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The top NFL survivor pool picks for Week 7 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 7 of the 2025 NFL season! We're already through six weeks of the NFL season, so congratulations if you're still alive in your Survivor Pool! There's still a lot of work left to do to be the last entrant standing, but we'll help get you there!
Week 7 features just a pair of teams on bye, and it's a pair of teams that massively need this bye. The Baltimore Ravens need this week to get their health in order, as they hope to get Lamar Jackson back in at quarterback. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills were just upset by the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. That still leaves us with 15 games to choose from!
All season long, this article will help guide you through weekly Survivor Pool advice for each NFL week, with a handful of teams to target and several teams to avoid using each week. 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 7 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!
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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 7
Before jumping into the picks for Week 7, 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.
My Weekly Survivor Picks
- Week 1: Denver Broncos (def. Tennessee 20-12)
- Week 2: Los Angeles Rams (def. Tennessee 33-19)
- Week 3: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (def. N.Y. Jets 29-27)
- Week 4: Buffalo Bills (def. New Orleans 31-19)
- Week 5: Arizona Cardinals (lost to Tennessee 22-21)
- Week 6: Green Bay Packers (def. Cincinnati 27-18)
- Status: STILL ALIVE (1 of 2 Strikes)
The Green Bay Packers certainly played with their food in Week 6, finally besting Joe Flacco in their second attempt this season against the veteran quarterback. Going through my Survivor Pool picks, I certainly haven't made it easy on myself. All of the teams I've chosen have let their opponents hang around in games, with the Cardinals being the one blemish on our record that let the Titans hang around for TOO long.
Anyway, let's look at the Survivor Pool pick recommendations to target and avoid for Week 7.
Top Survivor Pool Picks to Target for Week 7
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders
*My pick for Week 7*
After the Kansas City Chiefs began this season 0-2 and punctuated that with a shoulder injury to Xavier Worthy, they were at their lowest point in the Patrick Mahomes era of Kansas City football. Since reaching that low mark, the Chiefs have won three of their last four games, returned Worthy to the lineup, and will bring back Rashee Rice after a lengthy six-game suspension.
It couldn't be a better spot for Survivor Pool players, as the Chiefs will host the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. Kansas City is an 11.5-point favorite at home and has the second-highest implied point total of any team in the Week 7 slate. Conversely, the Raiders were in a four-game free fall before picking up a win at home against the Tennessee Titans, who may be the worst team in football this season.
Las Vegas has the second-lowest implied point total behind the New York Giants in Week 7 and has given no reason why it should be given a chance against the Chiefs, who are getting one of their best players back on offense. But don't sleep on the Raiders just giving the game away, either, as quarterback Geno Smith leads the NFL with 10 interceptions.
For the Chiefs' future value in Survivor Pools, they actually don't have too much until the very end of the season, where they have road games against Tennessee in Week 16 and their second game against Las Vegas in Week 18. We'll use them here with a good chance to be walking into Week 8 coming off a win.
Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints
I think this could be the only week to use the Chicago Bears in Survivor Pools this season, and for good reason. It's not like the Bears are world-beaters; they're 5.5-point favorites at home against the New Orleans Saints and sport the fifth-highest implied point total of all Week 7 teams.
Chicago is a surprising 10th in total EPA per play allowed in the NFL, ahead of defenses like the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. They've been much better against the rush than against the pass, but are also tied for first in the NFL (in just five games) with a plus-minus of eight in the turnover department.
The Saints are one of the worst offenses in the league, sporting a 25th-best EPA per play on offense. Getting the Saints in a spot to use with the Bears at home is very optimal for Survivor Pool players, and there aren't any other comfortable spots to use the Bears besides a home date with Cleveland in Week 15. If you don't want to use the Chiefs' chalk, the Bears could be a nice pivot to save some of the heavy-hitters for later this season.
Other Survivor Picks in Consideration:
- Cleveland Browns (vs. MIA)
- Seattle Seahawks (vs. HOU)
Top Survivor Pool Picks to Avoid for Week 7
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans
It's hard to knock what the New England Patriots have been doing lately; they've been excellent and propelled by the second-year breakout of quarterback Drake Maye. They've been riding high, and this should be a spot for New England to keep its hot run going. However, "narrative street" rears its ugly head as the Patriots travel south to play the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.
The Titans have been one of the worst teams in the NFL over the course of this season, so it should be no shock that Tennessee is a 7.0-point home underdog against the Patriots. But this is a new Titans team that is free of former head coach Brian Callahan, who was fired on Monday morning. Interim head coach Mike McCoy steps in, and as we've seen time and time again, teams do perform better in their first game without their former coach.
Sure, it's not scientific, but the Patriots feel due for a disappointing game. Besides Maye, the Patriots' run game has been filled to the brim with turnovers, the receiving game outside of a couple of scattered big games from Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte has been largely underwhelming, and their defense has been uninspiring as they're 24th in EPA per play allowed -- one spot ahead of the Titans.
Mike Vrabel also has his revenge game narrative coming back to Tennessee, where he was head coach for several seasons. Still, the Patriots don't give you the level of confidence, even against the Titans, to select them and risk your Survivor Pool entry this week.
Carolina Panthers at New York Jets
Unless you've been living under a rock over the last couple of weeks, the Carolina Panthers have been renamed "The Rico Dowdle Show, featuring the Carolina Panthers" going forward. Dowdle is the second player with more than 200 scrimmage yards in back-to-back weeks in this decade and has been electric for the Panthers in his two games as the starting running back while Chuba Hubbard has been injured.
The Panthers, despite this run, are just 1.5-point favorites on the road against the New York Jets. The Jets are in shambles right now as their best pass-catcher, Garrett Wilson, will miss some time with a knee injury. That puts the Jets offense in a serious hole, but they still do have Breece Hall and Justin Fields, who both can carry an offense against subpar opponents.
Both the Panthers and Jets are bottom-6 defenses in EPA per play, and both are below-average in EPA per play on offense. Both teams are still not very good, let's get that right. But having to pick the better of two bad teams is not something I want to be doing with my Survivor Pool on the line. Hard pass on the Panthers here in Week 7.
Other Risky Survivor Picks:
- Pittsburgh Steelers (at CIN)
- Detroit Lions (vs. TB)
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