{"id":230226,"date":"2023-09-11T09:32:48","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T16:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/survivorsweat.com\/?p=230226"},"modified":"2023-09-11T09:32:48","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T16:32:48","slug":"2023-circa-survivor-contest-week-1-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/survivorsweat.com\/content\/article\/2023\/2023-circa-survivor-contest-week-1-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 CIRCA SURVIVOR CONTEST – WEEK #1 IN REVIEW"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Vikings and Seahawks Turn Into Dreamcrushers<\/b><\/h3>\n

Duel Upsets by Bucs and Rams Eliminate Nearly 20 Percent of Field on NFL Opening Sunday<\/b><\/h3>\n

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The biggest news from Circa Survivor contest in NFL Week #1 was the implosion of the Seattle Seahawks.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Minnesota Vikings:\u00a0 <\/span>Hold my beer.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Installed as 6-point favorites by Circa and hosting the supposedly rebuilding Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota stunned bettors and backers by losing outright — 20-17.\u00a0 Survivor contestants didn’t care about the pointspread, which isn’t factored into the results.\u00a0 What mattered was the Vikings losing a game most projected they’d win, which ended up burning lots of contest entries.\u00a0 In fact, there were a whopping 1,044 tickets punched with the Vikings as the pick of the week.\u00a0 The opening week massacre meant that 11.3 percent of all contestants were eliminated just from that game alone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Bucs\u2019 win wasn’t a fluke.\u00a0 They flat out deserved to win.\u00a0 Tampa Bay took an early 3-0 lead and never fell behind by more than a score.\u00a0 By the fourth quarter, Vikings’ backers were sweating, and with a few minutes remaining, they were looking for a defensive stop and a miracle.\u00a0 But neither happened.\u00a0 In his first start since taking over as Tampa Bay\u2019s starting quarterback, much-maligned Baker Mayfield earned his first victory with his new team.\u00a0 This shocker was but one of multiple upsets and surprisingly close games.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The other dreamcrusher game was Seattle hosting the LA Rams.\u00a0 Seattle was installed as -4 to -5 point favorites (depending on when and where it was bet).\u00a0 The Rams were coming off a miserable season and weren’t expected to have much of a chance playing in Seattle, typically a tough spot for the visitor.\u00a0 There were 600 entries (6.5 percent of the field) which picked the Seahawks.\u00a0 Incredibly, the Rams looked like Super Bowl champs from a few years ago by outscoring the favorites 23-0 in the second half, en route to a stunning 30-13 upset victory.\u00a0 Poof!\u00a0 There went all the Seahawks’ tickets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sidebar Comment: Two entrants picked the Rams as their survivor team (two entrants also picked the Bucs).\u00a0 The Rams?\u00a0 The Bucs?\u00a0 What the hell do I know?\u00a0 Now, they look like geniuses.\u00a0 Go figure.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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This year’s season-long 2023 Circa Survivor contest attracted a record 9,267 entrants.\u00a0 Each entrant paid $1,000.\u00a0 It was a bit of a surprise to see 68 picks eliminated on the season’s first game, played last Thursday night.\u00a0 Some contestants apparently thought Kansas City was the best play of the week, but then the Chiefs ended up losing 21-20 to the Detroit Lions.\u00a0 Nevertheless, the real trim down took place on Sunday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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So, while Minnesota and Seattle turned into contest toast, the burn could have been even worse.\u00a0 Circa Survivor almost ended up with a massive triple disaster.\u00a0 The most popular Week #1 pick was the Washington Commanders.\u00a0 The capital gang were -7 point favorites hosting Arizona, a team many have forecasted to be the NFL’s worst team.\u00a0 However, the Cardinals hung in there and played tough all day.\u00a0 They even held a 16-10 lead entering the fourth quarter.\u00a0 A surprisingly high number of tickets \u2013 3,549 in all — sweated it out until the final whistle as Washington scored 10 unanswered points late and escaped what would have been a disastrous upset.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Washington pick represented 38.3 percent of all entrants in Circa Survivor.\u00a0 A loss by the Commanders would have brought back nightmare memories of last season’s debut week, when San Francisco lost their opening game (to Chicago), burning about 30 percent of all entries.\u00a0 A Commanders’ loss would have meant more than half the field eliminated in the first week.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Here are some other oddities and abnormalities worth mentioning while looking back at Week #1:<\/span><\/p>\n

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