2025 NFL Week 8 Circa Survivor Recap: Shocking Upsets Trigger Colossal Knockouts

Losses By Falcons and Bengals Result In 'Blood Bath' Eliminations Amid Bye-Week Armageddon - Picks, Results, and Strategy Insights

Circa-Survivor-contest
Circa-Survivor-contest

2025 NFL Week 8 Circa Survivor Recap: Shocking Upsets Trigger Colossal Knockouts; Only 11% of Pool Remains

Losses By Falcons and Bengals Result In ‘Blood Bath’ Eliminations Amid Bye-Week Armageddon – Picks, Results, and Strategy Insights

Written by Frank Taddeo, @RespectedMoney on X

Circa Survivor entrants encountered Week 8 apocalypse, as two of the top three most selected teams were upset, eviscerating 51% of the pool left standing for a whopping $18.7 million top prize.

Atlanta and Cincinnati faced two struggling teams with a combined record of 1-13 heading into Sunday. 2,152 competitors were eliminated when their opponents, the Dolphins and Jets, pulled off stunning upsets no one saw coming.

Inspired by the announcement of the sudden passing of former 7-time Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold, the Jets snapped their seven game losing streak by beating the Bengals 39-38, as 7-point road underdogs.

Thanks to stellar production by running back Breece Hall who accounted for three touchdowns (two rushing, one passing) in the fourth quarter New York earned their first win of the season despite having less than a 2.5% chance of emerging victorious heading into the final 15 minutes of game action.

During the early Sunday slate, the other major upset of the week came courtesy of Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins overwhelming the Falcons on the road, 34-10. Playing without starting QB Michael Penix Jr. and star wideout Drake London, Miami was able to completely shut down Atlanta’s star running Bijan Robinson, holding fantasy football’s overall RB4 in PPR formats, to his worst production of the season (25 rushing and 23 receiving yards).

Circa Survivor, which drew a record-breaking $18,718,000 million prize pool this year, does not require the need to cover any point spread. However, simply picking the straight-up winner is simply not so easy as 16,661 (89%) contestants are out prior to the start of Week 9, leaving only a total of 2,057 entries (10.9%) alive in their hunt for a record-breaking win.

Favorites once again dominated the week finishing with a 11-2 Straight-up (SU) and Against the Spread (ATS) (84.6%). Overall, favorites maintain a sizable 82-35-1 SU (3 pick-ems) mark, while also holding a 65-53 ATS (55.1%) advantage. Home teams hold a 68-47-1 SU (59.1%) advantage with 5 neutral-site International games, while also owning the more coveted 63-53 ATS (54.3%) edge. Higher scoring games than expected by the experts in the desert resulted in Overs posting an impressive 9-2-2 mark. Overs now hold 65-54-2 (54.6%) edge on the year.

The Circa Survivor contest is a grueling contest which forces entrants to pick one winner every week, with no spread with one pivotal caveat. Entrants CAN NOT use the same team more than once during the course of the season. Circa Survivor, which requires a $1,000 entry fee, will once again be a massive sweat for those who run deep into the season due to the massive winner-take-all prize pool.

In an early look-ahead to Week 9 it is expected that: LA Rams (-13.5) vs New Orleans, Green Bay (-12) vs Carolina, LA Chargers (-10) at Tennessee, Detroit (-8.5) vs Minnesota and Baltimore (-7.5) vs Miami – will be among the most heavily chosen teams in the contest.

Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, home to the prestigious Fantasy Football World Championship, continues to deliver world-class content from the best players to help fans win and stay informed. Stay tuned for more expert insights as the season unfolds!

About Frank Taddeo 115 Articles
Frankie is a Villanova alumni who created the first Casino Fantasy Sports program in Vegas book. He was the 2019 FFWC 10K Top Gun Champion & 2017 + 2018 Back-to-Back Top 100 Players in World Invit. Champ! He is a sports fanatic, a Vegas whisperer, and a horse racing expert handicapper!