Week 11 of the NFL season is in the rearview mirror. Now—let’s take some time to look around the NFL and rank every team’s defense.
32. Washington Commanders (Last Week #29)
When you let Tommy DeVito torch you the way that Washington did this past week that easy grounds for getting sent to the bottom of the rankings. From what we’ve seen thus far, the guy is barely an NFL quarterback, he can’t be throwing for 246 and three scores with no interceptions against you!
31. Carolina Panthers (Last Week #22)
Carolina’s defense did its best to hold off the Cowboys, but ultimately Dak and the boys were too much for them to handle, as they poured on 16 points in the 4th quarter.
30. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week #32)
Another poor showing for the Chargers defensively this week, as Jordan Love, who hasn’t done much of anything this year carved them up for 322 yards and two scores in the upset victory.
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29. Detroit Lions (Last Week #26)
Detroit looks like a serious contender, but Dan Campbell need’s to find a way to get more out of his defense if the Lions are going to be a legitimate Super Bowl pick. Giving up 38 points to Justin Herbert and the Chargers is one thing, but that showing against the Bears was very concerning.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week #10)
Tampa Bay had no answers for the 49ers offense this week. Brock Purdy had no problems and statistically played a “perfect game” against them.
27. New York Giants (Last Week #31)
Credit to the Giants defense for picking themselves up off the mat this week after a brutal couple of showings. They held Sam Howell in check all afternoon and upset the Commanders in an emphatic fashion.
26. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week #31)
Atlanta’s defense got a much-needed break with the bye this week after getting abused by Kyler Murray in Week 10. The Falcons will have to step their game up defensively next week against the Saints in a game that has serious postseason implications for both teams.
25. Tennessee Titans (Last Week #18)
Tough showing from Mike Vrabel’s defense this week, as they surrendered 34 points with little resistance to Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars.
24. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week #17)
Cincinnati’s defense was in a tough spot this week losing Joe Burrow midgame, but still, 34 points is a lot to give up in a must-win situation. Even if it is against the Ravens.
23. BYE New England Patriots (Last Week #23)
New England had a chance to rest up on the bye this week after their NFL Germany excursion. They’ll have a favorable matchup in Week 12 against Tommy DeVito and the New York Giants.
22. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week #28)
The Seahawks were strong defensively this week, but ultimately not strong enough as they couldn’t stave off the Rams comeback efforts.
21. Chicago Bears (Last Week #21)
The Bears defense got off to a strong start against Detroit, which, considering the Lions offensive prowess is impressive. The wheels, unfortunately, came off in the 4th quarter when the Lions put up 17 points to steal the win.
20. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week #25)
The Rams got an assist from the Geno Smith injury, but credit to Aaron Donald and the boys for holding Seattle to 16 points—and for stealing a huge NFC West win to keep their season alive.
19. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week #24)
Arizona has now put together two consecutive strong defensive performances in a row. This week’s did come in a losing effort, but picking off C.J. Stroud three times and holding Houston to 21 points is no small feat with the way he’s been playing.
18. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week #30)
The Jaguars did well to regroup this week after getting shellacked by the 49ers in Week 10. Jacksonville shut out Tennessee in the first half and ultimately held them to 14 points and just 235 yards of total offense.
17. Green Bay Packers (Last Week #20)
Green Bay was impressive on the defensive side of the ball this week, holding Justin Herbert in check and limiting the Chargers to 20 points.
19. New Orleans Saints (Last Week #18)
After getting run over by Joshua Dobbs and the Vikings, New Orleans had a much-needed reprieve with the bye this week. The Saints defense will look to rebound in a crucial NFC South matchup with the Falcons in Week 12.
15. Houston Texans (Last Week #16)
Houston stepped it up defensively this week, limiting Kyler Murray and the Cardinals to 16 points and 319 yards in a big win to move to 6 – 4.
14. BYE Indianapolis Colts (Last Week #11)
Indy was playing good defensive football prior to its bye this week. The Colts will host Baker Mayfield and the Bucs in Week 12, which should be a good opportunity for them to continue on the right path.
13. New York Jets (Last Week #2)
Welp, everyone has their breaking point and for the Jets defense, it appeared to be this week, as the early offensive struggles snowballed into a blowout win for the Bills. It will be interesting to see what this group looks effort-wise like in Week 12 with Zach Wilson being benched. We may see an inspired performance out of the New York D.
12. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week #14)
The Raiders look like a different team under Antonio Pierce. They may have lost this week, but giving up 20 points to the Dolphins is just as impressive as the wins they got against the two New York teams the past couple of weeks.
11. Buffalo Bills (Last Week #13)
Buffalo looked good this week, but we can’t in good conscious move them up significantly considering it came against the two-headed quarterbacking monster of Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle.
10. Miami Dolphins (Last Week #12)
Minnesota took a small step back defensively this week against the Broncos. They were able to hold Russell Wilson and co in check most of the game, but they fell apart down the stretch and allowed Denver to pull off the comeback win.
9. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week #7)
Minnesota took a small step back defensively this week against the Broncos. They were able to hold Russell Wilson and co in check most of the game, but they fell apart down the stretch and allowed Denver to pull off the comeback win.
8. Denver Broncos (Last Week #15)
The Broncos defense is starting to resemble that fearsome bunch we saw for most of the 2022 season. Denver limited Minnesota to 20 points to win its fourth consecutive game.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week #8)
Most of the time when you hold a team to 13 points that is going to be enough to win. Unfortunately for the Steelers D, which has been playing great this year, they have Kenny Pickett as their quarterback, and that wasn’t enough to get it done.
Nevertheless, the Steelers have been one of the better defenses in the league this year, especially when you factor in the uphill battle they’ve faced with the Pittsburgh offense.
6. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week #9)
The Ravens had a bit of a handicap in their favor this week with the Bengals losing Joe Burrow midgame, but Baltimore did well to capitalize, holding Cinci to 272 total yards of offense and 20 points.
The Baltimore defense should give itself a nice pat on the back for this one because this win was another big step closer towards securing the division.
5. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week #6)
Philly’s defense had a tough time with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the first half, but credit to the Birds for shutting them out in the second half. Granted, Kansas City shot itself in the foot a couple of times, but the Eagles defense also forced a couple of game-changing turnovers.
4. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week #5)
Once again, the Dallas Cowboys defense has had its way with another NFL bottom dweller. The Carolina Panthers couldn’t get anything going against them and were ultimately limited to 10 points.
3. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week #4)
San Francisco’s defense it looking like it is all the way back. After their opening touchdown drive, Baker and the Buccaneers really struggled to get anything going against them.
Credit to Shanahan and his staff for doing a good job of getting Chase Young integrated into their system, as he has looked comfortable thus far.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week #1)
The Chiefs had another really impressive defensive performance this week. Chris Jones was an animal and KC was all over Jalen Hurts. Unfortunately, the offense ultimately let them down and a one big play did them in down the stretch.
1. Cleveland Browns (Last Week #3)
The Browns defense had a favorable matchup this week against Kenny Pickett and the Steelers, but they were also dealing with some serious adversity with the injury to Deshaun Watson on the offensive side of the ball.
The decreased margin for error didn’t seem to concern Myles Garrett and that nasty defense though, as they bullied the Steelers all game and held them to 10 points.
