NFL Week 1 Survivor Pool Picks (Cardinals, AFC North Squad Highlight Top Predictions)

The SI Betting team breaks down who they're picking in Survivor for Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is looking to lead his team to a win as a road favorite in Week 1. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Football is back, and so are NFL Survivor Pools, and picking just one team to win each week always ends up being harder than it seems.

Here at SI Betting, we share our favorite Survivor Pool Picks every week throughout the season to help our readers advance as far as they can. Are we always right? Of course not. But, we’ll stay committed to delivering picks even after we lose (hopefully that doesn’t happen in Week 1) our respective pools.

Week 1 features a bunch of great matchups, but when it comes to Survivor, you’re looking for a heavy favorite to back or a simply a bad team to fade.

The Denver Broncos are the biggest favorite of the week in their matchup against the Tennessee Titans, but both NFL betting insider Iain MacMillan and SI’s Peter Dewey opted for different picks in the opening week of the 2025 season.

Let’s break them down and start Survivor off with a nice, clean 1-0 record. 

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

NFL Week 1 Survivor Pool Picks

Arizona Cardinals

It's widely accepted the New Orleans Saints are the worst team in the NFL this season, and Spencer Rattler being their Week 1 starting quarterback certainly doesn't help their case. 

The time to pick the Cardinals is early in the season when Kyler Murray's at his best. All of that lines up for the Cardinals' to be a top tier Survivor pick for the opening round. 

Let's go with Arizona and hope the Titans can take down the Broncos to eliminate a chunk of the pool. – Iain MacMillan

Cincinnati Bengals

I know what you’re thinking: You can’t pick the Bengals in Week 1!

Notorious for slow starts, Cincy decided to play some of its key pieces in preseason this season, and I think that may help the Bengals, who are 5.5-point favorites win their season opener.

Now, they burned us in Survivor last year by losing to a bad New England Patriots team in the opening week, but I’m willing to bet that things will be different this time around.

The Bengals take on the Cleveland Browns and Joe Flacco in Week 1, and Cleveland is expected to be one of the worst teams in the league in 2025. While the Browns’ quarterback situation is enough to fade them in this game, I also have worries about their skill players after second-round pick Quinshon Judkins’ legal trouble has led to him remaining unsigned. 

When it comes to taking Cincy, there are only a few spots where bettors can truly feel comfortable in 2025 since the team’s defense has been so bad. Two of those spots are against this Cleveland team, so why not take a shot right away?

Cincy has won the last three head-to-head meetings between these teams, and as long as Joe Burrow is under center, I think they take this Week 1 matchup. – Peter Dewey

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