Since it’s seasonal recap week on SiriusXM let’s take a quick look at how we’ve done so far through Week 7.  Our pick of the week is 6-1, with the Chiefs being our only loss in Week 5. Our pivots have gone 14-5 with losses by the Rams and Colts in Week 4, Chiefs and Bears in Week 5 and Rams and Colts in Week 6.  Of course a perfect record is needed in a survivor pool and that’s what makes it one of the more difficult things to win. Hopefully you’re still in yours and now let’s take a look at Week 8.

There are several options this week and it seems like a good week to go off of the usual suspects. We have six teams that fit our home favorite of seven or more points and of them, five are favored by more than 10.  

The Lions are favored by seven over the Giants in Detroit.  The Giants offense has looked awful, even with the return of Saquon Barkley .  They lost Evan Engram again early in the game last week and Sterling Shepard was out as well.  Detroit has played tough against several good teams but have lost Kerryon Johnson . Matt Stafford is having a good season and has two good receivers to go to in Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay .  The Lions are -300 on the money line and a good bet to beat the Giants in Motown.

With the chance of a return of Drew Brees , the 10.5-point favorite Saints take on the Cardinals in NOLA.  I don’t think the point spread reflects the return of Brees and I would expect that to rise if there is any indication that he will play.  Alvin Kamara is questionable and the Saints would be wise to rest him with their bye coming up next week. The Cardinals have shown some life winning three in a row, but they’ve come against the Bengals, Giants, and Falcons who have a combined three wins.  This may be a little better game than expected but the Saints should take it at home.

New England is 13 point favorites over the Browns.  They are on a roll and don’t seem like they’ll lose a game this season.  Their defense can be considered the fantasy MVP this year and should be able to contain a Browns team that has struggled on offense despite their weapons.  Baker Mayfield is the 30th rated QB in fantasy so far and the Patriots won’t let that ranking rise after this week. Most have taken the Patriots, as have I, so they won’t be my pick but feel confident if they’re yours.

Another team that are 13-point favorites are the Rams over the winless Bengals in L.A.  The Rams have been up and down this season both offensively and defensively. The Bengals have been bad and are winless.  The offensive line is still struggling making Joe Mixon a fantasy after thought. Aaron Donald has a big game this week and the Rams will take this one easily.

On Monday the winless, tanking Dolphins take on the Steelers in Pittsburgh and come in as 14.5-point dogs.  They showed a little life against the Bills last week and were even leading heading into the fourth quarter.  Josh Rosen was benched again in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick who gave the Dolphins a lift. Pittsburgh comes off a bye and should see the return of Mason Rudolph and a healthier James Conner .  The Steelers defense carries them through this one and keeps the fish winless.

The biggest favorite of the week is Minnesota over the Redskins by 16 on Thursday night.  The Vikings are on a roll, but lost Adam Thielen last week to a hamstring injury. It’s unlikely he’ll play this week but that shouldn’t be a problem for the Vikings and Dalvin Cook .  Stephon Diggs has stepped up the last few weeks and Kirk Cousins has rebounded from a slow start to the season. The Redskins were shut out in the slop last week by the 49ers. The Vikings should have little problem taking down the Redskins, but these short week games are always treacherous.

The pick this week is the Steelers.  They are at home against arguably the worst team in the league.  After this week, they have some tough games outside the division and the rest are intra-divisional games which are always a crap shoot in the AFC North. It’s a week that you want to take someone you probably won’t take a chance on the rest of the season and they fit the bill.  The Lions are the other team where this may be the last chance to take them, but the confidence level is somewhat lower here. Chalk will be the Vikings, but they have home games against the Lions and Broncos remaining where they can be used. The Rams are my first choice pivot here as their schedule isn’t the easiest but does have two against the Cardinals in there.  The Saints have two games remaining against the Falcons, and although it would be a divisional game, they are awful and the Saints would be a heavy favorite in the game in New Orleans.  

Lots to choose from this week.  Going to be a tough week to make a move unless there are some major upsets so pick wisely and just get to Week 9!  As always I’m available on twitter @gasdoc_spit to answer your questions.

Saturday Update: Here’s a quick update before you lock in your survivor pool pick.  First let’s just say that Thursday continues to be a day where you never know what’s going to happen.  Case Keenum doesn’t get concussed and the Redskins would’ve made you sweat even more than they did. Congrats to those who took the chalky Vikings this week and have moved on.

Our plays this week include the Lions, Rams, Patriots and Steelers.  The Lions have dropped to six point favorites with the loss of Kerryon Johnson and the Giants getting Evan Engram back who is off the injury report.  It’s become a more risky play if you want to go that way. I believe the Lions are the better team and should win, but there are better options.

I realized I wrote that the Rams were in LA and the game is actually in London.  This puts a little twist on it, but the Rams should easily handle the Bengals who have experienced even more injuries to their offensive line.  They continue to be my main pivot if you don’t want to go with the Steelers.

If you still have the Patriots available, you can use them here, but why? With other good options, I’d save them if you have them.  Nothing new to report here.

The pick continues to be the Steelers on Monday night against the Dolphins.  With Jaylen Samuels returning, the Steelers have many options on offense. They should pound the ball on the ground with Conner and Samuels and handle the hapless Fins.

Remember that about 50% of your opponents have picked the Vikings and if you didn’t, the goal is to not be cute this week and just move on.