroud’s almost 500-yard day and five touchdowns, but the Bengals are playing their best football of the season with Tee Higgins and, most importantly, Joe Burrow healthy. They could not have Ja'Marr Chase due to a back injury, but this gives off the air of the one Joe Mixon smash game we get each season.
The Bengals are 6.5-point favorites at home against the Texans, who may struggle more than we think with Cincinnati’s defense, and feel like one of the better plays on a slate where the Chiefs, Dolphins, and 49ers are all on bye.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts and Patriots head to Frankfurt, Germany, as former AFC East rivals square off Sunday morning to kick off the slate for Week 10. While the Dolphins and Chiefs was the tasty appetizer and dinner, the bill finally arrived with this game. The Colts are slight 1.5-point favorites, but the Patriots still seem overmatched, as they’ve put up more than 20 points just once this season and haven’t been able to stop most offenses.
I’m trusting Gardner Minshew to hand the ball off to Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss, control the clock, and dominate the Patriots without much threat of an answer from Patriots quarterback Mac Jones and his decimated receiving corps.
Player News
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Rashee Rice has been sentenced to “five years probation and 30 days of jail time that can be served during those five years stemming from his role in a multi-car crash in Dallas.”
As Schefter notes, the NFL can now ramp up its disciplinary process for Rice. That is all but guaranteed to result in a multi-game suspension, though the exact length is unclear. The legal issue appeared to be one for Rice to deal with in 2026, but the suspension is likely going to come down in the 2025 season at this point, hamstringing Rice’s fantasy value as he looks to return from the season-ending knee injury he suffered last year. That will also give Xavier Worthy a path to cement himself as the team’s primary underneath option while Rice is sidelined. Worthy struggled as a deep threat in 2024 but made progress over the second half of the season as the Chiefs transitioned him to a YAC-focused role.
Bears signed No. 62 overall pick DT Shemar Turner to a four-year contract.
The second-round rookies have largely been holding out as a group this year in search of fully guaranteed contracts. It’s unclear if Turner’s deal is fully guaranteed, but his signing, along with a few other contracts getting ironed out, should pave the way for more dominoes to fall. Chicago drafted Turner to be a versatile interior defender for their ascending defense. Turner totaled 10 sacks and three forced fumbles in four seasons at Texas A&M.
Titans signed RB Jordan Mims, formerly of the Saints, to a two-year contract.
The details of the contract haven’t been leaked yet, but a two-year deal suggests Mims is now the favorite for the RB3 job in Tennessee. Mims entered the league as a UDFA with the Bills in 2023 but was cut at the end of training camp. He landed on the Saints’ practice squad and has been called up as a depth piece several times over the past two years. Mims rushed 20 times for 70 yards and added 12 catches for 71 yards in 11 appearances last season. He will likely see most of his work on special teams with the Titans unless something happens to Tony Pollard or Tyjae Spears.
The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt believes WR Josh Reynold is “pretty locked in as the Jets’ No. 2 receiver.”
Rosenblatt noted Reynolds’ instant connection with Justin Fields in early offseason practices. He also made it clear that Allen Lazard isn’t much of a threat to take the job from Reynolds. Second-year wideout Malachi Corley is already on the roster bubble after a disastrous rookie season and a regime change while fourth-round rookie Arian Smith will likely play a part-time role as an outside speedster this year. Reynolds finishing second on the team in routes looks inevitable. He’s not on the redraft radar, but Best Ball sickos may want to take note for their Fields stacks.
Commanders signed EDGE Von Miller, formerly of the Bills.
Miller was a cap casualty of the Bills this offseason as his production did not meet his $17.5 million salary for 2025. The 36-year-old tallied six sacks last season as a rotational pass rusher after an uncharacteristic zero sacks in 2023. He is a Super Bowl winner with the Broncos and Rams and will give it another shot on a one-year deal with a rising Commanders team. An 83.0 PFF grade (No. 11 among edge rushers) last season indicates Miller can still rush the passer in bursts. He will join fellow late-career veteran Bobby Wagner on the front seven of the Commanders defense.
49ers signed No. 43 overall pick DT Alfred Collins to a four-year contract.
Collins signing is notable as the 2025 second-round picks have been in a stand-off from signing due to disputes over contract guarantees. ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes that the 49ers signing their No. 43 overall pick “is expected to trigger multiple second-round signings.” Collins gets a four-year, $10.3 million deal that includes over $9 million guaranteed; 88 percent of his deal is guaranteed, a jump from last year’s No. 43 pick. Houston’s Jayden Higgins and Cleveland’s Carson Schwesinger signed for fully guaranteed deals heading into the second-round stand-off. Now, 29 second-rounders remain unsigned, though Collins’ deal indicates the dominos will fall soon with high contract guarantee numbers.