2023 NFL Weekly Survivor Pool: Week 13 Top Picks & Plays
Welcome to Week 13 here and as far as our Survivor picks from Week 12? Well, the week didn’t start great, with the Lions dropping their annual Thanksgiving tilt to the Green Bay Packers at home. Besides that, each of our remaining four picks came through, with the Cowboys, Dolphins, Broncos, and Titans each winning comfortably. That’s what we like to see, so we hope you’re still alive in your pool! This season has gone by so fast, so we’re running out of teams to place our hopes on. Adding in a six-team bye week doesn’t exactly help matters here, but these are the cards we’re dealt.
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 13’s picks!
2023 Survival Pool Picks Record
Week 12: 4-1 (.800)
Overall: 44-16 (.733)
NFL Week 13 DraftKings Odds, Implied Totals, Spreads, and Over/Under
*All lines current as of 3:00 PM ET, 11/28/23, courtesy of Vegas Insider*
NFL Week 13 Survivor Picks
Jacksonville Jaguars
Hosting the moribund Cincinnati Bengals, who look like they’re on life support after losing Joe Burrow for the season, the Jacksonville Jaguars are 8.5-point favorites on Monday Night Football. While the Jaguars have had their offensive issues, they’re rounding into form at the right time with two straight wins over divisional opponents in the Titans and Texans.
The Bengals look like “Midwest New York Jets” right now, with Jake Browning at quarterback having to throw balls in the vicinity of Ja'Marr Chase. They’re a shell of their former selves, and they’ve lost three straight games to the Texans, Ravens, and Steelers. They’re about to add a fourth consecutive loss, as it’s unlikely Browning will be able to keep up with the Jaguars. Even if Cincinnati wanted to commit heavier to the run with Joe Mixon, the Jaguars boast a top-five run defense that allows just 87.4 rushing yards per game. Take the Jaguars this week; they haven’t been a trustworthy team this season, but we’re seeing the best version of them so far this season to continue their run.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Much has been said about the “fired coach narrative” over the years, where the team who fired their previous head coach gets a boost and springs an upset the following week. Sure, that makes sense; these are professional football players with a ton of pride. I just cannot imagine the Carolina Panthers, with this group of players, springing an upset on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’s not as though the Bucs are some world-beating team — they’re 4-7 despite being just one game back from the NFC South lead. But compared to the Panthers, the Bucs might as well be the Harlem Globetrotters. The Bucs host the rudderless ship known as the Panthers as 5.5-point favorites, and the Panthers somehow are NOT the lowest implied point total of the Week 13 slate. That would be the Bengals, who we mentioned earlier.
Picking the Buccaneers isn’t with supreme confidence in their ability, though they can move the ball with Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Rachaad White, and company. It’s a clear indictment of the Panthers' talent (or lack thereof). If you must choose a team in the middle of the pack, the Bucs are a solid choice this week.
Los Angeles Chargers
This is a spot for the Chargers that, on paper, feels pretty gross despite their opponents’ shortcomings. The Chargers fly cross-country to Foxboro to play the New England Patriots. They’re still six-point favorites in this matchup with the Patriots, and they don’t know who their quarterback will be. They still may not know until pregame warmups!
But this is the only time you can comfortably play the Chargers for the rest of the season.
After this week, the Chargers finish 2023 with the Broncos, Raiders, Bills, Broncos, and Chiefs, so there’s no gimme or even a glimmer of hope in any of those matchups. If there is one thing we do know, it’s that the Chargers can put up points, and the Patriots have 13 combined points in their last two games. I’m willing to put some trust in the Chargers to win this game.
Other NFL Week 13 Survivor Pool Options
Miami Dolphins
Kudos if you’ve held the Miami Dolphins this long into the season. You can use the Dolphins in a primo matchup against the Washington Commanders. While the Commanders are at home, the Dolphins are still 9.5-point favorites heading to FedEx Field in Landover, MD. The Commanders’ defense commands zero respect, as they’re 30th in passing defense and have been torched by Dak Prescott and, of course, Tommy DeVito.
Now, that defense sees Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Tua Tagovailoa and company across from them. Yikes. If you still have the Dolphins available and need a win, this is the free square of the week.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Rejuvenated after firing Matt Canada, the Pittsburgh Steelers put up 421 net yards on offense, breaking a 58-game streak in the regular season of 400 or fewer yards dating back to Week 2 of the 2020 season. Could they do it again this week at home against a Cardinals team flying to the east coach for the 1:00 PM ET start? The Cardinals have one of the worst defenses in the NFL and rank 31st in opponent EPA (expected points added) per play.
Their offense hasn’t been much better despite the return of Kyler Murray. He’s been solid and a clear upgrade of Clayton Tune and Joshua Dobbs, but the Cardinals aren’t markedly better. They still carry one of the lower implied point totals of the slate at 17.25 points. The sporadic offense and Pittsburgh’s swarming defense could come into play here to make the lives of Kenny Pickett, new offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner, and quarterbacks coach and new play-caller Mike Sullivan much easier.
The Steelers haven’t been trustworthy, but this is as good of a spot as any to pull the trigger on Pittsburgh at home as 5.5-point favorites.
Player News
Steelers signed LS Tucker Addington, formerly of the Texans.
The veteran long snapper most recently played for the Texans but has also seen stints with the Patriots, Dolphins, Cowboys, Jaguars, and Commanders during his three-year NFL career. He slides in behind Christian Kuntz on the team’s depth chart and should provide valuable experience at one of the game’s most underrated positions.
Russell Wilson said he chose to play with the Giants because of WR Malik Nabers.
“I came here because of him,” said Wilson about Nabers during a panel at Fanatics Fest over the weekend. “I really wanted to play with someone who is special like him.” As a rookie in 2024, Nabers was targeted 170 times, which was second-most among NFL wide receievers. He also led the Giants with 109 receptions for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns. Wilson, who will turn 37 years old during the 2025 season, had only one player with 100/1000/7 in a single season (Tyler Lockett in 2020). Wilson signed with the Giants in March following a one-year stint with the Steelers.
The Athletic’s Zak Keefer says we should “look for more emphasis on explosion” from the Chiefs’ passing game this season.
As Keefer notes in the article, Andy Reid “made a point of it all spring” for the Chiefs to “get back to pushing the ball deep down the field.” Per PFF, since 2021, Patrick Mahomes has ranked 21st or lower in ADOT (min. 300 dropbacks), but finished sixth in ADOT in 2018 when he broke out for 5,097-50-12 on his way to winning his first MVP. A lot has changed since Mahomes last aired it out at a high rate. Most notably is the departure of Tyreek Hill in 2022 and Travis Kelce no longer being the spry, explosive playmaker we saw several seasons ago. The Chiefs hope the return of Hollywood Brown and a second year of work for Xavier Worthy will lead to more explosive plays next season, which could spell big things for fantasy managers who decide to take shots on pieces of an offense that ranked 15th in scoring last season.
The Athletic’s James Boyd believes Daniel Jones “has already taken a significant lead” in the Colts’ QB competition.
Jones and Anthony Richardson are supposed to compete for the QB1 job in camp. While Richardson recently said he expects to be ready to go by camp, an offseason shoulder surgery has slowed his progress for the upcoming season, and opened the door for Jones to work almost exclusively with the first team offense. Jones has struggled to look like the player who was taken No. 6 overall by the Giants in 2019, but Richardson’s underwhelming performance in 2024 (1,813-8-12) that was headlined by a 47.7 completion percentage was far worse than any single season of Jones’ six-year career. The Colts will string this competition along for as long as they can — assuming Richardson is healthy enough to play in camp — but Richardson is well behind Jones at this point.
Jets owner Woody Johnson has agreed to purchase a 43 percent stake in Premier League club Crystal Palace.
Johnson will buy his stake from American businessman Jon Textor. According to reports, the deal is worth $254 million pending approval from the Premier League and Women’s Super League. The move will make Johnson partners with two other NFL owners as Commanders principal owner Josh Harris and minority owner David Blitzer own the majority stake in the team along with Steve Parish. The 78-year-old Johnson, who served as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2017 to 2021, previously attempted to buy fellow Premier League club Chelsea in 2022, but was unsuccessful.
Jaguars signed No. 2 overall pick WR/CB Travis Hunter to a four-year contract.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Hunter’s $46.65 million contract is fully guaranteed and his "$30.57 million signing bonus is paid entirely upfront. The latter aspect makes him “the first non-quarterback not drafted first overall to receive his entire signing bonus upfront.” Securing such a deal makes sense for a player who could lead his team in overall snaps this season. Hunter, 22, has practiced primarily with the Jacksonville offense this offseason, and Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said Hunter has the “capacity” to play an entire NFL game. “He does not tire,” Gladstone said. “He’s got a spark, he’s got the energy, the capacity from a physical standpoint to be able to be able to do it is certainly there.” Hunter will start the season as the team’s No. 2 wideout behind Brian Thomas, Jr.