There were some impressive—and some, well, not so-very impressive defensive showings this week. Let’s take a look around the NFL and rank every NFL team’s defense.
32. Washington Commanders (Last Week #31)
It doesn’t get much worse than letting up 30 points to Trevor Siemian and the New York Jets. Washington’s defense has been terrible all year, but this was a new low.
31. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week #29)
Arizona’s defense had nothing for the Chicago Bears, particularly Justin Fields, this week. The dual-threat quarterback shredded them on the ground and through the air, as the Bears marched to a relatively effortless 27 points.
30. New York Giants (Last Week #30)
While it wasn’t exactly a premier performance, the Giants defense did its best to limit the high-powered Eagles offense this week. Bobby Okereke was all over the field notching 10 tackles and New York did its best to get after Jalen Hurts.
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29. Carolina Panthers (Last Week #27)
Carolina’s defense came back out to earth after surrendering just 10 points in Week 15, as the Panthers fell apart against Green Bay, allowing 33 points in yet another brutal loss.
28. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week #32)
The Chargers defense fared fairly well this week against what had been a red-hot Bills team. L.A. was able to hold Buffalo to 24 points and 335 yards of total offense and gave the Chargers a chance to win the game.
27. Green Bay Packers (Last Week #28)
Green Bay’s defense has really come apart at the seams down the stretch of the season, perhaps parting ways with Rasul Douglas was a bigger mistake than they realized. That said, when you let the Carolina Panthers go for over 300 yards through the air—it is safe to say that it is time for a long look in the mirror.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week #22)
The Jaguars defense seems like it has hit its breaking point, as it got shredded by Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers in Week 16. Tampa Bay marched all over them en route to 30 points and 335 yards of total offense.
25. Houston Texans (Last Week #18)
Houston struggled pretty significantly on the offensive side of the ball against Cleveland, which put their defense in a couple of pretty challenging situations. That said, when you are going up against a grandpa like Joe Flacco, you have to be able to hold the team to less than 36 points if you want to be taken seriously as a playoff team.
24. New Orleans Saints (Last Week #21)
Well, the Saints defense has really lost its teeth down the stretch of the season. New Orleans got carved up by the Rams to the tune of 30 points and over 450 yards of total offense.
23. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week #9)
The Bengals had a tough showing defensively on Saturday, as they got carved up by the Steelers. Mason Rudolph of all people went for 290 and two scores with no interceptions in his first start since ’21.
22. Detroit Lions (Last Week #25)
Giving up 411 passing yards to Nick Mullens isn’t great… But holding Minnesota to just 17 yards on the ground is! Not to mention the four interceptions they secured.
All things considered, the Lions D, which has been under fire for its performance most of the year played pretty well this week.
21. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week #23)
The Seahawks defense got gashed by the run this week, as the Titans steam rolled them for 162 yards. Seattle, however, was bailed out by terrible quarterback play from Ryan Tannehill and Tennessee. Seattle will need to tighten things up if they want to make the postseason, let alone go on any sort of meaningful run.
20. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week #11)
The Colts D got bullied by Atlanta’s running game on Christmas Eve. The Falcons turned 30 rushing attempts into 177 yards and a score—and controlled the tempo of the game the entire time, in route to a 29 to 10 win.
19. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week #26)
After skidding through the last few weeks, the Steelers defense finally showed some teeth this week, getting after Jake Browning all game and holding Cincinnati to 11 points on Saturday.
The pressure they repeatedly got on the quarterback made things extremely challenging and resulted in three interceptions.
18. Tennessee Titans (Last Week #20)
The Tennessee Titans had another solid defensive showing, however, they were once again hamstrung by a pitiful performance from the offense. The result was that Vrabel’s group seemed to run out of steam down the stretch, somewhat expectedly, considering the load they had to carry all game.
17. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week #24)
Atlanta’s defense has started to turn up the heat the last few weeks, as the Falcons desperately try to scratch their way into a playoff berth. They held Indy to just 262 yards of total offense and 10 points.
16. New York Jets (Last Week #17)
The Jets defense played pretty well this week—at least for the first half, as they tortured Sam Howell. It would be nice if they had been able to round out the performance with a stronger showing in the second half, but a win is a win.
15. Denver Broncos (Last Week #15)
While the broncos defense may have looked bad in the third quarter this week when it allowed 20 points to Bailey Zappe and the Patriots, it is hard to actually blame them because it was really the slew of turnovers and errors that cost the team.
Denver limited New England to three conversions in 13 attempts and held them under 300 yards after all.
14. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week #12)
The Dallas defense, for all the hype it garnered early in the year, has completely fallen off the map in recent weeks. They haven’t been able to get any stops when the team needs them to and again came up short this week against Miami.
13. New England Patriots (Last Week #13)
New England’s defense was well-strategized this week against the Broncos, as they continued to put Russell Wilson in challenging situations all game. New England was particularly effective on third down, where the held the Broncos to just four conversions on 13 attempts.
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week #19)
Say what you will about Tampa Bay and the NFC South, but if this Bucs defense can keep up its level of play, they might be for real. They have been getting great pressure up the middle and clogging running lanes with relative ease.
11. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week #16)
Against all odds, this Raiders defense is starting to look very for real. They were in Patrick Mahomes face all game and held the Chiefs to 14 points, which even on their cold streak is an impressive feat.
10. Chicago Bears (Last Week #14)
The Chicago Bears defense has looked completely different since the moves it made at the trade deadline. They made things challenging for Kyler Murray and the Cards offense all game in Week 16.
9. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week #7)
Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions proved to be too much for the Vikings defense to handle this week, as they surrendered 30 points in the loss. Minnesota struggled to get enough consistent pressure on Goff to make things challenging for him, only sacking him once.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week #10)
The Eagles defense should be of serious concern to anyone associated with the organization, fans coaches, or otherwise—that thinks this team has a chance at winning the Super Bowl. Tyrod Taylor looked like a borderline All-Pro against them in the second half!
7. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week #8)
Though the defense faltered slightly in the second half, most of Washington’s offensive production was really just in garbage time. If L.A. can tighten up the defense slightly, they will be in a great spot come playoff time.
6. Buffalo Bills (Last Week #5)
Buffalo’s defense looked a little sketchy on Saturday, as Easton Stick was able to move the ball with relative ease against them, but they made a couple big plays down the stretch to secure the W.
5. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week #1)
After allowing 29 points to Arizona in Week 15 and now a 33-spot to the Ravens this week, there is starting to be reason for concern about this Niners D.
That said, they have been among the best units in the league and one or two good showings should help quell the consternation.
4. Miami Dolphins (Last Week #4)
Miami’s defense has been starting to look dangerously good down the stretch of the season as the Dolphins gear up for the playoffs. They were firing on all cylinders against Dallas, forcing Dak Prescott into a number of uncomfortable situations and ultimately securing a huge win.
3. Cleveland Browns (Last Week #6)
The Browns defense has been a force of nature for most of 2023 and Week 16 was no exception. Cleveland made things extremely challenging for the Houston Texans, namely their quarterback, Case Keenum, who struggled so much against this bunch that he was removed from the game for Davis Mills.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week #3)
The Chiefs defense played well for 95% of the game on Monday, only breaking towards the very end of the contents after getting pounded play after play. Even so, they allowed just 20 points and 14 of those can be directly tied to offensive turnovers.
1. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week #2)
The Ravens defense looked legit on Monday Night. They got after Brock Purdy all night and forced him into four interceptions in a huge win for Baltimore.
