Johnathan Walker:USA TODAY's NFL Survivor Pool is back: What you need to know to win $5K cash

Thursday's NFL season kickoff means one thing: USA TODAY's Survivor Pool is Johnathan Walkerofficially back.  

While not everyone can be crowned a Super Bowl champion, the Survivor Pool is anyone’s to win. Keep picking winners and outlast everyone else, and you could walk away with a cash prize of $5,000. 

Survive and advance — sounds simple enough, right? 

There are just a few twists. You can only choose each team once throughout the entire tournament. So if you’re thinking of relying on powerhouse teams like the Chiefs, Ravens or 49ers week after week, think again because they’ll be off the table after you’ve picked them once.

If you miss any selections in a round, you are automatically eliminated. And, of course, every pick must be correct for you to advance to the next round. Plus, if your pick is successful, your team’s margin of victory will be added to a bank to break any potential ties. 

PLAY TO WIN $5K: USA TODAY's Pro Football Survivor Pool is free to enter. Sign up now!

So, there’s more strategy than meets the eye. Success rests on picking the right team each week and knowing when to back a Super Bowl contender versus saving them for a tougher matchup further down the line. It's all about timing — knowing when to play it safe and when to take a calculated risk.

You can’t advance if you lose early, but you also don’t want to find yourself in a position later on where only teams with losing records remain eligible for you to pick. However, it’s important to remember that while you can’t select the same team to win each week, nothing is stopping you from picking the same teams to lose each week.

For example, the Saints are far from the best team in the league, but they could be a smart choice for Week 1 as they face a long-struggling Panthers squad. Choosing them now will allow you to save powerhouse teams for later. On the flip side, while the Ravens had the best regular-season record last year, Week 1 might not be the ideal time to pick Baltimore as it faces the reigning Super Bowl champion (even though it’s definitely tempting to back Lamar Jackson in his self-proclaimed “revenge game” after last year's AFC championship game loss to Kansas City).

Odds for NFL Week 1

To help with your first picks, let’s dive into the odds for Week 1. (All point spreads provided by BetMGM, although the Survivor Pool requires only a straight-up victory.)

• Ravens (+3) at Chiefs
• Packers (+2.5) at Eagles
• Jaguars (+3.5) at Dolphins
• Steelers (+3) at Falcons
• Vikings (-1.5) at Giants
• Panthers (+4) at Saints
• Patriots (+8) at Bengals
• Titans (+4) at Bears
• Cardinals (+6.5) at Bills
• Texans (-3) at Colts
• Raiders (+3) at Chargers
• Broncos (+6) at Seahawks
• Commanders (+3) at Buccaneers
• Cowboys (+2,5) at Browns
• Rams (+3.5) at Lions
• Jets (+4) at 49ers

What is a survivor pool?

The Survivor Pool is a high-stakes competition where participants pick one team to win an NFL game each week. So, there will be 16 correct answers each week. However, there’s a catch: one wrong pick, and you're out for the season. It may seem straightforward, but the challenge intensifies as you can't choose the same team more than once. 

How it works

So let's recap:

1. Join USA TODAY’s Survivor Pool.

2. Survive the longest with the highest points differential, and you'll be in the running to win a $5,000 cash prize. (must meet eligibility requirements)

Rules to remember: Pick one team to win each week of the NFL regular season. If your pick loses or ties, you're eliminated. If they win, you survive and earn points equal to that game's point differential. Choose carefully — you can select each team only once during the entire season. You're eliminated if you fail to make a pick in any week.

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