Best NFL football knockout, survivor pool picks for Week 16

National sports writer Mike Tierney tells you who to pick in your Week 16 football survivor pool

If you've made it this far in your NFL survivor pool, you've done something right in an unpredictable season. But now it's getting really tough with just two weeks remaining. It's time to get an edge for the home stretch.

That's why you need to hear what SportsLine expert Mike Tierney has to say. Few people know the NFL like him. A national sportswriter whose work has appeared in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, he has reported from seven Super Bowls. He has his finger on the pulse of the league.

Tierney excels both against the spread and straight up. Last season, he went 166-88-2 in straight-up NFL office pool picks, beating the vast majority of experts on NFLPickWatch.com. And he's 56 games above .500 this season.

With Week 16 quickly approaching, Tierney has studied the matchups and locked in his NFL survivor pool pick. And he's sharing it over at SportsLine.

The Jaguars scored huge for Tierney last week -- easily taking care of business against the Texans 45-7, providing a payoff for anybody who was willing to put their faith in a franchise that has come up short many times before.

This week, there are again some big favorites, including the Ravens with a huge 13.5-point spread against the Colts; the Chiefs, who are 10-point home favorites against Miami; and the Steelers, who are favored by 9.5 against the Texans.

For those few players who still have New England remaining in their pool, the Patriots are 11.5-point favorites over Buffalo as well. Tierney recognizes, however, that most players have had the Pats off the board for many weeks.

Tierney likes the Steelers over the Texans, but is cautious about siding with teams on the road, and he does have some concern about how Pittsburgh will respond after a tough loss to New England that also cost the team Antonio Brown (calf) for this week.

And for players with fewer remaining options, Tierney says consider taking a look at Detroit, a five-point favorite on the road at Cincinnati. The talent differential might not be substantial, but it looks like the Bengals are packing it in as the Marvin Lewis era appears to be coming to an end.

Tierney has evaluated all the options and has locked in an even stronger Week 16 survivor pool pick. He knows there's one team that many will still have on their board this week that has a dream matchup that could allow players to reach the final week of the regular season in their pools. He's sharing who that team is, as well as his thoughts on several other popular options, only over at SportsLine.

So what is Mike Tierney's survivor pool play of the week? Visit SportsLine now to see which team will survive and advance, all from the man who went 166-88-2 in straight-up office pool picks last season and is 56 games above .500 this season, and find out.