NFL Predictions Week 3: Which Defenses Will Stifle Opposing Offenses?

Yes, it's an old cliche, but "defense wins championships."

There's no way around it because it doesn't come down to how many points you can score, it comes down to how many you give up.

That being said, here are three defenses that are sure to stifle their opposing offense this week.

Chicago Bears (vs Green Bay Packers)

Sure it's another tough matchup for The Monsters of the Midway, but last season the Chicago defense held Green Bay's offense to an average score of 16 points in three games last season.

And for as lightning quick as the Packers' offense is, that's very, very impressive.

Include the fact that QB Aaron Rodgers was limited to an average of 263 passing yards per game and only totaled two TDs to his four picks, and it's clear that the Bears' defense is one that can get to him.

Rest assured that Aaron Rodgers and company will slow down quite a bit in The Windy City this weekend. The only remaining question, however, is can the Bears pull off the upset victory?

It's expected to be a defensive battle, and since the Bears are capable of forcing Rodgers to turn the ball over, that will only work to head coach Love Smith's advantage.

Pittsburgh Steelers (at Indianapolis Colts)

The only scary part about this game is how badly the Colts get annihilated.

If the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns defenses can minimize damage from Indianapolis, it's hard to fathom what Pittsburgh is going to do.

For starters, The Steel Curtain is still angry about the embarrassing display they put on in Week 1 against AFC North rival Baltimore.

Last week they shut out a Seattle Seahawks' offense that's not much better than that of Indianapolis.

And with Peyton Manning still out, it's only going to be that much worse for the Colts' faithful.

Be very surprised if head coach Jim Caldwell's team manages to even get into field-goal range, because Blitzburgh will dominate.

New York Jets (at Oakland Raiders)

In Week 1, the Raiders had a sound offensive performance against the Denver Broncos, and they significantly enhanced that performance in Week 2 on the road in Buffalo.

This week, however, the New York Jets come by for a visit and have arguably the NFL's best defense.

Yes, they started off slow against Dallas in Week 1, but they completely blanketed the 1-0 Jacksonville Jaguars and RB Maurice Jones-Drew last week.

Now, of course, Oakland has a better offense than Jacksonville, as you can't get much worse than Luke McCown starting under center.

Not to mention Oakland knows how to run the ball very well.

But then again, the Jets know how to stop the run, force you to pass and have the skill in the secondary to totally shut-down any group of WRs.

Some wise and clever play calling is going to be needed if Oakland wants to outplay Rex Ryan, but if Ryan can outplay Bill Belichick twice in one season, the Raiders have a lot of work to do.

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