With the majority of Survivor contests finished or near completion, I’m going to be ignoring contests that started at the beginning of the season and instead focus on “Revival” type tournaments that are available on Splash Sports. It has been a very rough road for me in both Survivor and Revival Tournaments this year, with me once again having to start anew as I was all-in on both the Seahawks and 49ers last week.
My Favorite Pick: Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles have gotten healthy over the bye week, with both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith back at practice on Wednesday and looking on track to play Sunday. They also get to face the Browns, who, after an 11-6 record last year, look to be in freefall in 2024. DeShaun Watson looks unable to complete passes anymore, David Njoku can’t stay healthy, and their top CB, Denzel Ward, might have difficulty suiting up for this one as well. The Eagles have their flaws, but they should steamroll a Browns team that has to be losing morale in the locker room, knowing they have no shot this season with Watson under center and seemingly no way out of his egregious contract. I find it hard to see the Eagles losing at home off the bye to this current Browns team.
Second Pick: Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons offense is starting to come together, with Kirk Cousins getting a few games under his belt coming off of Achilles surgery. The receiving group for the Falcons behind Drake London is either overperforming expectations or might just be better than we thought. Darnell Mooney was in purgatory with the Bears and looks like a true weapon on the field. The shine of Andy Dalton wore off some last week against a tough Bears defense, which has me questioning if the offensive output from his first two starts can hold up as we progress through the year. The Panthers defense is allowing the fifth-most yards per game and a league-high 33 points per game. The Falcons should be able to flirt with 30+ points in this one while I simply don’t think the Panthers have it in them to keep pace even at home.
Other Options: Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers
I’m not sure Houston should be such big favorites in New England, but even without Nico Collins, I think they should be able to get a win. The Ravens get a home game against Washington this week, and while I do expect them to be able to put up points at will, Jayden Daniels looks like an elite QB right now as a rookie and could potentially keep this game closer than the spread indicates with the passing game vulnerability the Ravens defense has currently. The Packers get a home game against the Cardinals, who have been more miss than hit in 2024. Kyler Murray is always capable of big plays, but his connection with rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr. seems to be missing something so far, and the Cardinals defense looks very vulnerable to being scored on.
