With Week 5 of the NFL season mostly in the books, let’s take a look around the league to see how NFL bettors and survivor players held up. Spoiler alert — things got messy.
‘Worst’ Survivor beat of all-time headlines Week 5 carnage
Chalk mostly held through four weeks of Circa Survivor. Week 5 delivered the carnage.
The two most popular selections, the Rams (3,524 entries) and Cardinals (3,152 entries), went down in stunning fashion, wiping out more than half the remaining field and $6.67 million in entry fees. A third massive favorite, Buffalo (756 entries), got upset on Sunday Night Football, losing 23-20 at home to New England. What started as a record field of 18,718 entries is down to 4,669 entering Monday Night Football.
All are vying for the $18,718,000 prize. Participants paid $1,000 per entry and were allowed to buy up to 10 entries.
“Thursday’s madness managed to carry over to Sunday,” Circa Sports director of operations Jeff Benson told CBS Sports. “What an unreal ending in the Titans-Cardinals game. Heartbreak city for Circa Survivor players.”
‘Impossible’ series of blunders
Arizona should have been up 28-6 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Emari Demercado let go of the ball right before he crossed the goal line. An imminent 72-yard touchdown run turned into a touchback, sparking the Titans’ comeback.
After Tennesssee marched 80 yards to cut the deficit to 21-12, missing the PAT, the Titans were driving again when rookie Cam Ward threw what looked like the game-sealing interception. Instead, the Cards fumbled it into their own end zone, with Tyler Lockett recovering for a Tennessee touchdown. It was 21-19.
Arizona mustered 15 yards on six plays. Following another punt, Ward capitalized, leading his first game-winning drive. Joey Slye capped it with a 29-yard field goal as time expired. Final: Previously winless Tennessee 22, Arizona 21.
The Cardinals lost in “unfathomable fashion,” said Mike Palm, Circa’s vice president of operations.
“They turned a seeming 28-6 fourth-quarter lead into a 22-21 defeat to the winless Titans, through a series of blunders that on their own seem mind-boggling, but strung together seem impossible,” he told CBS Sports. “It’s the worst Survivor beat of all time.”
Carnage is nothing new
While Week 5 brought a seismic shakeup, it’s not all that unusual in Circa Survivor.
Last year, 50% or more of the remaining field was eliminated three separate times during the first five weeks. It also happened once during the first five weeks in 2022 and 2023.
Eight people split the $14.3 million Circa Survivor pot last season, each finishing 20-0 (Circa includes Thanksgiving and Christmas as separate “weeks”).
Circa Survivor launched in 2020. This year, the book added a high-roller Survivor called Circa Grandissimo. That contest drew 69 entries at $100,000 apiece. Following the Week 5 bloodbath, only 16 entries remain. Those contestants are playing for a $6.9 million prize.
Pressure’s on the Packers
Looking ahead to Week 6, the Packers are almost certain to be the most popular pick. They’re coming off a bye and hosting the reeling Bengals as 14.5-point favorites.
Other popular choices could be Philadelphia (vs. the Giants), Denver (vs. the Jets in London), and the Rams (at Baltimore).
But as Week 5 proved once again, there are no sure things in the NFL.