NFL Predictions Week 3: Defenses That Will Carry Their Teams to Victory

Week 2 of this NFL season saw some pretty surprising results. 

The Arizona Cardinals stifled New England's high-octane offense for the better part of the game and held on for the win after the usually reliable Stephen Gostkowski missed a last-second field goal.

The Dallas Cowboys, dominant in their win over the Giants on opening night, lost by 20 points to the Russell Wilson-led Seattle Seahawks. Marshawn Lynch ran for 122 yards and a TD as Seattle completely shut down Tony Romo.

Philadelphia pipped a one-point win over the Baltimore Ravens. Michael Vick threw for 371 yards and a TD against the Ravens' usually dominant defense. 

Defense has always played a huge part in the league, and this season is no different by any means. Let's take a look at four NFL defenses that will carry their team to victory in Week 3.

New England Patriots

The Patriots' loss to the Cardinals last week wasn't because the defense played poorly. Chandler Jones is proving to be a beast off the right side, and Tavon Wilson and Dont'a Hightower are playing well. 

It was the fact that Arizona's defense was able to disrupt Tom Brady's rhythm and get him on the ground often. Brady doesn't like to hit the ground.

The Patriots actually have the No. 2-ranked defense in the league right now, and they are going up against the Baltimore Ravens this week. The Pats will need to utilize their defensive weapons to knock Joe Flacco down early and often and stifle Ray Rice on the ground. 

Tom Brady isn't likely to have two off games in a row, but the defense is still going to need to pull its weight and shut down Baltimore's offense.

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have one of the better rush defenses in the league and they were able to make Darren McFadden, one of the best rushers in the league, a non-factor in their win over the Oakland Raiders last week.

Miami is playing interdivision rivals New York Jets this weekend, and while the Jets don't have a stellar run game, Rex Ryan likes to mix his play calls up. 

The Jets were humbled by a blowout loss to the Steelers last week, so Mark Sanchez will probably come out with guns a-blazing. The Dolphins will need to step up their pass rush and coverage to stop Sanchez from getting the ball to his receivers. Carson Palmer still threw for 373 yards against Miami last weekend, so you can be sure that Joe Philbin addressed that deficiency this week.

Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks

These are two teams with really good defenses.

The Packers are dominant from the line of scrimmage, with Clay Matthews—who already has six sacks on the year—as a consistent penetrator.

The Seahawks completely shut down Tony Romo and the Cowboys last weekend, holding them to only seven points.

Defense is going to be huge this game. We saw what happens when the defense gets to Aaron Rodgers in Week 1 when the San Francisco defense played really well against the Packers. Seattle is going to have to make some big plays like they did last week in order to throw Rodgers off. 

The Packers defense is coming up against a rookie QB in Russell Wilson, so they are expecting to make him uncomfortable in the pocket and force mistakes. If Wilson starts making multiple rookie mistakes, then the Packers' job gets a lot easier.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers shut down the Titans last weekend in a pretty convincing win. They ensured that Jake Locker was Tennessee's leading rusher for the second week in a row with 22 yards on the ground, and held the sophomore QB to 174 yards in the air. 

San Diego comes up against a much sterner test this weekend in the form of the Atlanta Falcons. Matt Ryan has been trying to get his name in the elite-QB discussion for years and is always a dangerous scoring threat. 

Michael Turner, who was arrested for DUI last week hours after winning against the Denver Broncos, will still play this week, but it remains to be seen if his jail time will affect his game time. 

Still, the Chargers boast the third-ranked defense in the league and with the two teams matched up well on offense, it will be the Chargers defense that will be the difference-maker in this one.