Chiefs and 49ers Anchor Week 3 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
The short version
- David Fucillo locked in the Chiefs and 49ers across his three surviving survivor pool entries.
- Chiefs (-11.5) at Miami rated safest; Packers (-5.5) over Atlanta rated best value.
- Bills (-7) over the Chargers and Seahawks (-7) over the Commanders were labeled trap picks.
- Commanders QB Jayden Daniels is out with a dislocated elbow; Marcus Mariota is next in line.
- Raiders and Vikings opened 2-0; Chargers and Buccaneers started 0-2.
Yahoo Sports analyst David Fucillo backs Kansas City and San Francisco in Week 3 survivor pools while flagging Buffalo and Seattle as trap games.
With the NFL closing out September amid an unpredictable stretch of results, Yahoo Sports analyst David Fucillo has finalized his Week 3 survivor pool selections, landing on the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. The Raiders and Vikings have opened the season 2-0, while the Chargers and Buccaneers have started 0-2 — outcomes Fucillo pointed to as early evidence of a season already defying expectations.
Survivor pools require each entrant to choose one team to win every week. A victory keeps the entry alive, while a defeat ends it in most formats. Fucillo manages four entries in a single pool that operates under double elimination, so an entry must lose twice before it is knocked out.
His portfolio has already taken damage. One entry was eliminated after backing the Chargers in Week 1 and the Buccaneers in Week 2. A second entry carries one strike from a Week 1 Steelers pick and last week's Tampa Bay defeat, while his other two entries — one that went Jaguars then Eagles, the other Raiders then 49ers — remain unblemished.
Among the options on the Week 3 board, Fucillo rated Kansas City the safest choice. The Chiefs are favored by 11.5 points on the road against Miami, according to FanDuel, and while he believes the team could be worth reserving for a later week, he considers them a sound play now given his low opinion of the Dolphins.
The best value sits with Green Bay, a 5.5-point favorite over Atlanta. The Packers have not impressed him through two weeks, but he grades the Falcons even lower. He weighed calling the game a trap because of Atlanta's quarterback change to Michael Penix and the short week of preparation, but his dim view of the Falcons won out.
Buffalo, favored by seven points against the Chargers, and Seattle, favored by seven against the Commanders, earned trap designations. Fucillo expects both favorites to win yet finds each matchup trickier than the spread implies. The Chargers have underachieved despite their talent, and he advised preserving Buffalo for a Week 14 meeting with Miami.
Washington presents its own complication after quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a dislocated elbow, an injury that positions Marcus Mariota to start. With Seattle making a cross-country trip for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff, Fucillo suggested keeping the Seahawks in reserve for a Week 9 home game against Arizona or a Week 14 home date with the Giants.
In settling his own card, Fucillo committed to the Chiefs after weighing whether to hold them for a Week 9 matchup with the Jets or a Week 11 game against the Cardinals, concluding he could find comparable options in both weeks. He added the 49ers over the Cardinals, comfortable using San Francisco now given the difficult games dotting its remaining schedule. Green Bay tempted him as well, but with the Packers hosting Miami in Week 15, he chose to wait.
In a Sunday update, Fucillo confirmed his final entries. Of his three surviving entries — two without a strike and one with a strike — the no-strike entry that had used the 49ers the previous week went with Kansas City, while his other two entries backed San Francisco.
