NFL Picks Week 8: San Francisco 49ers and Teams Sure to Defend Their Turf

Home field advantage is typically an aspect of football that is overlooked by the majority of fans.

Believe it or not, it is actually one of the main contributors when looking at matchups each week.

Teams like Seattle and Kansas City that may not be the biggest threats, yet they have a great advantage when teams come to visit.

Here are three teams sure to defend their home turf this weekend.

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the biggest surprises to kick off the 2011 season.

The team is almost identical to the one on the field last year. There has been one major difference, head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Harbaugh has this team playing with intensity on offense and defense. He has led them to a 5-1 record with Cleveland coming to town this week.

This will be one of the easier opponents that the 49ers have seen this year. This second-ranked scoring defense should have little problems with the Browns' offense.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs started off looking terrible this season. After going 0-3 to kick things off, the team has now won three straight and look like they could compete in the AFC West.

We will find out for sure this week when the San Diego Chargers come to town.

The Chargers are a team that are sitting at a 4-2 record, but it's a very weak record. They beat on lesser opponents and lost to the only two teams that presented a slight challenge.

We will learn a lot about both of these teams this weekend.

Kansas City has momentum and home field advantage on their side. That may be all that they need.

Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers fans have finally been given a reason to once again show up at home games.

Rookie quarterback sensation Cam Newton has taken the league by storm. He is one of the most exciting players in the league and has been improving every week.

The Minnesota Vikings come to town for a game that will feature another first-round pick at quarterback in Christian Ponder.

This game is going to come down to which quarterback plays better. My money is on Cam Newton.