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Resources: Yahoo survival pool pick distributionSurvivorGrid.com
Week 15’s biggest killer: *Kansas City losing to Tennessee (1.2 percent)
Week 15’s biggest winner:*Atlanta over San Francisco (54.96)
Total Week 15 eliminations: *8.22 percent
Perfect entries remaining on Yahoo: 9,474
One of the fun parts about survival pool strategy is anticipating where the big pitfalls are going to be and breaking from the pack as it heads over a cliff.
Those moments for exultation have been few and far between this season, though, because the most frequently picked matchup has only been burned twice in 15 weeks: The Miami Dolphins’ home win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6 and the Chicago Bears home win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8. That’s what happens when the Browns end up in that top game six times and lose all six.
Now they’re back in the top spot playing Christmas Eve victims to the visiting San Diego Chargers and we must once again ask ourselves the question: Should we steer clear of the masses that are rolling against Cleveland in case the Browns actually win a game?
The answer to that question depends on the answers to a few others. Do you have a better option down the schedule? And how many people are left in your pool?
If it’s just you and one or two others, perhaps you know they’re in a spot where they will or can only select the Browns. If that’s the case, maybe you feel comfortable also picking the Browns with them* loss and being resuscitated for Week 17 should everyone lose (under normal survival pool rules).
Or maybe you’re comfortable rolling the dice and doing an end-around with another squad in event of a Browns loss? Only you know the answer, but they are questions worth asking yourself.
With two weeks to go, there are more than a few choices*for Week 16:
San Diego over Cleveland*(52.66 percent of entries on Wednesday)
The Browns have lost 14 straight games and haven’t even lost a game by single digits since Oct. 30. Still, are you really willing to risk 15 weeks of hard-earned work on a Chargers team that’s 5-9, playing a game across the continent on a holiday and with a coach (Mike McCoy) who’s probably going to be one of the first coaches fired on Black Monday? I think there are better options out *there than this one and you can capitalize should the Browns actually get in the win column just once this season.
Tennessee over Jacksonville (14.56)
The Titans are a better team *that’s headed out on the road and they do have something to play for. If Tennessee wins its final two games, it wins the AFC South. Combine that with a season-high 36 points and 494 yards against the Jaguars in the team’s first meeting this season and this is a pretty strong pick. *Jacksonville is 2-11 and coming off the firing of head coach Gus Bradley.
Green Bay over Minnesota (5.85)

Ten weeks ago, it would’ve been unthinkable that this game would be coming into survival pool play. But the Vikings have lost seven of their last nine games while the Packers have won four straight and seem to be charging toward another NFC North title. *If you have the Packers left, this might be your best bet as there’s little chance the Vikings are winning at Lambeau.
Oakland over Indianapolis (4.89)
This is a sneaky good pick that I don’t think many people are making because of the Colts’ performance against a mediocre Minnesota team last week. But if your survival pool strategy is to ride your strongest horses the final weeks, it’s hard to ask for anything else but this Raiders team playing at home with a possible division title on the line.
My pick: Oakland over Indy
Who are you picking? Let me know in the comments below

This young Cleveland Browns’ fan’s Christmas dreams might come true without breaking his parent’s bank. (Getty Images)