One of the most popular ways to tout your football knowledge is in a survivor pool. Each week, you select a team to win their game to survive as long as possible. The catch is you can only choose a team once, so it's imperative you think ahead when selecting.
The calendar has turned to November, and the playoff races are starting to heat up. This is one of the tightest weeks as far as spreads across the NFL. However, there are a few spots that provide strong survivor plays in Week 11. Let's take a look at some strong NFL survivor pool advice and picks.
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Week 11 NFL Survivor Pool Advice & Picks
New England Patriots
The Patriots erased pretty much any doubt left that they're for real. New England has opened up a two-game lead in the division and gets perhaps the most advantageous game on the whole schedule this week as it hosts the New York Jets. It's been seven straight wins for the Patriots, and they've beaten some fairly solid opponents along the way. Buffalo, Tampa and a .500 Carolina squad are all in the mix for the playoffs, and New England dispensed all of them with relative ease.
Drake Maye started receiving MVP chants on the road in Tampa on Sunday. For good reason. His playmaking ability with his arm and his feet has propelled the Patriots to where they stand now, but I think it's the defense that could shine in this matchup. The Jets' offense has been nothing short of dreadful. They've put up a league-worst 143.8 yards per game through the air, and Justin Fields’ 35.7 quarterback rating is one of the lowest amongst qualifying passers.
If the Jets want to try to move the ball on the ground, they won't find much success against the top-ranked run defense by yardage in New England. The Patriots have ridden that defense to the top of the AFC East, and I expect they should shut the Jets’ offense down completely on Thursday. It's an early week game, so anything can happen, but this is such a mismatch that it's too good to pass up.
Baltimore Ravens
To say the Ravens got off to a slow start would be an understatement. Baltimore started the season 1-5, and people wondered if this was the last year for John Harbaugh with the team he won a Super Bowl with. However, the schedule turned around, and so did the Ravens. They'll look for a fourth straight win, and it should come against a bad Browns team in Cleveland.
Sure, this is a divisional road game, and that's always scary in survivor, but the first matchup between these two teams ended in a three-score win for the Ravens. That was a Browns offense with Joe Flacco. But since moving to Dillon Gabriel, the team has not looked good. They're just 1-4 in those games with a win over a Dolphins team that was reeling.
Divisional road games are tricky when it comes to survivor, which is why I would recommend the Patriots if they're still available. However, if you miss a Thursday cutoff or have already used New England, Baltimore is a solid option that can be relied on to get the job done.
