Week 8 of the 2021 NFL season has not yet concluded with the Monday Night Football game still to be played, but it is not too early to look ahead to Week 9. With the Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Washington Football Team all on a bye this week, here are some NFL Week 9 survivor league top picks.
Top Picks for NFL Week 9 Survivor League
Dallas Cowboys Versus Denver Broncos
It looked like Dak Prescott might be able to play Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings considering he looked pretty good during pregame warmups. But he ended up not playing due to the calf strain he sustained in the Dallas Cowboys Week 6 win over the New England Patriots. Even without Prescott suiting up and the Cowboys having Cooper Rush under center, Dallas still found a way to beat a good Vikings team.
The currently 4-4 Denver Broncos eked out a close win over the now 2-6 Washington Football Team in Week 8. Washington is not a good football team this season and their defense, which is not living up to expectations, is one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL and the Broncos did not exactly win decisively.
It seems really reasonable to expect that Prescott will play in Week 9. And if he does this game should not be that close. The Broncos offense has some playmakers, like Jerry Jeudy, but the Cowboys have a lot more firepower with the likes of Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Ezekiel Elliot, and Tony Pollard. And while the Broncos defense has been good this season, the Cowboys unit has been better, led by rookie Micah Parsons and cornerback Trevon Diggs. And Denver’s secondary has shown some cracks in their armor at times this season. Plus, on Monday, the Broncos traded Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams prior to the trade deadline. Prescott should help the Cowboys put up a lot of points if he is healthy.
But even if he cannot go or the Cowboys want to be extremely cautious with their franchise quarterback, Dallas is simply better than Denver. If Rush is once again under center the Cowboys have enough around their backup quarterback on both sides of the ball to improve to 7-1 on the season with a win over the Broncos. Denver simply will not be able to keep up with Dallas.
Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Buffalo Bills are 5-2 and sit atop the AFC East. The Jacksonville Jaguars are 1-6 and are ahead of only the 1-7 Houston Texans in the AFC South, one of the worst divisions in the league. The Jags one win came in London over the 1-7 Miami Dolphins who are last in the AFC East.
The Bills are coming off a 26-11 win over the Dolphins while the Jaguars lost 31-7 to the Seattle Seahawks and the Seahawks had Geno Smith under center for the injured Russell Wilson. It also took Jacksonville until there was 1:49 left in the game to score their lone points of the game and Seattle’s defense is not exactly world-beaters this season.
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It will not get any easier for the Jaguars this week since the Bills defense is ranked first in points per game (allowing 15.6) while the Dolphins defense ranks 29th (29.1 points per game). Buffalo’s offense is also tops in the league, scoring 32.7 points per game while Miami’s offense ranks 28th (17.3 points per game). The Bills might be on the road this week, but they are the easiest pick this week. Take Buffalo and start some of their offensive players (definitely Josh Allen) and their defense in fantasy.
Do not try to get too cute. The Bills and Cowboys are the two best picks for Week 9, a week without a lot of obvious survivor picks. If the Bills or Cowboys are still available, take one of them and have a great shot at advancing to next week.
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