NFL Survivor Pool Picks: Week 15 Targets and Avoids

December 14, 2025

The top NFL survivor pool picks for Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season. Kevin's weekly survivor league pool targets and avoids -- expert picks for survivor leagues.

Welcome back to our NFL Survivor Pool Picks for Week 15! Just four weeks left until you're standing tall as a survivor pool champion! We've made it this far, so we have to keep our eyes on the prize. There are no more bye weeks left for the rest of the season, with Week 14 in the books, so it's full 16-game slates for the last four weeks of the 2025 regular season!

Last week was, let's face it, a bloodbath. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- the chalk survivor pool pick of Week 14 -- lost 24-20 to the New Orleans Saints. One of the biggest pivots from the chalk, the Cleveland Browns, fell 31-29 to the Tennessee Titans. Not only that, but favorites like the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and Indianapolis Colts all lost. In the big Circa survivor contest, 62 percent of the entire field was wiped out after the Buccaneers lost.

All season long, this article will guide you through weekly survivor pool advice for each NFL week, including a handful of teams to target and several to avoid. Survivor league strategy is a major part of winning your pools, so we'll help dissect each pick, with all angles accounted for. We'll be previewing Week 15 of the NFL season through a survivor pool lens, with more information and data points about each team to help guide you on your quest to win your survivor pool!

Survivor Pool Tools and Resources

Love survivor pools as much as we do? Of course you do. Be sure to check these out:

Survivor Picks Tool
Optimize your weekly picks and plan your future picks with our free new Survivor Pool Picks Tool!

Survivor League Guide
For detailed survivor pool strategy and tips to help you win, check out our "How To Win Your Survivor League" guide!

Implied Point Totals, Point Spreads, and Over/Under Totals for Week 15

Before jumping into the survivor pool picks for Week 15, it's helpful to get an overview of the slate with implied point totals, point spreads, and over/under totals from betting markets. All lines come courtesy of FantasyLabs each week.

Let's look at the survivor pool pick recommendations to target and avoid for Week 15!

Top Survivor Pool Picks to Target for Week 15

Seattle Seahawks vs. Indianapolis Colts

*My top pick for Week 15*

How the tables have turned for the Indianapolis Colts. With the unfortunate season-ending injury to quarterback Daniel Jones, rookie Riley Leonard had to come in to spell Jones to mixed results in the Colts' 36-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. How bad is it for the Colts? Well, with Leonard banged up with a knee injury, the Colts had to dust off a relic of the past: the current semi-finalist for the 2026 Hall of Fame class, Philip Rivers.

All of that to say that the most important position on the Colts is in a state of chaos, and the Colts have to travel up to Seattle to play the Seahawks. It's tough to say any team is a "safe pick" in Week 15, but the Seahawks are that right now against this iteration of the Colts. As a two-touchdown favorite at home, the Colts sport the third-lowest implied point total (14.25) of Week 15.

JSN across the field for six 🙌

SEAvsATL on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/syCku8iLc5

— NFL (@NFL) December 7, 2025

After giving up just nine points last week to the Atlanta Falcons and shutting out the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13, to say the Seahawks are clicking defensively is an understatement. This is the best matchup of the remaining schedule for Seattle, as it has the Rams in Week 16, the Panthers in Week 17, and the season finale against the 49ers in Week 18. Seattle is clear chalk this week for many reasons.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New York Jets

With 14 teams having been selected already in season-long survivor pools, the pool for teams remaining that will give you some confidence in selecting them can likely be counted on one hand. One of those teams that may be available, Jacksonville, has an excellent matchup on tap at home against the New York Jets.

The Jaguars are a 13.5-point home favorite against the Jets, who feature the second-lowest implied point total of the slate. After Tyrod Taylor went down due to injury for the Jets in their 34-10 defeat against the Miami Dolphins, undrafted rookie Brady Cook came in to steer the ship. He wasn't very good, but the most attractive part of Cook for the Jets is that he's the only healthy quarterback on the roster and is taking all first-team reps in practice.

Jacksonville has won four straight games and is now atop the AFC South thanks to its win over the Colts in Week 14. There's a lot of momentum here for the Jaguars, and taking care of business at home against a subpar opponent should be the top priority.

The Jaguars have a little volatility in them, but against Cook and the Jets, there's little to worry about here. With a couple of solid games remaining against the Colts in Indianapolis and a game with the Titans at home in Week 18, Jacksonville does have future value here, but this spot against the Jets feels the safest.

Travis Etienne Jr.'s second TD of the first half!

INDvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/XCqeXZj9HM

— NFL (@NFL) December 7, 2025

Other Survivor Picks in Consideration:

• San Francisco 49ers (vs. TEN)
• Philadelphia Eagles (vs. LV)

Top Survivor Pool Picks to Avoid for Week 15

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints

Somehow, the Carolina Panthers are 7-6 and tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the lead in the NFC South. This division will come down to the last four weeks of the season, with the two teams playing each other twice.

Let's not get it twisted: the Panthers are still not a very good team. They've had sparks of brilliance, like their midseason win in Green Bay, but then they are blown out or not competitive in recent games against the Bills and 49ers. They've alternated wins and losses since Week 7, including a 17-7 home loss to these Saints in Week 10.

As a slim road favorite and favored by 2.5 points, the Panthers are going to need every game and likely the NFC South title to make the playoffs. They're 24th in total EPA on offense and just 26th in EPA allowed on defense, so they're a bottom-quarter team in the league and playing above their skis.

Even Saints quarterback Tyler Shough has been mildly surprising, with the 13th-best success rate (percentage of plays with a positive EPA) over the last three weeks.

Tyler Shough hit a top speed of 19.43 MPH on this 34-yard TD run, per @NextGenStats 💨

📲 Stream with NFL+pic.twitter.com/UCXIKDYBTn

— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) December 7, 2025

With the Panthers losing the first meeting at home and now going on the road in New Orleans, the Saints would love nothing more than to play spoiler for the Panthers. Carolina is anything but a lock in this matchup, so it's best to steer clear here.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have won four straight games, and while they're a massive long shot for any playoff berth in the AFC, they're playing much better football now than they did at the beginning of the season.

Despite that improvement, they must travel to Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh to play the Steelers, who are 3.0-point favorites at home. The ground-based attack for the Dolphins lines up well against Pittsburgh, which has allowed over 200+ rushing yards to the Ravens and Bills in its last two games.

Even with several broken bones in his wrist, Aaron Rodgers has been a solid caretaker of the offense for the Steelers. They haven't pushed the ball downfield too much, but the key against Miami is running the ball. That could keep the clock moving and the score low. Oddsmakers agree, setting a 42.5 over/under for this game.

The Steelers need a win to keep their slim one-game lead in the AFC North intact, but this game feels like a true tossup, especially with De'Von Achane, one of the best running backs in the league, ready to go. I don't want to risk my survivor pool life on the Steelers here, given the recent Dolphins success. Leave this one be for Week 15.

Other Survivor Picks to Avoid:

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. ATL)
• Chicago Bears (vs. CLE)

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