Several close calls had survivor pool players a bit nervous last week, especially when Dallas needed a long, late field goal to hold off the New York Giants. For Week 3, six games look promising due to them having a -5.5 line or higher, but as has been the case in the past, looks can be deceiving in the NFL. The week’s longest odds come in the Thursday Night Football game, with the Bills entering as 12-point favorites over the visiting Miami Dolphins, in what’s the biggest NFL spread of the 2025 NFL season. For those who either wanted to save the Bills for later in the season or were too late to take them, the next highest odds come with the Packers at -7.5 over the Browns and the Seattle Seahawks (-7) against the Saints. 

With the survivor pool shrinking, it’s a must that players put together a winning NFL survivor pool strategy. It’s all about deciding when to successfully use a team and when to save another. Before finalizing any Week 3 NFL survivor picks, you need to see which team proven expert R.J. White is backing.

White has been SportsLine’s No. 1 NFL against-the-spread expert over the last eight years, going 718-623-37 against the spread to put him up more than 32 units on those picks at SportsLine since 2017. He has also delivered a 55% hit rate on his Vegas contest picks over the last 10 seasons and has two finishes in the money, including finishing 18th out of 2,748 entries back in 2017. He knows the NFL at a level that few do, making him the perfect expert to give NFL survivor pool strategy tips. 

Now, White has turned his attention to the latest Week 3 NFL odds and locked in his Week 3 survivor pool pick. You can only see who White is backing this week at SportsLine. You can also bet the NFL at DraftKings. 

New users can also target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $200 in bonus bets instantly plus over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket:

Top Week 3 NFL survivor pool predictions 

One surprise: White is not advising survivor players to back the Seattle Seahawks against the New Orleans Saints. Despite being 7.5-point favorites, the Seahawks are just 1-1 on the season and are 0-1 at home. In their only win, they were gifted a touchdown by the Pittsburgh special teams. Meanwhile, the Saints, expected to be a team that survivor players would go against all season, have been showing signs of life with quarterback Spencer Rattler.

This may be the best time all season to use the Seahawks, but White does not see that as sound strategy. A better option may lie with some of the other heavy favorites. White sees much better options for Week 3 elsewhere. See which team to pick instead here. 

New users can also check out the latest FanDuel promo code and get $300 in bonus bets instantly at FanDuel if your $5 bet wins. 

How to make Week 3 NFL survivor pool picks 

White says he is liking his current strategy, but is “more comfortable going with a great team against a bad team,” he said. And he’s found a team to jump on in Week 3. The time to pick this team is now, and you can only see the play over at SportsLine.

Which team is a must-back in your Week 3 NFL survivor pool? Visit SportsLine now to see which team carries you to victory in Week 3, all from SportsLine’s top NFL expert all time.