NFL Picks Week 8: San Diego Chargers and Other Teams on Upset Alert

Anybody who had the Jacksonville Jaguars beating the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night gets a nice round of applause.

Hmmm... why do I get the feeling that I'm talking about a very small group of individuals?

Probably because nobody saw that upset coming. Shoot, I know I didn't. If I had to pick the game again, I'd probably still pick the Ravens.

Oh well. It's on to Week 8 now. Lucky for all of us, there are a couple of games that actually stand out as upsets waiting to happen.

Let's take a quick look at these games, shall we?

Note: all spreads according to Sportsbook.

Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers (-3)

Cam Newton has already beaten fellow rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert. On Sunday, he'll get his shot at beating Christian Ponder.

This could be easier said than done. Ponder showed very good poise in his first NFL start against the Green Bay Packers, and he can rest comfortably knowing that the Panthers don't bring the heat quite as well as the Packers.

Ponder can also rest comfortably knowing that Adrian Peterson should rack up quite a bit of yards against the Panthers. They have one of the league's worst rush defenses and they are going to be in for a long day against Peterson, the league's leading rusher.

If Ponder and Peterson are successful in keeping Newton on the sideline, this game could easily result in a loss for the home team.

Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5)

Thanks to their Week 7 bye, the Eagles have had a whole extra week to prepare for the Cowboys. Because they are also at home, they would seem to have the advantage.

Think again. This is a game that is going to come down to each team's running game and I think the Cowboys have the edge. Rookie running back DeMarco Murray just set a new franchise record for rushing yards and he'll be going up against an Eagles defense that has had all sorts of trouble stopping the run this year.

On the flip side, the Eagles' league-best rushing attack may finally meet its match going up against Dallas' league-best rush defense. If it does, Michael Vick will have to pick up the slack for the Eagles, a dangerous proposition given his tendency to turn the ball over.

True, Tony Romo will also turn the ball over, but that danger will be lessened if Murray can get it done on the ground again.

If he can, I think the Cowboys will end up taking this one.

San Diego Chargers (-3.5) at Kansas City Chiefs

The Chargers had a golden opportunity to grab control of the AFC West on Sunday. Instead, they let the Jets come back and steal a victory, and the West is wide open as a result.

One of the teams that is suddenly in the mix is the Kansas City Chiefs. They've won three in a row and were last seen dominating the Oakland Raiders. They might just knock off the Chargers on Monday Night Football.

One way or another, this will be up to Philip Rivers. When he's right, he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but he hasn't been right all season. The Chiefs just faced two quarterbacks who aren't right and they ended the day with six interceptions.

The Chiefs will likely have to get more work done on offense in this game, but you wonder if Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe can hook up in the red zone the same way Mark Sanchez and Plaxico Burress were able to do.

It may not be pretty either way, but this is a game I think the Chiefs can win. If they do, they'll be 4-3.

Given how they started, that would be pretty amazing.