EASY MONEY: Updated ‘Survivor Pool’ picks for NFL Weeks 4-17

Ever hear of an NFL survivor (or ‘suicide’) 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 had Russell Wilson and the Seahawks beating the Bengals at home in Week 1. By virtue of that, I cannot designate Seattle to win for Weeks 2-17.

The same held true for the Ravens (over the Cardinals) in Week 2; after that game, I can no longer pick Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram and breakout tight end Mark Andrews 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 implausible occurrence for me in recent years — they’re entitled to all or some of the winnings (which can be quite lucrative).

Here are my updated picks for 2019. Adding to the degree of difficulty, I can only choose teams to lose no more than twice.

UPDATED SURVIVOR PICKS

WEEK 1 — SEATTLE over Cincinnati (correct)
WEEK 2 — BALTIMORE over Arizona (correct)
WEEK 3 — DALLAS over Miami (correct)
WEEK 4 — L.A. Rams over Tampa Bay
WEEK 5 — Philadelphia over N.Y. Jets
WEEK 6 — New England over N.Y. Giants
WEEK 7 — Green Bay over Oakland
WEEK 8 — Detroit over N.Y. Giants
WEEK 9 — Buffalo over Washington
WEEK 10 — Chicago over Detroit
WEEK 11 — Minnesota over Denver
WEEK 12 — Cleveland over Miami
WEEK 13 — Kansas City over Oakland
WEEK 14 — Atlanta over Carolina
WEEK 15 — New Orleans over Indianapolis
WEEK 16 — Tennessee over New Orleans
WEEK 17 — Houston over Tennessee