NFL Picks: Bold Predictions for Primetime Showdowns

Have no fear, the primetime games this week couldn’t possibly be worse than the 62-7 Sunday night punch line and the 12-7 Monday night snoozer that fans were forced to witness last weekend.

Each game will feature a must-watch divisional matchup between two rivals that not only hate each other, but are competing for a playoff spot.  The Dallas Cowboys will travel northeast to the City of Brotherly Love to clash with the Philadelphia Eagles while the San Diego Chargers will fly to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.  Here are bold predictions for each primetime showdown:

Dallas (3-3) at Philadelphia (2-4)

“I don’t know if we win the all-hype team, I think that might have gone to somebody else, but we’re going to beat their ass when we play them” (via Star-Telegram.com).

Well the Philadelphia Eagles definitely have failed to live up to Rob Ryan’s nickname, but I’m sure they’ll still use his threat as motivation.  Every divisional game the rest of the way is pretty much a must-win one for the Eagles.  Trent Cole, one of Philly’s best defenders, is finally back from an injury this week, which isn’t good news for Tony Romo.

Against an Eagles pass rush featuring Cole, Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins, Romo will be running for his life all night long.  Babin boasts seven sacks this season, Jenkins five and Cole three in four games.  With a poor offensive line to protect Romo, the Cowboys only hope is to run the football down the Eagles' throats.

With Felix Jones out with an injury and Tashard Choice released (via NFL.com), Dallas is down to two rookie backs in Demarco Murray and Phillip Tanner.  Murray blew up last week against the St. Louis Rams rushing for a franchise record 253 yards, but it would be far-fetched to expect him to match his historic day.  The Eagles will win in a shootout, but it’ll come down to the wire:

Final Score: Eagles 31, Cowboys 27

San Diego (4-2) at Kansas City (3-3)

The Chiefs are on a three-game winning streak, but don’t believe the hype.  Their road back to relevance will end on Monday night.  The Chargers are the far more talented football team even if their record only says they're one game better.

Kansas City’s three victories are nothing to be impressed about.  At home, they beat a winless Minnesota Vikings team led by quarterback Donovan McNabb who is no longer the starter.  They then traveled to Indianapolis to face off against another winless team in the Colts; the Chiefs defeated those two cellar dwellers by a grand total of nine points.

Last week against the Raiders, Kansas City dominated their bitter rival, but it was against Kyle Boller and a Carson Palmer who, according to Yahoo! Sports, only knew 15 plays going into the game.  The Chargers only two losses were to the New England Patriots and to the New York Jets in a game in which San Diego beat themselves.

Philip Rivers won’t allow the Chargers blow two games in a row and the Chiefs will plummet back down to Earth.

Final Score: Chargers 28, Chiefs 14

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.  Follow him on Twitter.