NFL Week 16 Predictions: Teams That Will Win Defensive Battles

Here’s a quick look at three teams that will turn to defense for big wins during Week 16 of NFL action. 

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals haven’t been as good on defense as of late, but they still remain a very solid squad and John Skelton isn’t what you would call an elite quarterback.

On the other side of the ball, the Arizona Cardinals are only giving up 300.7 yards per game (ninth best in the NFL) in their last three contests.

The Bengals were only able to score 20 points last week against an anemic Rams defense, so they could very well struggle again here.

Expect this one to fall in the high-teens to low-20s. I’ll give the advantage to the home team with a more capable quarterback. 

San Francisco 49ers

The Niners have an amazing defense and a mediocre offense. The Seattle Seahawks have a good defense and a mediocre offense.

Is there really any chance that this game gets any higher than maybe 40 total points?

I love the Seahawks when they are at home. However, the majority of their recent success has come from Marshawn Lynch, and the 49ers are suffocating against the run. Seattle could have extra trouble getting things going on offense.

Washington Redskins

This is more of a case of two bad defenses, although the ‘Skins have a pretty solid defense as well.

Minnesota has been scoring a good amount of points as of late, but that’s partly because they get behind early and throw the ball a whole bunch. I’m not confident Christian Ponder will be able to get it going against this aggressive Washington defense.

On the other side of the ball, the Vikes are giving up a ton of yards per game, but Rex Grossman isn’t necessarily the guy to take advantage of that.