The New England Patriots lost their Week 7 matchup vs. the Chicago Bears, 33-14.
This outright loss resulted in a massive blow to remaining NFL Survivor Pools. More than 45% of tickets at Circa Sports’ NFL Survivor Contest were backing the Patriots on Monday Night Football. The loss eliminated 175 contestants.
In addition to the Patriots, losses by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers, and Jacksonville Jaguars trimmed the field.
Only 125 survivors remain in a field that started at 6,133.
Only 125 entrants left in @CircaSports Survivor after 7 weeks from field of 6,133.
175 lost on Pats
$6M to winner. https://t.co/WXiN2MWund
— Todd Dewey (@tdewey33) October 25, 2022
Yahoo! Sports’ saw 26% of survivor contests eliminated with the Patriots on Monday night, while 24.5% bowed out Sunday when the Bucs lost to the Carolina Panthers.
While 70 Circa contestants needed the Bucs to come through against the Panthers, a larger percentage of the pool was on the Patriots, and no one in the field had the Green Bay Packers, who lost at Washington on Sunday.
More than 94% of Circa contestants have been eliminated through seven weeks of football.
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Week 7 Upset: Buccaneers Lose As Double-Digit Favorite For Second Straight Week
The Buccaneers lost as 13-point favorites to the Carolina Panthers in NFL Week 7. It was the biggest loss of the weekend, accounting for about 18% of NFL Survivor eliminations at Circa.
The carnage was even worse at Yahoo! Sports, where the Bucs were picked by 24.5% of remaining survivor contestants.
Former XFL quarterback P.J. Walker led the Panthers to a shocking victory, throwing two touchdowns against the Bucs’ stout defense. The 21-3 victory on Sunday comes two days after the Panthers traded franchise player Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers. It was an impressive display on offense, especially since McCaffrey accounted for more than 70% of the offensive yards during the Panthers’ Week 5 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Tom Brady and the Bucs continue their disappointing season, as the seven-time Super Bowl Champion experienced only the third loss of his career as a double-digit favorite. Last week, the Bucs losing as 10-point favorites to the Steelers in took out about 17% of Circa’s NFL Survivor contestants.
NFL Survivor Week 7 Chargers, Jaguars Lose Outright
The other two favorites to lose outright in NFL Week 7 were the Chargers and Jaguars. These two eliminations, however, only accounted for 10 total eliminations (2.6%) at Circa Sports.
The Chargers were upset at home against a scrappy Seattle Seahawks team. After trading away Russell Wilson, the Seahawks have embraced their underdog identity and find themselves atop the NFC West division. Their offense can score in bunches, hanging 37 points on the Chargers and resulting in five tickets being eliminated at Circa.
FINAL: The @Seahawks take over first place in the NFC West! #SEAvsLAC pic.twitter.com/IyCMs0QjNy
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2022
The Jaguars have now lost three in a row. Not only that, they’ve lost ground in an AFC South division they once led. Coach Doug Pederson continues to make aggressive play calls on fourth down, which has cost the Jaguars three straight games. It’s the third time in as many games the Jaguars have gotten out to an early lead only to watch it slip away in the fourth quarter. Five tickets (1.3%) at Circa were eliminated backing the Jaguars in NFL Week 7.
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Patriots the Most Popular Week 7 Survivor Pick at Circa
Despite a Sunday which saw 20% of NFL Survivor tickets eliminated, the Patriots represented the larger carnage on Monday Night Football.
The Patriots were the most popular pick this week at Circa, with a whopping 46% of tickets using them. Players trusted Bill Belichick and the Patriots to take down a hapless Chicago Bears team in primetime on Monday Night Football.
It didn’t happen, as the Bears intercepted New England QBs Bailey Zappe and Mac Jones a combined three times and held the Pats scoreless in the second half en route to the 33-14 victory. Justin Fields shined for the Bears, with 179 passing yards and a touchdown, plus 82 on the ground and another score.
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What Is An NFL Survivor Contest?
NFL Survivor Contests are season-long competitions. Each contestant selects one NFL team each week to win their respective game. Players that choose a winning team advance to the next week. Anyone that picks a losing team is eliminated. The last player standing claims victory. Simple enough, right?
Well… no.
The catch? Once you’ve chosen a team you can no longer use that team for the remainder of the season. So before you choose the biggest favorite of the week, you’ll need to consider the notion they won’t be available for the rest of the NFL season.
The strategies vary, with some players taking bigger risks early on to have substantial favorites later in the season. Other players opt for a more conservative approach, choosing the heavy favorites early in order to outlast more aggressive players.
There’s no “right” way to play it. And as we’ve seen so far this NFL season, with 94% eliminations through six weeks… it sure ain’t easy!
Also read: NFL Week 7 upsets key moneyline magic | NFL Week 8 odds
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