NFL Week 16 is here and congratulations on making it this far in your survivor pool. Well done. Making survivor pool picks every week can be taxing mentally, so if you’re still here looking to discuss the best survivor pool strategy, then that’s fantastic.

If you’ve been tailing these survivor pool picks, then you already know we hit with all four picks last week and there really weren’t any concerns or sweats for me. Sure, the Saints made it a game when the Commanders failed to produce in the second half, but there wasn’t enough coming out of the New Orleans offense for me to freak out.

 

 

 

The Ravens, Vikings and even the Falcons looked very much in control of their games. Nothing wrong with an “easy” week. I’ll take that any day. Let’s dive into the best survivor pool strategy for Week 16 and start making picks.

Best NFL Survivor Pool Strategy For 2024 NFL Week 16

Strategy-wise? Are we doing anything different? Obviously, if you’re in Circa Survivor you have to be sure to hold back a team or two playing on the Christmas Day slate. That’s not something different as much as it is just a reminder. Otherwise, we can move forward with the best survivor pool strategy. 

We’ll take a look at the points spreads, the Vegas money lines and then see who is at home. We’ve used road teams before, depending on the weekly match-up, but home teams are usually my preference, though this week might be a road week depending on who you have available. I also don’t want weather to factor into the outcome of any team I use for my survivor pool picks, so be sure to always check the weather.

 

 

 

I do want to bring up the concept of “chopping the pot.” There are some who are staunchly against it and I won’t tell them they’re wrong. But that’s not me. Depending on the time of the season, number of teams left and size of the pot, I’m usually in favor of chopping if someone asks. 

You never know what anyone’s financial situation is like and while you may want to win more, you’re never guaranteed wining and perhaps that split helps someone in such a way that it truly makes a difference in their lives. If you’ve made it this far, chances are, you’re turning a profit even with the chop. If everyone else involved is good with the split, I’m not going to be the guy who stands in the group’s way.

Now it’s time to make those NFL Week 16 survivor pool picks!

 

 

 

NFL Survivor Pool Picks For Week 16

Green Bay Packers (-14.5 Home Favorite; -1000 Money Line)

This will certainly be a popular play this week as the Saints will be using Spencer Rattler under center and Alvin Kamara is still nursing a groin injury. We’re still waiting for practice reports, but with it being a Monday night game, you may just need to take that leap of faith that he won’t play. 

Even if he does, the Packers have a stout run defense and should be able to handle anything the Saints try to throw at them. Dome teams coming into the cold Green Bay weather also tips the scales towards the Packers. 

Buffalo Bills (-14 Home Favorite; -1000 Money Line)

Another two-score home-team favorite here and even as a divisional game, everything points to Buffalo winning this one handily. Josh Allen has blossomed even more this season and is receiving a ton of MVP talk. 

Difficult to believe he doesn’t lead the charge here as the Bills continue their fight for home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They have the Jets and Patriots again on their schedule, so they’re second-favorite for this week, knowing we may want to take the Bills either next week or the week after.

 

 

 

Cincinnati Bengals (-7.5 Home Favorite; -400 Money Line)

With the playoffs still in their sight, the Bengals should be pretty amped up for this one against a depleted Browns team that probably just wants to pack it in for the rest of the season. 

Cleveland will start Dorian Thompson-Robinson who may throw fewer picks than Jameis Winston, but he does not give them a better chance to win a potential shootout against a soft Bengals secondary. Joe Burrow will do everything he can to keep the playoff hopes alive and Cincinnati should win handily.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4 Road Favorite; -210 Money Line)

If you still have the Bucs available to you, this is a great match-up for them, even on the road. Their run defense will force Cooper Rush to try and air it out so expect the defense to focus on stopping CeeDee Lamb. 

Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield should have little to no trouble carving up a Dallas secondary that is dealing with injuries and has been giving up more yardage lately, even in games they’ve won against the Panthers and Giants.

 

 

 

Best of luck in Week 16 and I’ll see you for more survivor pool picks and the best survivor pool strategy in Week 17!