NFL Week 11 Predictions: Projecting the Best Defensive Performances

Defense is where it's at, plain and simply. If any team is serious about winning a Super Bowl, a defense that can play well in clutch situations on a consistent basis is beyond imperative.

To that end, here are three defenses that will put on the best show in Week 11.

Chicago Bears (vs Chargers)

The Chargers come in on four-game skid, whereas the Bears are their polar opposite. In addition, Chicago has played a much more difficult schedule and has caught fire NBA Jam style the past four weeks.

San Diego's offense is just plain inconsistent and they dig themselves into a hole early on. The Packers game is the best example. With Philip Rivers being turnover prone, you can't expect them to move the ball and keep pace with Green Bay's offense if they throw two pick-sixes.

As for the Bears, their defense is about as good as Green Bay's and Chicago also has a sick special teams unit, unlike San Diego. What hurts even more though, is that San Diego lacks the ability to run the ball.

Chicago will eat their run game alive and force Rivers into many unfavorable passing situations, especially early on.

San Francisco 49ers (vs Cardinals)

The question for the 49ers defense is whether they truly believe that Arizona QB John Skelton is the real deal. He's won two straight games for the Cardinals and has also played quite well.

And as long as WR Larry Fitzgerald is lined up outside, you can never go wrong. That being said, however, the Cardinals have yet to face a pass rush like Frisco's as well as a run defense. Arizona has enough trouble moving the ball on the ground anyway, but they'll be lucky to get two rushing first downs against San Fran.

In turn, that will force Skelton into more passing situations. San Francisco must double team Fitzgerald all game long and blitz often as well.

The fact is, Skelton has the potential to beat them, so to prevent any chance of that occurring, getting him flustered early on is crucial.

To that end, I anticipate the 49ers playing a lot of bump-and-run man-coverage to force a lot of inaccurate long passes. The combination of blitzing and solid coverage will either get Skelton hit and force him into fumbles or he'll throw multiple INTs.

Dallas Cowboys (at Redskins)

Even if we include Santana Moss, can we really say that the Washington Redskins have one offensive starter that could start on any other NFL offense? The Redskins have simply been that awful when possessing the football the past five weeks, and Week 11 only gets more difficult.

Invading our nation's capital are the Dallas Cowboys, whose defense is rolling with confidence. Their pass rush is supreme, as is their rush defense. So even if the Redskins try to establish a ground game early to setup the pass later, why should Dallas buy into that?

The Cowboys know that neither Rex Grossman nor John Beck poses a viable passing threat, and it's not like Washington will have any success on the ground anyway. And if the Cowboys offense puts up a bunch of points, can we really believe that Washington has the capability to keep pace?

No.

The closest Washington came to 30 points this season was against the Giants at home in Week 1, when they scored 28, with one TD coming as a pick-six. In their last five games, coach Mike Shanahan's offense has averaged 10.6 points per game, and 6.67 the past three weeks.

So in other words, the Redskins offense will be blanked by Big D.

Be sure to check out John on Bleacher Report. 

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