One of the most popular ways to tout your football knowledge is by playing in a survivor pool. Each week, you select a team to win their game with the goal of surviving as long as possible. The catch is you can only choose a team once, so it's imperative you think ahead when selecting. This NFL season has been ripe for upsets. Week 6 started with a massive upset as the Giants defeated the Eagles and continued with big upsets and close calls all weekend. If you've been fortunate enough to survive this long in your survivor pool, here is our top NFL survivor pool advice and picks for Week 7.
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Week 7 NFL Survivor Pool Advice & Picks
Kansas City Chiefs
After a 0-2 start to the season, the Chiefs are looking to be all the way back. They've won three of their last four, with a win on Sunday night over the Lions. The Kansas City defense held the high-powered Detroit offense to just 17 points with 0-for-2 efficiency on fourth down. Meanwhile, the offense has continued to perk up with a third straight game of 28+ points.
The Chiefs will host division rival Las Vegas on Sunday. The Raiders have started the season 2-4, but their wins came against the Patriots in Week 1 and a win last week over Tennessee, which resulted in them firing head coach Brian Callahan. The Raiders have struggled this season, particularly on offense. With just 17.2 points per game on the season, only the Titans and Browns have scored less this season.
The Chiefs are finally hitting their stride, and the Raiders will be the unfortunate recipients on Sunday. The Chiefs won both matchups last year, although both games ended in one-score outcomes. Division matchups always make me a little nervous, but Kansas City is such a big favorite in this one. I'm confident they can get the win even if they don't cover the spread. And with a really tough schedule coming up, this is a prime spot to take Kansas City.
Pittsburgh Steelers
If Kansas City isn't your style, I have other strong options. Heading into Week 7, the Pittsburgh Steelers, led by Aaron Rodgers, are looking like the class of the AFC North. They'll be coming off a short week to take on the Bengals in Cincinnati on Thursday night. Normally, I try to stay away from road teams in survivor pools, but this is a special exception.
Cincinnati continues not to give its quarterbacks time in the pocket. Whether it was Joe Burrow, Jake Browning or now Joe Flacco, the Bengals’ pass game has been difficult to navigate. In Flacco's debut with the team against Green Bay, he went 29-of-45 for just 213 yards. He'll take on one of the most ferocious pass rushes in the game, led by T.J. Watt, in Week 7.
Pittsburgh is coming off a game against the Browns where they recorded six sacks and held the Cleveland offense to 3.3 yards per play. The Bengals’ offense isn't quite as bad, but they won't find much success against this front seven. On the other side of the ball, Rodgers has turned back the clock, sort of. He's nothing like the Rodgers of his heyday, but his quarterback rating is the best it's been since 2021, and he's played a big role in the team’s 4-1 start.
I like trying to strike while the iron is hot here with Pittsburgh. They have the upper hand in most matchups in this game, including the head coach. With games coming up against Green Bay, Indianapolis and the Chargers, this is the perfect spot to play the Steelers.
