Survivor pools provide a certain level of angst on a weekly basis, and it only gets worse as we move deeper into the season. If you've made it this far, congratulations.
Circa Survivor is the richest and most well known NFL eliminator contest with one winner walking away with $9,267,000 (or multiple winners splitting that prize money). This year's Vegas-based contest started with 9,267 total entries, and the field's been winnowed to 80 after 32 entrants went down with the Vikings on Monday Night Football.
Let's get to our NFL Week 13 survivor picks.
NFL survivor picks for Week 13 of 2023 NFL season
Sportsbooks took a hit last week as NFL betting favorites went 12-4 against the spread. We're not interested in anything but outright wins for the teams listed below. Dallas and San Francisco both came through for us last week. For Week 13, we're going to offer up three teams to consider and two you might not have used already this season.
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Cowboys over Seahawks
Let's start with Thursday Night Football as the Cowboys play host to the Seahawks. Dallas (8-3) is a different beast at home. Here's a look at the utter domination at Jerry World this year:
- Cowboys 45 Commanders 10
- Cowboys 49 Giants 17
- Cowboys 43 Rams 20
- Cowboys 38 Patriots 3
- Cowboys 30 Jets 10
Seattle might be without Kenneth Walker III (oblique) again. He missed the Thanksgiving Day loss to the 49ers and did not practice on Monday. Rookie Zach Charbonnet could serve as the lead back once more on Thursday.
Bottom Line: Dallas averages an eye-popping 41 points per game at home. The Cowboys are in the midst of a three-game homestand with Philadelphia coming to town next week. Don't expect Dallas to be looking ahead as it needs to keep pace with Philly (10-1) in the NFC East standings.
Buccaneers over Panthers
Frank Reich was the first coach to get fired this season after just 11 games. It wasn't all his fault, as Carolina (1-10) is a hot mess from an organizational perspective. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor takes over as interim coach.
The Bucs (4-7) are far from a great team under the direction of former Panthers QB Baker Mayfield. But they've got more playmakers in WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin along with RB Rachaad White.
Evans, who scored a pair of TDs in last week's 27-20 loss to the Colts, is a matchup nightmare for Carolina. He leads the Bucs with nine TDs on the season.
Bottom Line: Don't overthink this one. If you've been auto picking against the Panthers, it's a strategy that has served you well. We speak from experience.
Jaguars over Bengals
We'll wrap up this week's top survivor picks on Monday Night Football. The Jaguars (8-3) have a two-game lead in the AFC South standings after Sunday's 24-21 win over the Texans. The Bengals (5-6) reside in the AFC North basement.
Cincinnati's offense failed to do much of anything in a 16-10 loss to Pittsburgh, its first game since Joe Burrow was sidelined with a season-ending wrist injury. Jake Browning threw for 227 yards, a TD, and a pick. Pretty pedestrian numbers. The trickle down effect on the entire offense was notable with Ja'Marr Chase (81 receiving yards) and Joe Mixon (16 rushing yards) being held in check.
Jacksonville has a balanced offense under the direction of QB Trevor Lawrence. Travis Etienne keys the rushing attack with 726 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. Christian Kirk and Calvin Ridley have become a top receiving tandem. The duo has combined for more than 1,400 receiving yards and eight TDs.
Bottom Line: Two teams going in opposite directions here. Ride with the Jags on MNF!
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