Typically, after the first two weeks of the NFL season, at least half of the Circa Survivor field is still in the running for a slice of the multimillion-dollar prize pool.
But 2024 is proving to be no typical year.
A spate of home losses by heavy favorites through Week 2 has resulted in the elimination of all but 27.2% (or 3,877 entries) of the original 14,266-entry field. To put that in perspective, 63.9% of the field was still standing after Week 2 last season, while 73.2% was alive in 2021.
Even before the Eagles succumbed to a masterful late-game comeback engineered by Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night, only 32.7% of the Survivor field had yet to be eliminated, which already edged out 2022 (32.8%) as the lowest percentage left in the contest after Week 2.
The 27.2% mark, therefore, sets quite the new standard.
In Circa Survivor, contestants who’ve paid $1,000 per entry pick one team to win straight up each week, but can't pick the same squad twice over the course of the regular season. This year's Survivor prize pool is a record $14.27 million.
Upsets Pile Up
The Eagles’ loss was just one of a handful of upsets that has whittled the field down to a historically low number of entrants after Week 2.
The mayhem started in Week 1, when the Bengals lost to the Patriots at home. That loss resulted in 34.3% of the original field being eliminated, while 26.5% of those left standing after Week 1 were bounced when Baltimore blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead to lose to Las Vegas this past Sunday.
Tampa Bay’s upset win at Detroit on Sunday led to 10% of the Week 2 field being eliminated, while second-week losses by Jacksonville, Dallas and Indianapolis accounted for another 8%.
