After pulling a surprising upset of Cincinnati in its opener, the Patriots have come back to earth. They lost at home to Seattle in Week 2 and were demolished last Thursday by the Jets. New England figures to be a popular team to target for Week 4 NFL survivor pool picks as it flies cross-country to face the 49ers. Meanwhile, Cincinnati, it is 0-3 with upset defeats to the Patriots in Week 1 and Commanders in Week 3. Yet, that won't stop some from plugging the Bengals into Week 4 NFL knockout pool picks as they visit Carolina. The Panthers appear to be improved with Andy Dalton under center, but there may be a gap in the talent levels between these two squads. Before finalizing any Week 4 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. He then advised to avoid Cincinnati again in Week 3, despite it being the heaviest favorites, and the Bengals would be upset by the Commanders.
Anyone who followed his advice avoided three of the biggest NFL upsets of the season and advanced in their NFL knockout pools.
Now, White has turned his attention to the latest Week 4 NFL odds and locked in his Week 4 survivor pool pick. You can only see who White is backing this week at SportsLine.
Top Week 4 NFL survivor pool predictions
In Week 4 of the 2024 NFL season, White is avoiding the Cardinals (-3.5, 50), even though they are a moderate home favorite over a Commanders team coming off a short week. This pick is as much about Arizona's upcoming schedule as it is about Washington being the opponent. From Weeks 5 to 8, the Cardinals will face teams quarterbacked by Brock Purdy, Jordan Love, Justin Hebert and Tua Tagovailoa -- all of whom are currently dealing with injuries and whose statuses will be in question. So, while Arizona may be a good NFL eliminator pick in Week 4, it could be a great one later on.
Not only that, but Arizona gets a later matchup against a rookie quarterback who's struggled this year, unlike Commanders QB Jayden Daniels. White points out that you'll have no shortage of quality weeks to choose the Cardinals in NFL survivor in his reasoning to bypass them now and to save them for a later date. "The Cardinals also face the Bears and Patriots at home and the Panthers on the road in Week 16 where Carolina could potentially be back to starting Bryce Young if the playoffs are out of reach," White told SportsLine. See which team to pick instead here.
How to make Week 4 NFL survivor pool picks
Instead, White is backing a team whose opponent could get "next to nothing" out of its quarterback. 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 4 NFL survivor pool? Visit SportsLine now to see which team carries you to victory in Week 4, all from the expert who avoided the Bengals in Weeks 1 and 3 the Ravens in Week 2, and is up almost 50 units on ATS picks.
