Survivor: Week 17 Strategy & Picks

Survivor: Week 17 Strategy & Picks

This article is part of our Survivor series.

Another uneventful week in Survivor as all the popular teams won. The trick to Survivor this year was to just make it through the gauntlet of insane upsets in the first half of the season. The second half of the season has been smooth sailing for the most part. 

Hopefully, some of you are still surviving (and reading).

In my pool, all survived. Of the original 442, five remain. 

On to Week 17. 

Ownership percentages below come from Officefootballpools.com. The Vegas Moneyline is the average of the matchup's two moneylines. Vegas odds are the percentage chance a team has at winning. Expected Loss is a team's percent-taken multiplied by its chance of losing. Home teams in CAPS.

TEAMOPPONENT%TAKENVEGAS MLVEGAS ODDSEXPECTED LOSS
ColtsGIANTS36.90%35578.0%8.11
RAMSCardinals16.30%247.571.2%4.69
BILLSJets13.50%47582.6%2.35
BUCCANEERSPanthers11.70%36078.3%2.54
ChargersPATRIOTS3.80%192.565.8%1.30
DolphinsBROWNS3.40%27073.0%0.92
SeahawksBEARS3.40%17563.6%1.24
EAGLESCowboys2.50%39579.8%0.51
COMMANDERSFalcons1.70%19065.5%0.59
RavensTEXANS1.60%22569.2%0.49
Lions49ERS0.90%167.562.6%0.34
BENGALSBroncos0.70%152.560.4%0.28
JAGUARSTitans0.60%11052.4%0.29
SAINTSRaiders0.50%11052.4%0.24
ChiefsSTEELERS0.50%137.557.9%0.21
VIKINGSPackers0.40%11052.4%0.19

The above ownership are pretty much irrelevant. They're still somewhat informative, but your pool and whatever teams your competition has available should determine your pick. 

Got a

Another uneventful week in Survivor as all the popular teams won. The trick to Survivor this year was to just make it through the gauntlet of insane upsets in the first half of the season. The second half of the season has been smooth sailing for the most part. 

Hopefully, some of you are still surviving (and reading).

In my pool, all survived. Of the original 442, five remain. 

On to Week 17. 

Ownership percentages below come from Officefootballpools.com. The Vegas Moneyline is the average of the matchup's two moneylines. Vegas odds are the percentage chance a team has at winning. Expected Loss is a team's percent-taken multiplied by its chance of losing. Home teams in CAPS.

TEAMOPPONENT%TAKENVEGAS MLVEGAS ODDSEXPECTED LOSS
ColtsGIANTS36.90%35578.0%8.11
RAMSCardinals16.30%247.571.2%4.69
BILLSJets13.50%47582.6%2.35
BUCCANEERSPanthers11.70%36078.3%2.54
ChargersPATRIOTS3.80%192.565.8%1.30
DolphinsBROWNS3.40%27073.0%0.92
SeahawksBEARS3.40%17563.6%1.24
EAGLESCowboys2.50%39579.8%0.51
COMMANDERSFalcons1.70%19065.5%0.59
RavensTEXANS1.60%22569.2%0.49
Lions49ERS0.90%167.562.6%0.34
BENGALSBroncos0.70%152.560.4%0.28
JAGUARSTitans0.60%11052.4%0.29
SAINTSRaiders0.50%11052.4%0.24
ChiefsSTEELERS0.50%137.557.9%0.21
VIKINGSPackers0.40%11052.4%0.19

The above ownership are pretty much irrelevant. They're still somewhat informative, but your pool and whatever teams your competition has available should determine your pick. 

Got a tough decisions? Hit us up in the comments.

Picks below are in order of preference. 

My Picks

Buffalo Bills

The Bills need the Chiefs to lose their final two games to get a shot at the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. But even if Kansas City wins on the Christmas, the Bills will go into Sunday's game needing a win to lock up the No. 2 seed. That should provide enough motivation against the Jets. Probably not a lot of Survivors who have the Bills as an option. 

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are the top pick among Survivors for two reasons: 1) they're likely available to everyone, and 2) they play the Giants. Trusting Indy on the road in a cold-weather situation seems risky, but the Giants are dead in the water. 

Miami Dolphins

The Browns seemingly threw in the towel last week with Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback. This weeks brings a Dolphins team that needs a win to keep its playoff hopes alive. The game is in Cleveland, and perhaps the cold will be a problem for the Dolphins, but that's about the only issue for Miami.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Patriots have had some close games recently, including last week against the Bills. But they've still lost five in a row. The Chargers have playoffs in their sights, and win here is crucial.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs blew last week's game to the Cowboys. The Panthers actually won a game. This week they play at Carolina. Normally, this might be one to avoid, but Tampa Bay is the more desperate team, with a chance to win the NFC South, and probably angry after last week's letdown.

Seattle Seahawks

It wouldn't be at all shocking if the Seahawks choked on the road at the Bears on Thursday night. Seattle is inconsistent and maybe just not that good. But winning the NFC West is still attainable and the Seahawks have handled bad teams on the road this season. 

NOTABLE OMISSION:

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams are playing well and the Cardinals are not. But a division game with playoff implications involving competitive teams is rarely as easy as it seems. Unless you have zero good options, I'd stay away.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jason Thornbury
Thornbury is a senior editor at RotoWire. A former newspaper reporter and editor, he has also worked in sports television and radio, including co-hosting RotoWire Fantasy Sports Today on Sirius XM.
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