- As 9-point favorites over the Detroit Lions, the San Francisco 49ers may be the safest Week 1 pick.
- The Carolina Panthers look to keep the NY Jets under their projected 19.5-point total in a winnable Week 1 matchup.
NEW YORK – Survivor pick pools are an increasingly popular way to bet on NFL football. It’s a simple concept: choose one outright winner. Those who pick correctly move on to the next week, when they choose another winner.
This continues until there is only one pool member remaining. There is one catch, however: you can only pick each team as a winner once. That makes it imperative to think ahead and plan your picks out in advance. But for Week 1, using the NFL sportsbooks can be a great way to get started.
San Francisco 49ers (vs. Detroit Lions)
The San Francisco 49ers come into this matchup with the Detroit Lions as lopsided nine-point favorites.
The 49ers have a moderately difficult remaining schedule, making it a fairly smart idea to take this Week 1 matchup against a team with clearly inferior talent on both sides of the ball.
There are some questions around the quarterback position for the 49ers, but Jimmy Garoppalo has a proven record and should have a fairly long leash. The 49ers also feature a bevy of weapons for Garoppalo to throw to, including standout tight end George Kittle.
Kittle sits with +120 odds to score at least one touchdown, which would bode well for the 49ers chances.
Los Angeles Rams (vs. Chicago Bears)
The Los Angeles Rams host the Chicago Bears Sunday in what should be a very winnable game.
Chicago announced that Andy Dalton will be their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, which limits Chicago’s potential firepower (-233 odds to throw one or fewer touchdowns) compared to dual-threat rookie Justin Fields.
However, the Rams have a midseason stretch of matchups with some weaker opponents, including the NY Giants and Lions on a back-to-back in Weeks 6 and 7. This could be a good choice, but there are some other appealing matchups for the Rams down the road to consider.
Baltimore Ravens (vs. Las Vegas Raiders)
The Baltimore Ravens take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football this week but the situation has changed with J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards both going down with knee injuries.
This will place a lot of added pressure on Lamar Jackson, who will likely be tasked with spearheading both the running and passing game–something he has shown the ability to be successful at throughout his career. Online sportsbooks are posting Ravens odds at -110 to win the race to 25 points, while the Raiders (+280) and neither team’s odds (+220) imply that bookmakers think that Baltimore may run away with this one.
While there may be a question mark at running back, keep in mind the Raiders allowed over 4000 passing yards in 2020, but the uncertainty makes it a tough call.
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Carolina Panthers (vs. New York Jets)
The Carolina Panthers feature a revamped offense featuring a healthy Christian McCaffrey and new quarterback Sam Darnold in this Week 1 matchup against the NY Jets.
While the Jets have struggled to win lately, they look to turn the tides in 2020 behind rookie QB Zach Wilson.
This may help the offense move the ball more effectively, but the Jets may still struggle to score with limited weapons for Wilson. Leading wide receiver Jameson Crowder is out due to COVID-19 protocols and none of the several running backs on the roster have really separated themselves as a threat.
Sportsbooks have the Jets’ team points total set at a paltry 19.5, evidence that bookmakers feel uncertain about the Jets offense. Carolina should be able to stifle the Jets’ offense while McCaffrey looks to have a big day on the ground and keep the defense off the field.
The Panthers do have the seventh-weakest schedule in the NFL, but good luck finding a more winnable game on their schedule than this one.
Minnesota Vikings (vs. Cincinnati Bengals)
The Bengals offense enters 2021 with a plethora of question marks: will we see the Joe Mixon of old? Will Ja’Marr Chase have the same issue with drops as he did in the preseason? Will Joe Burrow stay healthy, and if he does, what will the target share look like?
Minnesota, on the other hand, has few questions surrounding their 2021 squad.
The offense will run through Dalvin Cook primarily, with Kirk Cousins looking for efficiency in the passing game through Justin Jefferson and Adam Theilen.
Online betting sites have Dalvin Cook’s rush yards total set at 97.5 yards, indicating confidence that Minnesota will be able to establish the run game to control the ball and keep the defense off the field.
Rarely does one find a team with a gameplan so well-established coming into Week 1, so the Vikings may end up being the best bet for NFL Survivor during Week 1.
Jerad is a new addition to the USAOnlineSportbooks.com writing team, writing about all things related to sports gambling. As an ex-college baseball player, he pairs a first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of high-level sports teams with years of experience successfully betting on many different sports in order to bring valuable insights to bettors. He also studied political science at UCF, equipping him with the knowledge to cover the political, legal, and legislative aspects of sports gambling.
