2023 NFL Weekly Survivor Pool: Week 15 Top Picks & Plays
It was a tough week with many upsets, including the Packers losing to the Tommy DeVito-led Giants and Zach Wilson becoming a real boy against a Texans team that lost C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins in that game. We need to dust ourselves off and keep moving into Week 15, where we’ll have full 16-game slates for the rest of the season now that bye weeks are done. Let’s get it!
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 15’s picks!
2023 Survival Pool Picks Record
Week 14: 2-3 (.400)
Overall: 49-21 (.700)
NFL Week 15 DraftKings Odds, Implied Totals, Spreads, and Over/Under
*All lines current as of 11:00 PM ET, 12/12/23, courtesy of Vegas Insider*
NFL Week 15 Survivor Picks
Los Angeles Rams
Washington’s defense is horrendous, bordering on offensive. We can use that to our advantage with the Rams, as they’re 6.5-point favorites at home against the Commanders. Washington is giving up the most points in the NFL (30.4) and is dead last in yards per attempt allowed, yards allowed, and touchdowns allowed. Matthew Stafford has three touchdowns or more in his last three games, and with Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and Kyren Williams keeping defenses honest, it’s hard not to back the Rams here at home.
There haven’t been a lot of spots here to use the Rams this season, but this is a good spot for Los Angeles as they look to keep pace at the periphery of the NFC playoff picture.
Cincinnati Bengals
Nothing is safe anymore, especially if you’ve exhausted favorites in your run thus far in your Survivor pool. The Bengals may not feel great to use, but Jake Browning has been pretty decent in the last couple of games, and Cincinnati is a 3.5-point favorite at home against the Vikings, who trot out Nick Mullens as their starter.
While Justin Jefferson has come out to say he’s playing on Saturday against the Bengals, he will be banged up after leaving the game with a chest injury. Alexander Mattison may also miss Week 15, shifting this game toward Cincinnati’s advantage even more.
The Bengals aren’t sexy, but they’re playing much better football and are clearly in a better way right now than the Vikings, who are playing quarterback roulette and may also be without their top running back and wide receiver.
Atlanta Falcons
Depending on the Atlanta Falcons to keep the Carolina Panthers free square is undoubtedly a dicey proposition, but look: the Panthers are the worst team in football and have not put a game together where they were competent on offense since the one game Bryce Young missed, and Andy Dalton moved the ball.
Despite the Panthers being at home, the Falcons have the clear talent and coaching advantage here as they should ground and pound and take to the air with Drake London and Kyle Pitts. Somehow, the Falcons tossed out 394 air yards as a team — seventh highest in Week 14.
The Falcons should be able to handle the worst team in the NFL on the road that has scored the third-lowest total points this season.
Other NFL Week 15 Survivor Pool Options
Kansas City Chiefs
While the Kansas City Chiefs have lost three of their last four games, seeing the New England Patriots across from them could be the cure that ails them. One thing about the Patriots? They can’t score. Like, not even a little bit. They’ve averaged 8.5 points per game in their last four games, including a 21-point “outburst” in Week 14 to upset the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Chiefs are still an almost 10-point favorite on the road against New England, who sports the lowest implied point total of the Week 15 slate at 13.75. Do you know how bad your offense has to be to get a 13.75 implied point total at home? The Chiefs should get back on track here in Foxboro against the Patriots in a must-win game to get some momentum for the playoffs.
Miami Dolphins
This is last call to use the Miami Dolphins, as their remaining schedule has Dallas, Baltimore, and Buffalo left after facing the Jets in Week 15. Do we believe Zach Wilson has turned a corner after putting up a massive performance against the Texans in Week 14? I answer that question with a question: do we have any reason to believe that the Week 14 Zach Wilson is for real?
The Dolphins are favored by more than a touchdown at home and should roll after being upset by the Titans on Monday Night Football. They can’t afford to drop a second-consecutive game against a subpar opponent.
Player News
Jaguars signed TE Quintin Morris, formerly of the Bills, to a one-year contract.
Morris is purely a blocking tight end. He caught just 15 passes during his three years with the Bills, though he did manage to find the end zone three times. Morris will back up Brenton Strange in Jacksonville.
Ravens signed Derrick Henry to a two-year, $30 million contract extension.
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Henry is the first running back over the age of 30 to make $15 million per year. Henry hit the open market at the peak of the “running backs don’t matter” discourse and signed a measly two-year, $16 million deal with the Ravens last offseason. He spent the 2025 season stuffing nerds in lockers with 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns on 325 attempts. The monstrous season more than earned him a raise and the Ravens knew the assignment. Rapoport noted that Henry wants to finish his career in Baltimore and the extension will give him the opportunity to do so.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reports Packers C Elgton Jenkins is skipping offseason workouts for contract reasons.
Jenkins is being moved to center ahead of the 2025 season. He is a left guard by trade but has also spent time at both tackle spots during his six years in Green Bay. The Packers signed him to a four-year, $68 million extension in 2022 that runs through 2026. The deal initially made him a highly-paid guard. It now has him as one of the league’s most expensive centers. The Packers could save $20 million by cutting Jenkins next offseason, something they would likely do unless Jenkins is immediately one of the league’s best centers. Jenkins, in turn, is almost certainly looking to up his guarantees on the final two years of the contract. Though, as Demovsky points out, the Packers rarely adjust contracts this far from their expiration, Jenkins could be the exception to the rule.
Dak Prescott said George Pickens is “more than a 50-50 catcher.”
Prescott in a Wednesday morning radio interview was effusive in his praise of Pickens, who was traded last week from the Steelers to Dallas in exchange for draft compensation. “You put the ball anywhere in his vicinity, very strong hands,” Prescott said of Pickens. “He’s more than a 50-50 catcher. ... I’m excited for him. I know that we need some help at that position.” Pickens, 24, has 2,841 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns over three NFL seasons and is widely expected to see more single coverage in Dallas than he did as the unquestioned No. 1 wideout in Pittsburgh. Opposing coverage units won’t be able to shade safeties toward his side of the field with CeeDee Lamb threatening the middle of the field. Pickens shapes up as a volatile WR2/3 in 2025.
The Lions will play the Vikings on Christmas Day.
The Week 17 matchup between longtime NFC North rivals will be available exclusively on Netflix. Coming off a devastating Divisional Round loss to Washington last January, the Lions will be prominently featured by the league in 2025. Jared Goff and the Lions beat Minnesota twice during the 2024 regular season: A 31-29 Week 7 victory in Minnesota and a 31-9 Week 18 drubbing in Detroit. Goff combined to throw for 511 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in those games. Justin Jefferson, meanwhile, was limited to ten catches for 131 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings’ 2024 games against Detroit.
The Eagles will face the Chiefs in Week 2.
The NFL’s trickle of 2025 schedule news includes a Super Bowl rematch in Kansas City, where Patrick Mahomes and company will look for a little revenge after getting bulldozed by the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, 40-22. Philadelphia’s elite defense held Mahomes to a mere 226 yards on 32 pass attempts, with much of that production coming in fourth quarter garbage time. Jalen Hurts threw of two scores and ran in another as Saquon Barkley was held in check to the tune of 57 scoreless yards on 23 carries. If the Chiefs are to get back at the Eagles in Week 2, they’ll have to do a far better job of protecting Mahomes.