Help · Pool types
How NFL Playoff Survivor works
Pick one NFL team each playoff round, from Wild Card weekend through the Super Bowl. A wrong pick or a missed pick adds a strike; an against-the-spread push adds one when ATS is on. The commissioner can allow multiple strikes or team reuse.
Rules
Picks and strikes
- Pick one team in each round, from Wild Card weekend through the Super Bowl. A wrong pick, a missed pick or an against-the-spread push adds one strike. One strike is the default; the commissioner can set one to five.
- The commissioner can have members pick winners (the default) or losers. Two picks can be required in the Wild Card, Divisional or Conference Championship round, but the one-game Super Bowl always has one pick.
- Team reuse is off by default. The commissioner can allow an entry to pick any team again in a later round.
ATS, locks and joining
- Straight up is the default. The commissioner can turn on ATS using the lines PikSheet posts before each round; an ATS push is a strike.
- Each pick locks at its own game's kickoff and stays hidden from other members until then. Members can join until the Wild Card round ends. A missed pick in any round, including Wild Card, adds a strike; late joiners can still pick any game that has not started.
- Survivor rules can change until the first game starts. Team reuse and picks per round lock as soon as anyone saves a pick.
Winners and revives
- There is no tiebreaker. Entries alive at the end share the win; if every remaining entry is eliminated in the same round, they share it too.
- The pool ends early when one or zero entries remain after a fully played round. Before the Super Bowl is complete, the commissioner can revive everyone eliminated in the latest round.
A two-round example from the 2025 NFL playoffs
Ava's Rams and Casey's Bills survive Wild Card weekend. Blair's Packers lose to Chicago, so Blair takes a strike and is eliminated. Ava and Casey both survive the Divisional round with different teams.
| Member | Pick | Game | Final | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ava | Los Angeles Rams | Rams at Carolina Panthers | Rams 34–31 Panthers | Won; remains alive. |
| Blair | Green Bay Packers | Packers at Chicago Bears | Bears 31–27 Packers | Lost; one strike and eliminated. |
| Casey | Buffalo Bills | Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars | Bills 27–24 Jaguars | Won; remains alive. |
| Member | Pick | Game | Final | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ava | Seattle Seahawks | 49ers at Seahawks | Seahawks 41–6 49ers | Won; remains alive. |
| Casey | Denver Broncos | Bills at Broncos | Broncos 33–30 Bills | Won; remains alive. |
Settings lock. Pool settings and Survivor rules stay editable until the first game starts; team reuse and picks per round lock as soon as anyone saves a pick.
The example uses final scores from real 2025–26 games, except March Madness, which uses the real 2026 NCAA tournament.