YANNI – Status – Did Not Survive (3 misses)
JJ – Status – Did Not Survive (1 miss)

Teams Used:

YANNI
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers (miss)
Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Chargers
Kansas City Chiefs (miss)
Dallas Cowboys (miss)
Buffalo Bills

JJ
Philadelphia Eagles
Baltimore Ravens
Dallas Cowboys
Los Angeles Chargers
Kansas City Chiefs (miss)
Washington Redskins
Buffalo Bills

Overview:

It wasn’t pretty or as easy as we (and most of America) expected as the Dolphins put up a good fight and actually had a lead at the half but the Buffalo Bills got the job done and came away with a win. There have been some big survivor crushers that have taken chunks of participants out, most notably the Chiefs losing to the Colts, but this would have been the biggest destruction had it materialized. JJ is still rolling along nicely and will look to carry his winning into next week.

Strategy / Odds:

There are a surprising amount of really solid options still available considering it’s week eight in the NFL season. As always that somewhat depends on who you may or may not have used up to this point. Because there are a few really pathetic teams at the bottom of the totem pole there remains some good choices which is the case again this week. There are at least half a dozen games that have a touchdown spread or greater and three that are 13 points or higher, which shows the discrepancies between the top half and bottom half of the league. Some familiar suspects below on the list of spreads both laying and getting the points. Not a lot of need to roll the dice this week unless you really want to, which we wouldn’t recommend.

Here is a quick glance at the four largest spreads for the week:
(Bovada Sportsbook 10/22/19)

Washington Redskins +16 at Minnesota Vikings
Miami Dolphins +14.5 at Pittsburgh Steelers
Cincinnati Bengals +13.5 at Los Angeles Rams (Wembley Stadium – London)
Cleveland Browns +13 at New England Patriots

It seems pretty crazy that you’d consider taking a team in a survivor pick that is playing with a second or third string quarterback, but when they’re playing at home against the Miami Dolphins you definitely need to consider it. Looking ahead at the schedules, it’s possible that you’d want to give Minnesota a shot in the Thursday night game at home against the Redskins. They wouldn’t possibly lose at home on a short week to the Skin’s would they? Yanni really narrowed his pick down to the three big spreads this week but is opting to save the Rams and Vikings for later.

The same philosophy for JJ as well as for the fourth time in the last five weeks we’re both on the same team. If you’re betting the Monday Night Football game straight up, you may want to consider taking the Dolphins, as crazy at that sounds. Coming off of a great performance the Steelers are probably getting way too much credit with a backup quarterback to be favored by over two touchdowns no matter who the opponent is. The game might be a little closer than what people are expecting, but Heinz Field will be loud and this doesn’t seem like the spot where the Dolphins find a way to win.

Our Picks: