Optimal NFL football knockout, survivor pool picks, advice, strategy for Week 2, 2024: Fade this road favorite

Only three teams have won the Super Bowl after starting 0-2, so teams like the Ravens, Bengals, Jets and Packers will have extra motivation, which could make them strong candidates for Week 2 NFL survivor pool picks. The Jets are 3.5-point road favorites versus Tennessee on Sunday and facing quarterback Will Levis, who had three turnovers in the season-opener, may be just the incentive needed to choose New York with your Week 2 NFL knockout pool picks. Over his last nine starts, Levis is 3-6 with twice as many turnovers (11) as passing TDs (five).

However, the Jets are starting off with back-to-back road games and will be at a rest disadvantage on Sunday after playing on Monday Night Football. There are pros and cons to utilizing the Jets in your Week 2 eliminator pool picks, but which other teams should be under consideration? Before finalizing any Week 2 NFL survivor picks, see which team the red-hot SportsLine Projection Model just went all-in on .

The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model enters Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season on an incredible 184-130 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season. It is also on a 38-22 roll on top-rated NFL picks since Week 7 of 2022.

The model also ranked in the top 10 on NFLPickWatch four of the past six years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 94 percent of CBS Sports Football Pick'em players four times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

The model 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, the model recommended the Saints as its top survivor pick. New Orleans won in 79% of SportsLine's simulations, and the Saints dominated Carolina, 47-10, in what was the most lopsided game of the opening week.

Now, it has turned its attention to the latest Week 2 NFL odds and locked in its Week 2 survivor pool pick. You can only see who the model is backing this week at SportsLine .

Top Week 2 NFL survivor pool predictions

In Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season, the model is shying away from the Seahawks , even though they are coming off a victory and are 3.5-point favorites over the New England Patriots. Due to its 4-13 record last year, New England's stout defense was overlooked, despite it ranking fourth against the run and seventh in yards allowed. There doesn't appear to be any dropoff without Bill Belichick on the sideline as the Patriots rank third in both rushing defense and total defense after Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season.

That defense will get to face a Seattle offense that ranked in the bottom 10 in third-down conversions last year (36.2%) and is off to a worse start on third downs this year (33.3%). The Seahawks were also bottom 10 in 2023 in redzone scoring, and they failed in their lone opportunity inside the 20 yard line in Week 1. The home crowd in Gillette Stadium should be highly energized after the Pats' Week 1 upset victory, and that will only make things harder for Seattle, which is 1-3 when playing in the Eastern Time Zone since 2021. See which team to pick instead here .

How to make Week 2 NFL survivor pool picks

Instead, the model is backing a surprising road team that wins outright in almost 80% of simulations. The time to pick this team is now, and you can only see the play over at SportsLine .

Which surprising team is a must-back in your Week 2 NFL survivor pool? Visit SportsLine now to see which team carries you to victory in Week 2, all from the advanced computer model that nailed its Week 1 survivor pick and is up well over $7,000 since its inception .