NFL Week 9 Picks: 3 Teams That Will Win Games on Defense

Teams in the NFL can put up all the points and passing yards they want, but nothing will come of it if the defense doesn't do its part.

We tend to forget that you can score 50 points and lose, but, at the same token, can score three points and win. It doesn't matter how it happens, because getting the W is the only thing that counts.

That said, here are three teams that will win defensive battles in Week 9.

Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Baltimore)

Say what you want about how great the Ravens defense is, because the Steelers offense will match them this week. Which in turn, leads us to the key matchup between Pittsburgh's vulnerable defense and Baltimore's underperforming offense.

No matter how injury-stricken the Steelers may be, they're rolling with a lot of confidence now, after getting a win over New England. Whereas the Ravens struggled against the Jaguars throughout and Arizona early on.

Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau will have a near-perfect game plan, as he usually does in big games, so don't anticipate Baltimore scoring much, if any, regardless of how much Pittsburgh bends because the Steelers are not going to break.

Steelers 14, Ravens 10

Cincinnati Bengals (at Tennessee)

The Bengals are going to win a close road game over Tennessee this week because last week's game against Seattle was closer than the indicated 34-12 score.

Cincinnati scored their two final TDs on a punt and INT return for a TD; otherwise the final would have been more like 21-12.

As for the Titans, as bad as their offense is, it's still better than Seattle's, so you can anticipate Tennessee putting up a better fight. However, the Bengals have a top-10 defense while Tennessee ranks dead last in rushing offense.

The Bengals wear on Tennessee all game, and the Titans stay in it only because Cincy's offense hasn't quite yet developed into an explosive unit.

Bengals 16, Titans 9

San Francisco 49ers (at Washington)

This game will be eerily similar to Cincinnati-Tennessee because the 49ers lack an explosive offense and the Redskins offense is just all kinds of bad.

One major difference here, however, is this game could get ugly in terms of turnovers. Washington may have an awful offense, but their defense is very underrated and unfortunate since they get put in tough situations quite often.

San Fran is mainly a ground-and-pound offense with RB Frank Gore, and although he has a solid game, the Redskins will zone in on him all game and eventually force Alex Smith to throw. But, in the end the 49ers take it as they're less prone to turnovers and they have the much better rushing attack.

49ers 17, Redskins 13

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