Dallas at Philadelphia

Ladies and Gentlemen, the circus rolls into Philly this week, and there’s no mistaking the main attraction. Embattled Cowboys WR Terrell Owens returns to Philadelphia, but teammate Julius Jones will steal the show.

Jones stomped over the Titans last week, rushing for 122 yards. Against a soft Eagle run D (Green Bay RB Vernand Morency went for 99 yards last week), he should do the same this week. The Eagles will likely be without a running game themselves as RB Brian Westbrook continues his recovery from a sore knee. Philadelphia does have a record of 3-1 this year, but against Houston, San Francisco and Green Bay, who have a combined record of 2-10. With Dallas transforming into a contender, they will make a huge statement in this game.

Pittsburgh at San Diego

The Pittsburgh offence is in shambles as QB Ben Roethlisberger is looking more like Ryan Leaf than a pro-bowler (Big Ben has 0 touchdowns to 5 interceptions), and his receivers are dropping passes left and right. The Steel Crew is fresh off a bye and should rebound on the road in San Diego. The Chargers had a rough time last week in Baltimore, losing a heartbreaker to the Ravens. Baltimore QB Steve McNair hit Todd Heap for a TD with 34 seconds to go, ending the undefeated campaign of Phillip Rivers and company. This game should be a slugfest, with the Steelers coming out on top. The Super Steeler linebacking core of Joey Porter, James Farrior and Clark Haggans will reek havoc on the fragile Rivers and their speed will cause problems for RB LaDainian Tomlinson.

Baltimore at Denver

The pre-season Denver running back dilemma Tatum and Mike Bell has yielded a definite winner in Tatum. In the week three win over the Patriots, T. Bell carried the ball 27 times for a whopping 123 yards, 4.6 yards per carry.

I like Bell’s presence as a confidence booster for Broncos QB Jake Plummer. Plummer won’t feel the need to take great risks against the Ravens D when the running game is working effectively. The Ravens are 3-0 and feeling good, but as mentioned earlier, they barely escaped with a win last week at home against the Chargers. To even stand a chance this week in Denver, they will have to get more out of RB Jamal Lewis, whose week four totals of 15 carries for 34 yards is just awful. Broncos linebacking trio in Ian Gold, D.J. Williams and Al Wilson offer no reason to pick against them this week.

Last week: 2-1. Season to date: 7-3.