Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) against the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium.

Pool season has come and gone as the fall inches closer, but don't put that bathing suit into hibernation just yet.

The dawn of a new NFL season is here, which can only mean one thing – swimming pools are out and survivor pools are in. It was a long offseason with plenty of moving parts. Trades, draft picks and free agency have given the league a new look.

Bottom line, the slate has been wiped clean as we embark on a new journey, with new challenges that await. Heading into our survivor pools for 2025, we're a little wiser and our antennas are in tune with all the funky things that will take place on the gridiron over the next 18 weeks.

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We'll look to spot traps, identify undervalued squads and adapt to the changing landscape so we can all celebrate when it's all said and done. It won't be easy, but surviving never is. Someone is going to be left standing on the island, so why not us?

After all, it's survival of the fittest.

Here's our picks for your survivor pool for Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season and, while you're at it, join our USA TODAY NFL Survivor Pool. It's free to enter, but you'll win a little more than bragging rights if you stick around long enough.

NFL survivor picks Week 1

Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Dallas Cowboys)

The Eagles open with a familiar foe, facing off against the Cowboys after their Super Bowl banner ceremony. Opening up in South Philadelphia is a tough draw for Dallas, especially following their uneven offseason. Trading Micah Parsons never seemed like a possibility, until it was, and that leaves the Cowboys' defense reeling early on. Dak Prescott is coming back after a season-ending injury and no one knows what we can expect from Brian Schottenheimer in his head coaching debut.

Philadelphia returns plenty of key pieces from the championship squad and shouldn't skip a beat – especially with some extra juice from the home crowd. It could be a little closer than expected given the wonkiness of Week 1, but Philly should have no issues getting the job done.

Denver Broncos (vs. Tennessee Titans)

Welcome to the NFL, Cam Ward. It's hard to imagine a more difficult debut spot for the Titans' signal caller. Ward not only has to deal with arguably the league's best defense in Week 1, but he also has to do it on the road in the Mile High City.

History isn't on Ward's side either as rookie quarterbacks own just a 17-35-1 record in Week 1, including 1-9 since 2020.

Washington Commanders (vs. New York Giants)

An undefeated preseason has made for one crowded bandwagon in the New York area. Everyone is hopping on and buying stock in the Giants – and maybe for good reason, but that won't be the case in Week 1. Most of the hype is surounding Jaxson Dart, but the rookie quarterback won't be starting for the G-Men, Russell Wilson will be.

The Commanders are the team that surprised as a Super Bowl contender last season and they expect to be even better in 2025 with MVP candidate Jayden Daniels taking the next step. These sides played two close contests in 2024, but that was before Washington hit their stride with a five-game winning streak after Thanksgiving and later added two playoff victories as well.

Since 2021, teams that posted a perfect preseason went on to have just a 9-12-1 record in Week 1 of the regular season – which includes three matchups that saw two preseason undefeateds play each other.

Arizona Cardinals (at New Orleans Saints)

From a survivor pool perspective, this one can be seen as risky. The Cardinals are traveling east for a game in New Orleans – a place that isn't always friendly to the away team. Once you get past that, however, it's hard to not dive in with the Cardinals to open the season.

Spencer Rattler is 0-6 as a starter and didn't exactly light it up in preseason either. New Orleans projects to be the worst team in the league and they also have a rookie head coach in Kellen Moore. On the opposite sideline, Jonathan Gannon needs his team to take a step forward. They possess an improved roster and have typically performed better earlier in the season than later. We'll gladly buy some Kyler Murray stock in Week 1 if it means we get to fade the Saints.

What team should you pick in NFL survivor pools this week?

The Arizona Cardinals.

Week 1 can be a wild slate of games that can deliver some ridiculous results. It's our first look at each team in 2025, with rebuilt rosters and new-look depth charts. We don't want to risk losing in Week 1, but we also don't want to really hurt our chances of winning the whole thing either.

There is always risk that a big favorite overlooks their competition, but we can't use "Rattler is due for a win" as a reason to side with the Saints. That's not a strategy. However, it's unlikely we'll find a spot to use the Cardinals the rest of the year, something that won't be an issue for the Broncos, Commanders and Eagles.

Even on the road, Arizona should have no issues getting the job done in the Big Easy against a team that is already counting down the days until the 2026 NFL Draft.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL survivor pool picks Week 1: Which team should you trust?

Reporting by Nick Brinkerhoff, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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