NFL Week 16 Predictions: Teams That Will Pound the Ground for Victories

Here’s a quick look at three NFL teams that will run the ball with ease this week as they go for important victories. 

Houston Texans

The Indianapolis Colts have actually been sneakily good against the run this year. They have only given up 4.1 yards per carry (13th  best in the NFL), yet they are continually seen as a porous defense.

Still, the Texans got a wake-up call last week against Carolina and are going to come out with fire on Thursday night. They will do that by feeding Arian Foster and Ben Tate more than young quarterback T.J Yates.

If this team wants to be successful in the playoffs, they can’t give Yates 30 throws and hand the Foster-Tate combo just 23 carries. Expect them to right the ship this week. 

Denver Broncos

In the last three weeks, the Buffalo Bills have been the second-from-worst team against the run, giving up 5.9 yards per carry.

That’s essentially a dream matchup for Tim Tebow and the Broncos, who love to run the ball whenever they can. They saw all the scoring they could handle last week and will attempt to slow this game down.

Look for Tebow and running back Willis McGahee to get a handful of carries en route to a win this week. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

A lot of things point to a heavy run game for Pittsburgh this week.

First of all, they play the Rams. St. Louis gives up a lot of rushing yards. That is, 154 per game to be exact.

Secondly, Ben Roethlisberger is hurting. The Steelers may have struggled to run the ball this year, but they will want to show they are still able to run the ball if Charlie Batch has to step in at quarterback.

Lastly, Pittsburgh will likely be up big in this home game. If they don’t run in the first half, they’ll stack up the carries as they protect their lead in the second.