The 2016 football season is upon us, and that means all sorts of options for exercising our skill as football prognosticators. People will take part in fantasy football and pick ‘em contests, but Survivor pools are growing in popularity. For those new to the contest, a Survivor pool involves picking one team each week that you think will win. If your team wins in Week 1, you can make a pick in Week 2. If your team wins in Week 2, you can make a pick in Week 3, and so on. The catch is that you cannot pick a team twice. You could use a heavy favorite in Week 1, but that precludes you from using them later in the season.
There is plenty of strategy in determining which team you will take each week, and SB Nation is here to help. We have experts providing rankings for each week, and then some thoughts on weekly strategy. First up, we have a consensus ranking of all 32 teams, and which is most likely to win this week. That is followed by each writer making a pick, some reasoning for the pick, and then some alternatives to consider.
| Rank | Team | Opp. | JG | ZS | DG | SK |
| 1 | New England | @ PIT | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Cincinnati | vs. CLE | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | Atlanta | vs. SD | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | Buffalo | @ MIA | 4 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
| 5 | Minnesota | @ PHI | 7 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 6 | Denver | vs. HOU | 9 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| 7 | Kansas City | vs. NO | 5 | 11 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | Green Bay | vs. CHI | 12 | 10 | 10 | 3 |
| 9 | Baltimore | @ NYJ | 6 | 6 | 9 | 16 |
| 10 | Jacksonville | vs. OAK | 10 | 3 | 20 | 13 |
| 11 | NY Giants | @ LA | 13 | 16 | 11 | 9 |
| 12 | Seattle | @ ARI | 11 | 12 | 8 | 19 |
| 13 | Tennessee | vs. IND | 14 | 17 | 12 | 11 |
| 14 | Tampa Bay | @ SF | 8 | 13 | 26 | 10 |
| 15 | Washington | @ DET | 15 | 15 | 14 | 17 |
| 16 | Arizona | vs. SEA | 20 | 13 | 19 | 12 |
| 17 | Detroit | vs. WAS | 16 | 20 | 15 | 14 |
| 18 | Chicago | @ GB | 19 | 4 | 18 | 28 |
| 19 | Indianapolis | @ TEN | 17 | 19 | 13 | 20 |
| 20 | Los Angeles | vs. NYG | 18 | 18 | 17 | 22 |
| 21 | Oakland | @ JAC | 21 | 14 | 22 | 18 |
| 22 | NY Jets | vs. BAL | 25 | 27 | 23 | 15 |
| 23 | Houston | @ DEN | 22 | 25 | 16 | 29 |
| 24 | New Orleans | @ KC | 26 | 21 | 21 | 25 |
| 25 | Philadelphia | vs. MIN | 24 | 22 | 27 | 23 |
| 26 | San Francisco | vs. TB | 23 | 29 | 24 | 21 |
| 27 | Miami | vs. BUF | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 |
| 28 | San Diego | @ ATL | 28 | 23 | 29 | 26 |
| 29 | Cleveland | @ CIN | 29 | 24 | 30 | 30 |
| 30 | Pittsburgh | vs. NE | 30 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
Zach Senvisky
Minnesota Vikings over Philadelphia Eagles: My pick other than the Patriots this week is going to be the Minnesota Vikings. They'll travel to Philadelphia for a matchup against rookie Carson Wentz, who is coming off of a rough loss to Washington last week. The Eagles surrendered five sacks to a not very good Washington defensive line and the 10-game suspension of right tackle Lane Johnson looks like it’s going to be a really big problem. Minnesota’s defense is as elite as the Broncos' was last season and I think they are going to eat the rookie Wentz alive. Look for the Vikings coming off of a bye week to beat down on the Eagles and cruise to an easy win.
Scott Kaliska
Cincinnati Bengals over Cleveland Browns: Cincinnati cannot afford to lose many more games this season. They're already in a hole at 2-4 and need to win the ones they're heavily favored in like this. Playing at home should really help. The Bengals have won four of the last five in the Battle of Ohio. Another reason is the many injuries Cleveland is dealing with. The Browns may be seriously shorthanded this week. My secondary picks would be Denver and Green Bay. They're both playing at home against teams with confidence issues. The Broncos and Packers have questions of their own but their defenses will seize the day. I see the potential for these games to be over by halftime.
Derek Gordon
Minnesota Vikings over Philadelphia Eagles: I did not survive. The Dolphins' upset over the Steelers last week took me out, but I return to offer a few picks that may work for the remaining of you still alive. I really like the Vikings this week. They are coming off a bye and Carson Wentz, while playing very well, is still a rookie. Minnesota was able to handle Carolina on the road and I don’t think the Eagles offense will present too many problems for them on Sunday.
Jeff Goldberg
Kansas City Chiefs over New Orleans Saints: When people in Survivor leagues talk about future value, it's weeks like Week 7 that they're talking about. If you're like me, you already used New England, which means despite what appears to be a cakewalk scenario against the Ben-less Steelers, the Patriots are not available to me. I burned that future value two weeks ago when I took New England against Cleveland. Ironically, my second choice that week was Pittsburgh. Too bad I didn't flip that script.
So that said, this is one of those white-knuckle weeks where there are no real clear-cut choices. Cincinnati is probably the next best of the bunch after the Patriots, but maybe you used the Bengals against Miami.
Decisions, decisions. One pick that could be worth pursuing is Tampa Bay against San Francisco. The return of Colin Kaepernick did little to dissuade the notion that the 49ers are like the Browns in the "always pick against them" category. It would be great if Doug Martin were a lock to play, as the 49ers run defense is a disaster.
Atlanta at home against San Diego is probably a good call. But my personal favorite this week is Kansas City at home against the Saints. Drew Brees just isn't the same away from Coors, er, the Superdome, and the Chiefs are making that Sunday night stinker against the Steelers look like an outlier. But check their schedule. That's a team, unlike the Bucs, that probably has legit future value.