The Green Bay Packers did not make Week 4 as sweat-free as it should have been playing against Tampa and an undrafted rookie quarterback. But hey, they survived and so did we.
Moving along, injuries will again be a major factor for survivor players in Week 5, as three of the four-largest spreads of the week are from games involving teams with significant injury questions.
That again includes the Buccaneers, who are 8.5-point dogs to the Cowboys on Thursday night. The banged-up Eagles without Saquon Barkley are 7.5-point underdogs to the Jaguars in London. And the Bengals are 6.5-point favorites in Miami, even with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins banged up. Let's get into this week's top survivor picks.
The Week 5 survivor pick most likely to win
- Dallas Cowboys (vs. Buccaneers)
The Cowboys don't play defense but they're home
in a short week against Jalon Daniels in his second career start. This is a game they should win with ease, even acknowledging how formidable Tampa's defense is. At some point, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens will simply be too much to handle and the Bucs offense won't be able to keep up.
Record: 4-0
The most strategic Week 5 survivor pick
- Houston Texans (at Tennessee Titans)
Houston and Dallas are the only teams I feel close to certain about a win this week. But projecting how each will perform the rest of the season, Dallas' offense is the only unit I feel good about. Which means there should be more opportunities down the road to ride the Cowboys to a win. I'd love to say Houston's defense is better than what it's shown this year, but all we have to go off is the product they've put out so far, and it's been far from trustworthy. Burn Houston now before the wheels of an 0-4 team come all the way off later in the year.
Record: 3-1
My Week 5 survivor pick
- Cowboys
After all those words, I'm going against my own strategic advice and taking Dallas. Why? Because I try to avoid divisional games at all costs in survivor play. You don't have to follow, but that's been my long personal approach to these games. Because even with all we think we know about the NFL, fluky things happen in divisional games. Besides, Demeco Ryans is taking over defensive play-calling for Houston, so maybe we'll get a chance to pick them later in the year after all.
Record: 4-0
Already used: Jaguars, Eagles, Lions, Packers
This article originally appeared on For The Win: NFL survivor pool Week 5 picks: A matchup even the Cowboys defense can't blow
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