The NFL was not kind to many NFL survivor pool picks last week, as upsets like the Vikings over 49ers, Saints over Cowboys and Raiders over Ravens created chaos with NFL eliminator pool picks. However, it was a strong week for anyone who avoided those upsets, as the competition has been drastically reduced heading into the Week 3 NFL schedule. Carolina has looked like the worst team in the league through the first two weeks of the season, so fading the Panthers could be a popular Week 3 NFL survivor strategy. They are 6-point road underdogs against the Raiders in the Week 3 NFL odds, one of the largest Week 3 NFL spreads.
Carolina benched former No. 1 pick Bryce Young in favor of veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, creating uncertainty regarding the Panthers' offensive potential. Is that a game you should avoid with your Week 3 NFL knockout pool picks? Before finalizing any Week 3 NFL survivor picks, you need to see which team proven expert R.J. White is backing.
White has been SportsLine's No. 1 NFL against-the-spread expert over the last seven years, going 643-543-34 against the spread to put him up more than 46 units on those picks at SportsLine since 2017. He has also delivered a 56.7% hit rate on his Vegas contest picks over the last nine seasons and has two finishes in the money, including finishing 18th out of 2,748 entries back in 2017.
His advice can be used to crush the Survivor Pool format, which calls for picking one team to win each week but never using the same team twice. In Week 1, White correctly recommended to avoid the Bengals, who lost to the Patriots as 8.5-point favorites. Instead, White picked the Saints, who beat the Panthers by 37 points in the most lopsided game of the week. Then in Week 2, he avoided the Ravens, who lost to the Raiders as 8.5-point favorites, and instead backed the Texans, who defeated the Bears.
Anyone who followed his advice avoided two of the biggest NFL upsets of the season and advanced to Week 3.
Now, White has turned his attention to the latest Week 3 NFL odds and locked in his Week 3 survivor pool pick. You can only see who White is backing this week at SportsLine.
Top Week 3 NFL survivor pool predictions
In Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season, White is avoiding the Bengals (-7.5, 47), even though they are the biggest favorite of the week. Cincinnati has started 0-2 for the fifth time in the last six seasons, with four of those instances coming with Joe Burrow at quarterback. The Bengals have won or tied their third game all four years with Burrow, but they are coming off a narrow loss at Kansas City and are in a letdown spot on Monday night.
They led for most of the game before allowing a field goal in the final seconds, while Washington is coming off a 21-18 win over the Giants. Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards, showing improvement from his first start. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. racked up 133 rushing yards on 17 carries, averaging 7.8 yards per carry, and their balanced offense is one reason to avoid Cincinnati in survivor pools. See which team to pick instead here.
How to make Week 3 NFL survivor pool picks
Instead, White is backing a team whose opponent "cannot move the ball." The time to pick this team is now, and you can only see the play over at SportsLine.
Which team is a must-back in your Week 3 NFL survivor pool? Visit SportsLine now to see which team carries you to victory in Week 3, all from the expert who avoided the Bengals in Week 1 and Ravens in Week 2 and is up almost 50 units on ATS picks.