Week 2 NFL survivor pool picks, advice, strategy: Expert who faded Bengals releases top knockout pick

The Green Bay Packers lost quarterback Jordan Love to a knee injury in Week 1, and he is expected to miss Sunday's game against Indianapolis during the Week 2 NFL schedule. The Colts are 3.5-point road favorites in the Week 2 NFL odds as they try to bounce back from a 29-27 loss to Houston. This could be a prime opportunity to fade Green Bay in NFL survivor pool picks before Love returns, but there are eight teams favored by at least six points in the Week 2 NFL spreads. Cincinnati was an 8.5-point favorite in its loss to New England last week, which knocked out a large portion of NFL eliminator picks.

Avoiding big upsets is the name of the game in NFL knockout pool picks, and anyone who avoided the Bengals last week is in strong shape heading into Week 2. Baltimore is an 8.5-point favorite against Las Vegas in the Week 2 NFL lines, so the Ravens could be a popular part of Week 2 NFL survivor strategy. Before finalizing any Week 2 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 636-534-34 against the spread to put him up more than 48 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. Anyone who followed his advice avoided one of the biggest NFL upsets of the season and advanced to Week 2.

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

Top Week 2 NFL survivor pool predictions

In Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season, White is avoiding the Ravens (-8.5 vs. Raiders ), even though they are the heaviest favorite of the week. Baltimore lost to Kansas City by inches in the 2024 NFL Kickoff Game, as the Ravens defense was unable to come up with key stops. They allowed the third-most passing yards (281) in Week 1 while struggling to protect quarterback Lamar Jackson on the other side of the ball.

Jackson missed practice on Monday due to soreness after rushing the ball throughout the season opener, so Baltimore will likely try to use a more conservative gameplan with its star quarterback on Sunday. That could come back to bite them against a Raiders offense that threw for the eighth-most yards (225) in Week 1. Quarterback Gardner Minshew and wide receiver Davante Adams are a dangerous duo that is capable of springing a big upset, so White is waiting to use the Ravens later in the season. See which team to pick instead here.

How to make Week 2 NFL survivor pool picks

Instead, White is backing a home team that "looks like it has one of the best offenses in the league." 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 expert who avoided the Bengals in Week 1 and is up almost 50 units on ATS picks over the last seven years .