Ever hear of an NFL survivor pool?
It’s a simple game of chance, where contestants are asked to select one lead-pipe cinch for wins in Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., with the caveat of only using a particular club once per season (in victory, at least).
For example, I have Russell Wilson and the Seahawks rolling over the Bengals at home in Week 1. By virtue of that, I cannot designate Seattle to win for Weeks 2-17.
The same holds true for the Ravens (over the Cardinals) in Week 2; after that game, I can no longer pick Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram and explosive rookie Justice Hill to prevail the rest of the way.
Any incorrect picks automatically knock a contestant out of the pool. And if anyone should be left standing by Week 17 — an impossible task for me in recent years — they’re entitled to all or some of the winnings (which can be quite lucrative).
Here are my early full-season picks for 2019. Adding to the degree of difficulty, I can only choose teams to lose no more than twice.
SURVIVOR PICKS
WEEK 1 — Seattle over Cincinnati
WEEK 2 — Baltimore over Arizona
WEEK 3 — Minnesota over Oakland
WEEK 4 — L.A. Rams over Tampa Bay
WEEK 5 — Kansas City over Indianapolis
WEEK 6— New England over N.Y. Giants
WEEK 7 — Washington over
WEEK 8 —New Orleans over Arizona
WEEK 9 — Buffalo over Washington
WEEK 10 — Chicago over Detroit
WEEK 11 — Carolina over Atlanta
WEEK 12 — Cleveland over Miami
WEEK 13 — Denver over L.A. Chargers
WEEK 14 — N.Y. Jets over Miami
WEEK 15 — Detroit over Tampa Bay
WEEK 16 — Atlanta over Jacksonville
WEEK 17 — Dallas over Washington
