Whew. We were about a minute from all five of us losing our survivor picks in week one. That would have been embarrassing.

As it turns out, playing it safe was the way to go. Three pickers took Seattle. Three pickers survived. One took Los Angeles and one took Arizona. They start the consolation round. Looks like the respective pickers’ strategies aren’t changing much in week two:

Vomhof: Carolina

Andy: Carolina

Tony: Carolina

Maggio: Detroit

Rich: Seattle

And here’s why:

Vomhof: (Previous picks: Seattle) I barely made it out of Week 1 with an ugly Seahawks win. I’m going to try to play it “safe” again this week by picking Carolina at home against San Francisco. The 49ers looked better than expected at home against the Rams on Monday night, but this is a much tougher matchup that should expose Chip Kelly’s club for what it really is.

Andy: (Previous picks: Seattle) This week presents another slate of “who knows” games. I’m taking the safe route. Carolina is the biggest favorite in Vegas this week, based on the money line. And if I’d been forced to map out a most predictable game for this weekend before the season, a Panthers win over the 49ers would have been my guess. At some point I’ll have to start making some guttier picks, but I feel no need to start now.

Tony: (Previous picks: Seattle) I really don’t think that Cam Newton is going to lose to a team whose most compelling story line so far this season is whether their backup QB stands, sits or kneels during the national anthem. One thing he hasn’t been able to do? Beat out Blaine Gabbert. That says enough.

Consolation round:

Maggio: (Previous picks: Arizona) Well, my week 1 was absolute garbage. Good thing I didn’t have any real money on any of this. Oof. Let’s see if I can F this up and get two straight survivor picks wrong. I’m going with Detroit because I love Jim Bob Cooter and everything he stands for. Namely: offense, and lots of it. I don’t think the fighting Cooters will have any problem with Tennessee. So there you go, folks. Bet the house on the Titans to win straight up.

Rich: (Previous picks: Los Angeles) Clearly I overestimated the ability of the Los Angeles Rams to play football at the NFL level. The 49ers are a terrible team, yet somehow that wretched defense was able to pitch a shutout against Jeff Fisher’s collection of scrubs and outcasts. The Seahawks appear to be in decline from their Super Bowl years, but they still sport a great defense. It’s a good bet that the Rams’ scoring drought will continue.