NFL Survivor Picks for Week 2: The Bills Have a Great Chance to Bounce Back

8mo

There aren't many more crucial things than nailing your NFL survivor picks, so we're here to help.

Based on numberFire's NFL survivor matrix, here are some of the best NFL survivor picks for Week 2.

NFL Survivor Picks for Week 2

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills were wildly disappointing in Week 1, falling apart in the second half on Monday night and losing in overtime to the Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets. They have a great chance to bounce back in Week 2.

On Sunday, Buffalo plays at home versus the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Bills are -405 moneyline favorites -- per the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook -- which makes them the biggest favorite of Week 2 (as of Tuesday morning). The -405 line comes out to an implied win probability of 80.2%. numberFire's model gives the Bills a 79.1% chance to win.

With the Bills desperately wanting to avoid an 0-2 start and Vegas traveling across the country for a 1 p.m. ET start, all signs point to Buffalo winning. The only negative is that Buffalo will likely be the chalk pick of the week, with numberFire projecting 27.6% of people to select the Bills.

Dallas Cowboys

In Week 1, the Dallas Cowboys' defense absolutely demolished Daniel Jones and the New York Giants' offense. They have a chance to do something very similar this week to the other New York football team as the 'Boys play host to Zach Wilson and the Jets.

Wilson did enough to help the Jets come back and beat the Bills on Monday. But we know who Wilson is, and going into Dallas and getting a win on a short week is going to be a very tall task for Gang Green.

Dallas is a -350 moneyline favorite (77.8% implied odds), tied for the second-biggest favorite of the week. numberFire hands the Cowboys a 73.6% chance to win. They are projected to be picked in just 9.1% of survivor pools, too, so they check a lot of boxes.

The lone reason for hesitation is the Jets' elite defense, which gave Josh Allen fits in Week 1 and could help the Jets hang around versus Dallas.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles shape up very similarly to Dallas this week -- they're just facing a better quarterback.

Philly is a -320 moneyline favorite (76.2% implied odds) -- narrowly behind the Cowboys' -350 ML -- for their Thursday night home date with the Minnesota Vikings. numberFire projects Philly to win 73.1% of the time and has them being picked at a 9.4% clip this week, numbers that are nearly identical to Dallas'.

Philly might be the best team in the NFL, so while Minnesota is solid, the Vikings are facing an uphill battle to win in Philadelphia. When these two squads met a year ago, the Eagles cruised to a 24-7 win.

Contrarian Plays

Looking to avoid the most popular picks and find an under-the-radar selection for the week? Try these on for size.

San Francisco 49ers

In my eyes, two of the bigger surprises of Week 1 were the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams. They tangle in LA on Sunday, and the Niners look like a sneaky-good survivor pick.

Coming into the year, I knew the Niners were loaded, but the way they handled the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh was awfully impressive. I didn't see them winning so easily.

The Rams, meanwhile, also won on the road, pulling off an upset victory over the Seattle Seahawks, with Matthew Stafford throwing for 333 yards despite being sans Cooper Kupp.

Maybe the Rams will be better than we think this year, but going by moneylines, the 49ers are fully in play this week as they are -350 ML favorites (77.8% implied odds) -- tied for the second-biggest -- despite this game being in Los Angeles.

San Fran is projected to be used by just 8.9% of survivor participants, but I'd be surprised if the number is that high given the soft spots Dallas and Philly are in coupled with how the Rams played in Week 1.

Detroit Lions

The Lions notched a big win in Week 1, getting a key defensive touchdown and prevailing at the Kansas City Chiefs, 21-20. It was a huge W for a Lions team that is expected to be a legit threat in 2023, and they have to be flying high right now.

In Week 2, Detroit hosts the Seahawks, a team that was pretty dang disappointing in Week 1. The Lions are -235 moneyline favorites (70.1% implied odds), the fourth-biggest of Week 2.

However, I'm not touching this one and actually like Seattle to cover as 5.5-point 'dogs. But maybe Geno Smith is going to regress this season, and if you want to go off the beaten path for your selection, Detroit is projected to be picked by just 5.9% of survivor managers this week.

New York Giants

So, yeah, the Giants laid about as big of an egg as you can lay in their Week 1 loss at the hands of the Cowboys. It was bad.

But in Week 2, the Giants play at the Arizona Cardinals and are listed as -188 ML favorites.

For one, whoever plays Arizona needs to be on the survivor radar each week, so there's that. But secondly, it's important not to put too much stock into opening-week performances -- easier said than done when a team gets blanked -- and we know the Giants are a respectable team, one made it to the Divisional Round of last season's playoffs.

With that said, I can't justify rolling the dice on Daniel Jones away from home, and Arizona's defense played pretty well last week. Hard pass from me.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your