Week 12 of the NFL season is a wrap. Now—let’s take a gander around the league and power rank every team’s defense.
32. Washington Commanders (Last Week #32)
Washington did well to follow up the stomping they suffered at the hands of Tommy DeVito this week, by getting annihilated by Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. Dallas dropped 45 points on them and racked up 431 total yards on offense on them.
31. Detroit Lions (Last Week #29)
Detroit was supposed to be a legit Super Bowl contender, but with how they fared against the Bears and now this letdown against Jordan Love and the Packers—there are serious concerns about how playoff-ready its defense is.
30. Carolina Panthers (Last Week #31)
Carolina may have only surrendered 17 points this week, but it was to a Titans team that has been anemic lately—and one that was happy enough to nurse their lead while the Panthers sputtered offensively trying to catch up.
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29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week #28)
Gardner Minshew and Jonathan Taylor gave the Bucs defense all it could handle and more this week. Indy racked up 27 points in a big win and came up just shy of 400 total yards in the win.
28. New York Jets (Last Week #13)
Oh, how the mighty fall. At a certain point, we have to hold the Jets defense accountable when they don’t play well (even if it is still largely the offense’s fault). There is no excuse for the way that unit has played of late.
27. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week #30)
The Chargers are very weak on the defensive side against Baltimore. The Ravens only finished with 20 points, but they were aided by some careless Baltimore mistakes more than anything that the Chargers themselves they did particularly well.
26. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week #19)
After two consecutive strong defensive performances in a row the Cardinals defense got torn to shreds in Week 12 by Matthew Stafford and the Rams. It was just their veteran quarterback’s right arm doing all the damage either. The Rams managed to go for 228 yards on the ground and finished with 457 yards of total offense in the blowout win.
25. New York Giants (Last Week #27)
Back-to-back wins for the Giants—who would’ve thunk it! Credit to New York for only allowing seven points, but the matchup has to be factored in because New England has been atrocious on that side of the ball all year.
24. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week #22)
The Seahawks were strong defensively this week, but ultimately not strong enough as they couldn’t stave off the Rams comeback efforts.
23. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week #26)
Atlanta’s defense had a hard time slowing down the Saints on Sunday, but they marvelously deployed the bend don’t break philosophy, holding New Orleans to five field goals and no touchdowns.
22. New Orleans Saints (Last Week #19)
The Saints defense seems to have lost its teeth entirely in recent weeks. The Falcons ran the ball all over them, finishing with well over 200 yards on the ground.
21. New England Patriots (Last Week #23)
New England’s defense fared well against the Patriots, only allowing seven points, but, like we said—it is the Patriots.
20. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week #25)
Though much was made about the Steelers gaining 400 total yards for the first time since 2020, the Bengals defense actually played well in the loss. They limited the Steelers to 16 points—a total that they would’ve certainly been comfortable signing off on had Joe Burrow been healthy to lead the offense.
19. Chicago Bears (Last Week #21)
Chicago’s defense really showed up on Monday Night Football forcing Joshua Dobbs into four interceptions. Montez Sweat looks like a great long-term acquisition already.
18. Houston Texans (Last Week #15)
Houston held its ground on the defensive side of the ball this week against a high-powered Jacksonville offense, but the Texans need to do a better job of applying consistent pressure on the quarterback. Trevor Lawrence was too comfortable back there.
17. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week #12)
The Raiders played a really good first quarter of defense against the Chiefs, but the good times stopped there as KC marched to 31 points and a victory in the subsequent three quarters.
16. Buffalo Bills (Last Week #11)
No defense has looked all that great against the Eagles this year, but Buffalo hung in there fairly well, at least it did until they started to run out of gas toward the end of the game.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week #18)
The Jaguars defense fared better than most expected them to against the upstart Texans. They capitalized on the Texans suspect pass rush, getting home four times to sack Stroud and held the opposition to under 100 rushing yards.
14. Tennessee Titans (Last Week #25)
Tennessee looked good on defense this week, but then again, pretty much everyone who has played Carolina this year has had that same appearance.
Vrabel’s group needs to prove it against a real opponent before we buy back in all the way.
13. Green Bay Packers (Last Week #17)
The Packers defense played shockingly well in the win against the Lions on Thanksgiving, holding one of the best offenses in the league in check for pretty much the entire game.
12. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week #20)
The Rams defense showed up huge for them this week, helping to deliver a second consecutive win that keeps their postseason hopes alive, albeit by the thinnest of margins. L.A. was particularly stout against the run, limiting the Cardinals to just 73 rushing yards on the afternoon.
11. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week #14)
Shane Steichen’s Colts continue to impress—even on the defensive side of the ball of late. Granted, the Bucs aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, but Indy was able to put Baker Mayfield in uncomfortable positions all game.
10. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week #9)
Minnesota’s defense wasn’t the problem on Monday Night. Danielle Hunter had another big game and they limited the Bears to only field goals—too bad the offense forgot to show up!
9. Miami Dolphins (Last Week #10)
The Dolphins played well on defense the past couple weeks, but it has to be stated that they did play the Raiders and Jets, which are far from world beaters offensively.
8. Cleveland Browns (Last Week #1)
The potential injury to Myles Garrett is a serious concern for the Browns, who will need every last punch their defense can muster down the stretch of the season to help subsidize a poor offensive unit. Cleveland was off its game for most of Week 12 anyway though, as Russell Wilson and the Broncos marched to 29 points and a relatively easy win.
7. Denver Broncos (Last Week #8)
It is crazy that this is the same Broncos defense that we saw surrender 70 points earlier in the season. The Browns couldn’t get anything going against Denver’s D the way it was playing this week.
6. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week #5)
Allowing 30-plus points is not ideal, but considering they were facing a high-powered Buffalo side that was led by an unconscious Josh Allen, it isn’t too shabby.
Philly’s defense may get scored on from time to time, but they have playmakers all over and there’s never a doubt that they will come up big when needed.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week #7)
The Steelers defense, led by perennial DPOY candidate, T.J. Watt, looked great this weak against an admittedly battered and demoralized Bengals team. Cinci was limited to 10 points and 222 total yards of offense.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week #2)
After a slow start against the Raiders, Kansas City’s top-flight defense found its equilibrium. The Chiefs only allowed three points after the first quarter and the Raiders really couldn’t move the ball with any consistency.
3. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week #3)
San Francisco’s defense had no issues keeping Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks in check this week. Ever since the bye week—and with the trade deadline acquisitions—this group has been dominant. Especially on 3rd down, as they limited Seattle to three conversions on 11 attempts.
2. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week #6)
Baltimore’s defense has been playing so well of late it has started to draw comparisons to some of the great Ravens’ Ds of the past. They tortured Justin Herbert this week, holding an explosive Chargers offense to 10 points.
1. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week #4)
Stop me if you have heard this one before, the Dallas Cowboys defense has had its way with another terrible NFL team. At this point, we have to give Jerry’s defense credit. The group has ballhawks all over the field and they always find a way to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes.
