Derek Carr and Michael Crabtree did the damn thing, and we’re on to Week 3. The Jets aren’t going to lose every game (right?!), but this is not the one that they win.
We’re going with Smokin’ Jay and the Dolphins.
(Photo cred: http://smokinjaycutler.tumblr.com/)
The Bills took care of business last week, and we’re on to Week 2.
A little easier week, with more teams to choose from. We’re going to keep picking on the Jets and go with the Raiders. Oakland looked really good against the Titans last week, and host the Jets out of the West Coast.
We like Derek Carr & Co. to take us to Week 3.
#DAWGPOUND over the the Tennessee Titans. Enough said.
We promise this is NOT a Cleveland Browns blog.
#SKOL took care of business, dominating the Texans for nearly the entire game. On to Week 6.
As mentioned last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a juicy matchup when they visit the Miami Dolphins. You might remember that we picked the Cincinnati Bengals against the Dolphins in Week 4. In the game since, the Dolphins got embarrassed at home by the Tennessee Titans (read: Marcus Mariota and DeMarco Murray). The Dolphins compiled a paltry 200 yards of total offense, and turned the ball over as many times as they reached the end zone (twice).
The Steelers and Dolphins have been trending in exactly opposite directions, and we like that to continue this week. Pittsburgh will be without top defensive players Cameron Heyward (missing the first game in his career), as well as Ryan Shazier. Though Heyward and Shazier are game-changing players, the Steelers’ defense has others who can anchor the unit while they are out. Look for Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and LeVeon Bell to exploit this terrible Dolphins defense and get the W in South Florida.
#boomin
Man, would love to pick the Cleveland Browns here again, but won’t. Don’t want anyone mistaking this for a Browns blog.
At first glance, not a lot of great upset opportunities for Survivor this week. However, the New York Football Giants are an intriguing pick. Though they were not able to get anything going last week, we’ve noted that they played against one of the best defenses in the game. The Green Bay Packers defense is a far cry from elite. They have given up some huge games to opposing offenses and will again be without Sam Shields in the secondary. While just over 6% off entries have picked the Packers in their pool, they are given over a 73% chance of winning the game.
We like Odell Beckham, Jr. and Eli Manning to get on the same page this week and thrash the Packers, spoiler style.
As expected, the Cincinnati Bengals made quick work of the lowly Miami Dolphins, winning 22-7 and advancing us on to Week 5.
This week there are two teams leading the pack in most Survivor pools. Tom Brady makes his triumphant return against a win-less Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers host the New York Jets after thoroughly embarrassing the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football last week. This has led over 49% of entries to pick the Patriots and 23% to pick the Steelers, which combined accounts for nearly 3/4 of entries for the week.
While the Patriots seem like a lock, and Tom Brady may just break the whole league, we tend to shy away from being part of such a large cohort. The Steelers on the other hand have a choice matchup next week with the Dolphins, so we’ll be saving that pick, if we are to advance to Week 6. For that reason, we’re going with the team picked by less than 7% of entrants this week, the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings have been quite impressive over the first 1/4 of the season, shutting down the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, and Eli Manning in three consecutive weeks. Now, they host a Houston Texans team that, though they are 3-1, has not looked great over their first four games. Brock Osweiler has already thrown SIX interceptions, and faces off against a stout Vikings defense that already has 11 takeaways this season (ranking second in the league to the Arizona Cardinals who have 12 and already played this week). For context, this defensive unit is so good that it’s being compared to the infamous “Purple People Eaters” who donned the Vikings purple from the late 1960s to late 1970s.
Though the Vikings are not at 100% and are a little banged up, we like their above average offense and otherworldly defense to get them the W at U.S. Bank Stadium this week.
#SKOL
So… apparently Miami wanted us to feel that South Florida heat and sweat our way through Week 3. Not quite the dominant performance we predicted, the Dolphins won the game on an overtime touchdown run by Jay Ajayi. It gives me anxiety to think about this game any more, so we’re moving on – a win is a win, and we’re on to Week 4.
Like a good quarterback, we’ve totally moved on from last week, and are now going AGAINST the Fins on Thursday Night Football, when they travel to Cincinnati and are hosted by Andy Dalton and A.J. Green.
While Cincy is a 1-2 football team, they have lost pretty close games to top tier opponents over the last two weeks (@ Steelers and vs Broncos, respectively).
After watching the Miami defense nearly lose to a third string rookie quarterback at home, and knowing that A.J. Green can take over a game with the best of them, we’re going with the Bengals to lead us into Week 5. Look for a few of these tonight against a lowly Dolphins secondary (we still love you, Reshad Jones):
Lots of interesting matchups this week with many divisional games going on. Our Survivor picks for weeks 1 and 2 were HOU and NYJ respectively, so this week we’re going with MIA against CLE.
The Browns have looked terrible the first two weeks of the season, and are very banged up Week 3. Cornerback Joe Haden (arguably the best player on CLE) is out with a groin injury, as is rookie wideout Corey Coleman and starting quarterback Josh McCown.
MIA should take care of business at home and advance us to Week 4. #GoFins
Desktop Quarterback 