Week 3 NFL survivor pool pick, advice, strategy: Expert who faded Bengals, Ravens makes top knockout pick

SportsLine NFL expert R.J. White, who avoided the Bengals in Week 1 and Ravens in Week 2, just locked in his top Week 3 NFL survivor pick

It has been a historically rough start to the season for anyone making NFL survivor pool picks, with the biggest favorites on the board losing the first two weeks. This has slimmed down the number of fans making NFL eliminator pool picks, so needing to survive all 18 weeks might not be necessary in smaller pools. There are four teams favored by at least 6.5 points in the Week 3 NFL odds, including Tampa Bay (-6.5) vs. Denver. The Buccaneers have picked up wins over Washington and Detroit to open the season, but this could be a letdown spot following their upset win over the Lions.

Denver has been within one score in each of its first two losses, including a 13-6 setback against Pittsburgh last week. Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix has gained valuable experience, so should you avoid the Buccaneers with your Week 3 NFL survivor pool strategy? 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. The Bengals lost five of their final nine games last season, all three of their preseason games this year and their first two games of the regular season. They have been completely unreliable, and they busted many survivor entries when they lost to New England as 8.5-point favorites in Week 1.

Cincinnati had a better showing last week in a narrow loss at Kansas City, but its rushing attack averaged just 3.4 yards per carry. The Commanders are coming off a 21-18 win over the Giants, as rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw for 226 yards while rushing for 44 yards. They are going to keep improving as Daniels settles in, which is one reason why White is staying away from Cincinnati in survivor pools this week. 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.