NFL Week 17 Predictions: Projecting the Week's Top Defenses

Defensive football is the most unbiased form in the game. Plays aren't designed for a person to get the ball, instead, they're designed for a collective unit to play as one and gang tackle.

On offense, if one player messes up it's not nearly as big of a deal, especially if there's a mobile QB in the backfield. But if a defensive player misses his assignment in covering or filling the gap, it can cost quite a bit.

Here, we have some defenses in Week 17 who flourish because of favorable matchups and having gained some momentum in recent weeks.

Pittsburgh Steelers (at Cleveland)

Unless the Cleveland Browns miraculously revert back to their 1950s self with players like Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Jim Brown and Dante Lavelli, they don't have a shot at upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Browns offense isn't going to have much success because the Steelers rank No. 1 against the pass and No. 9 against the rush. Collectively, Pittsburgh allows just 274 total yards per game.

Now, Cleveland's strength is to run the football because even though they rank higher in passing, that's only because they're forced to throw the ball so much in the second half in being down all the time. Keeping it on the ground is their best chance.

No Browns WR will get open against Pittsburgh's coverage as none are good enough to beat single coverage. In turn, the Steelers pass rush won't allow them any time to get open either. So, Cleveland must utilize Peyton Hillis and Chris Ogbonnaya as much as possible.

If you're Pittsburgh, this is a piece of cake as they'll just play physical man coverage, move the DTs inside more and blitz the LBs from all over to fill the gaps.

This takes care of any running play and if it's a pass, there's no time for the QB to read his progressions or set his feet.

Steelers over Browns

San Francisco 49ers (at St. Louis)

The last time these two teams met in San Francisco, the 49ers blanked the Rams 26-0. St. Louis had compiled just 157 total yards on 49 plays and was 3-of-13 on third down.

Now hosting the 49ers in St. Louis, we could make an argument for the Rams' chances as they did beat New Orleans at home midseason. But, the Saints defense is nowhere near comparable to that of San Francisco.

Here, we have the NFL's No. 1-ranked rush defense (49ers) facing arguably the NFL's worst offense (Rams) who averages just 281 total yards per game.

And much like their first meeting, expect a lot of pressure from the San Fran front seven.

Rookie LB Aldon Smith, DLs Justin Smith and Ray Edwards will tear past the St. Louis offensive line all day and even if the RBs and/or TEs are left in to help with pass protection, the Rams WRs won't be open.

San Fran may be just No. 17 against the pass, however, St. Louis has one somewhat established WR in Brandon Lloyd. So, he will be doubly covered all day while single coverage is elsewhere. Forcing the less talented players to beat them gives the 49ers a distinct advantage.

On top of all that, St. Louis has had trouble scoring all season and has been shutout twice. Therefore, don't expect any noise from them against the 'Niners.

Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Washington)

Another divisional matchup, but it's an interesting one as both the Redskins and Eagles can make some noise in 2012.

That being said, Philadelphia has a major advantage with all their talent. And although 2011 was a disappointment, you can see they've began to get it together the past few weeks.

Washington still has Rex Grossman and some former well-established receiving targets. Philadelphia's secondary will wall them off for much of the game as they did the first time around and bait Grossman into making mistakes.

In that first game, Rex threw four picks and if you combine backup John Beck's numbers, Washington was just 17-of-37 for 245 passing yards. Much of that can also be contributed to the Eagles sick pass rush with Trent Cole and Jason Babin.

They didn't get the numbers but were present enough to force a lot of bad throws, and that will repeat this time around. The Eagles know Grossman is interception-prone, so blitzing him from all angles and a constant pass rush will create multiple turnovers.

And if the Redskins revert to RB Roy Helu, well, the Eagles will be locked in on isolating his versatility. LB spies, safeties dropping down and CBs zoned in the flats will cover all bases to totally devour the Washington offense.

Minnesota Vikings (vs. Chicago)

Thanks to being hit with a stampede of injuries, the Chicago Bears literally pulled a 180-degree turn and went from a five-game win streak to dropping five in a row.

Which bodes well for the 3-12 Minnesota Vikings, who still have a somewhat respectable defense thanks to sack-master Jared Allen.

What's interesting about Minnesota is that the Vikings have played really good, tough teams at home. Not to mention, they went into Carolina and upset the Panthers.

Against the Bears, the Vikings need Allen to wreck in the backfield, period. Having such a poor pass defense, a team's only hope is to relentlessly blitz and try to force bad throws or mess up any kind of timing.

Chicago has struggled with scoring and consistently moving the ball even before their injuries however, so with some of the better players having been out, it's no surprise they've averaged just 13.6 points per game since late November.

Here, the Vikings will blitz to get QB pressure and stop the run. Chicago will then have to rely on a weak passing offense with limited options and time for the play to develop. Hence, advantage Purple People Eaters.

Vikings over Bears

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