NFL Week 8 Picks: Which Underdogs Have Best Shots at Victory?

The 2011 NFL season has taught me three things: teams are infatuated with throwing the football, playing defense is optional, and picking games is nearly impossible.  

We've seen a "stunning upset" seemingly every week and underdogs have relished that label all season long. 

Which underdogs have the best shot at continuing this trend of unpredictability in Week 8?

Dallas Cowboys 

If DeMarco Murray is the real deal and can produce consistently for the Cowboys, they're going to become a very dangerous team. 

He's definitely not rushing for 200-plus anytime soon, but he flashed glimpses of what he showed us as a collegian at Oklahoma and with Felix Jones battling injuries, Jason Garrett may be on to something with his run game. 

Their defense is one of the most physically intimidating in the NFL, led by their usually-dominating defensive front. 

This game against the Eagles has "shootout" written all over it (what else is new?), and because of Philadelphia's poor run defense, Dallas should be able to control the clock in the second half of this one, and take some pressure of Tony Romo. 

A closely-contested battle that Dallas can certainly win. 

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs opened as 3.5-point home underdogs to the San Diego Chargers this week (game on MNF). 

After starting the season 0-3, Kansas City has reeled off three straight victories, the most recent coming in impressive fashion against the upstart Raiders in Oakland. 

This season, we've seen Philip Rivers, who's normally one of the more reliable quarterbacks in the league, come up short when his team has needed him most.  

See: Jets game last week. 

KC's secondary is their strength and they could feast on Rivers if he's forced to throw frequently in the second half.

The Chargers had trouble in the red zone against the physical Plaxico Burress, this week they'll get a more complete receiver with similar stature in Dwayne Bowe. 

Field position will be huge in this game that I expect to be more low-scoring compared to today's standards.