With playoffs right around the corner, defense is becoming of increasing importance in the NFL. Let’s take a look around the league and rank every NFL team’s defense.
32. Washington Commanders (Last Week #32)
Washington’s defense had no answer for the 49ers offense in Week 17. The 49ers racked up over 400 yards of total offense and 27 points against this tired bunch.
31. Carolina Panthers (Last Week #29)
Carolina’s defense didn’t have much fight in it this week, as they allowed the Jaguars to run all over them to the tune of 155 yards and two scores. When all was said and done, the Panthers allowed 26 points to a Trevor Lawrence-less Jags team.
30. New York Giants (Last Week #30)
The Giants defense did its best to create havoc for Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense, but ultimately succumbed to the pressure of the L.A. rushing attack. Rams rushers combined for 105 yards and three touchdowns against the New York defensive front.
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29. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week #8)
Philly’s defense has been a huge cause for concern in recent weeks. People started to think that they had turned it around under Matt Patricia’s leadership, but the Birds had a massive collapse this week in the second half as Arizona racked rattled off 29 points and stole the game out from under Philly.
28. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week #31)
Arizona’s defense did just enough this week to help the Cardinals pull off a shocking upset against the Eagles. That said, it wasn’t exactly a masterful performance, as they surrendered 31 points on the afternoon, but credit to the Cards for tightening up just enough in the second half to win.
27. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week #17)
The Falcons defense had nothing going this week, as it got gashed by the Bears for 37 points and a massive total of 432 yards of offense.
26. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week #21)
Seattle’s defense had no answer for the Steelers in Week 17. Pittsburgh racked up over 200 yards of rushing and dropped 30 points on them in the season-ending loss.
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week #12)
Tampa Bay’s defense had nothing for the Saints this week, which is concerning considering they’ve been a pretty underwhelming offensive team all season. Nothing like getting shredded by Derek Carr and the gang with a playoff bid hanging in the balance.
24. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week #26)
After a brutal few weeks for the Jaguars D, they got a much-needed reprieve in the form of a home showdown against the Carolina Panthers. Jacksonville made the most of the opportunity holding them to just 113 yards of total offense and shutting them out in the process.
23. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week #9)
The Vikings defense has really struggled of late. This week against Green Bay marked its second consecutive game in which the Vikes surrendered 30-plus points.
Jordan Love carved them up all game to the tune of 256 yards and three scores and the game was never particularly close.
22. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week #19)
The Pittsburgh defense is starting to regain form down the stretch of this season. They did well to limit the Seahawks to field goals in the second half of their pivotal Week 17 showdown.
21. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week #23)
Cincinnati’s defense put its best foot forward on Sunday against a steadily improving Kansas City offense, but the group ultimately ran out of gas, as Patrick Mahomes and that Chiefs offense kept pushing and broke through in the second half.
20. Tennessee Titans (Last Week #18)
The Titans defense wasn’t as bad as the scoreboard indicated in Week 17, they just couldn’t overcome the disadvantageous situations that the offense continued to put them in.
19. Green Bay Packers (Last Week #27)
The Packers defense finally showed up when the team needed it to, albeit against a weak Minnesota offense. Green Bay held its NFC North rival to 211 yards of total offense and 10 points on the game.
18. Miami Dolphins (Last Week #4)
So… We might have been too quick coronate the Dolphins defense. After a strong showing against Dallas in Week 16, they got eviscerated by Lamar Jackson and the Ravens this week.
17. Detroit Lions (Last Week #22)
The Lions pass defense needs some serious attention paid to it leading up to the postseason. They got worked again this week. CeeDee and Dak linked up 13 times for 227 yards and nearly two touchdowns had the worst rule in football not reared its ugly head.
Detroit did, however, do a nice job defending the run, limiting the Dallas rushing cohort to 61 total yards.
16. New York Jets (Last Week #16)
Week 17 was not in for the embattled Jets defense. Joe Flacco and the Browns poured 34 points on them in the first half and the game was essentially over by the intermission.
15. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week #28)
Giff Smith’s bunch may have lost in Week 17, but the defense wasn’t the issue, as L.A. held the Broncos to 16 points on the game.
14. Houston Texans (Last Week #25)
The Texans defense came to play this week, albeit against weak competition in the Titans offense. They held Tennessee to just three points and under 200 yards of total offense in the win.
13. New Orleans Saints (Last Week #24)
The New Orleans defense looked like the group we remembered from the beginning of the year this week against a hot Bucs offense. They shut Tampa out for the first three quarters and only acquiesced once the pressure was off and they fell into prevent while the clock bled out.
12. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week #20)
After getting run around down by the Falcons rushing attack last week, the Colts defensive front did well to tighten up at home against the Raiders. They held the Vegas rushing attack to under 84 yards and limited the big plays all game.
11. New England Patriots (Last Week #13)
The Patriots defense balled out this week, regardless of the 27 points Buffalo scored because with the offense turning the ball over four times they were put in damn near impossible situation.
10. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week #11)
The Raiders defense was steady for most of their Week 17 matchup against the Colts. They held Indy to just 16 first down, but need to do a better job against the run, the Colts gashed them for 134 yards on the ground.
9. Buffalo Bills (Last Week #6)
Buffalo’s defense did well to put pressure on Bailey Zappe and the Patriots offense—and forced them into four turnovers on the afternoon. The Bills held New England under 300 yards and to 21 points on the afternoon.
8. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week #14)
The Cowboys defense looked excellent on Saturday night. The secondary was flying all over the field making things challenging for Detroit’s talented playmakers—and the group secured two crucial interceptions to boot.
7. Denver Broncos (Last Week #15)
The Broncos defense balled out this week against an admittedly weak Justin Herbert-less Chargers offense. Denver held the opposition to a mere nine points on the game.
6. Chicago Bears (Last Week #10)
The Chicago Bears have really played some great defense down the stretch of the 2023 season. The mid-season acquisitions have proven to be extremely valuable.
5. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week #7)
The Rams defense was up against it this week, facing an inspired performance from Tyrod Taylor—and some challenging field position as the result of its own offense’s lackluster performance, but it tightened up and got stops where it needed to down the stretch.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week #2)
Kansas City’s defense got off to a rocky start, particularly in the second quarter, where it looked like the Bengals could move the ball at will on them. Chris Jones stepped up as the leader of the group though and got everyone on the same page after tempers flared in the second quarter—and the Chiefs proceeded to shut Cinci out in the second half.
3. Cleveland Browns (Last Week #3)
The Browns defense got off to a little bit of a rocky start against the Jets, allowing 17 first-half points to Trevor Siemian and co., but they settled in nicely holding New York to just a field goal in the second half.
2. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week #5)
The 49ers defense had a nice get-right matchup scheduled with the Commanders this week and they did well to make the most of it. San Francisco held their opposition to a mere 10 points and just 225 yards of total offense.
1. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week #1)
Week 17 marks back-to-back shutdown performances from the Ravens defense against really strong offenses. Neither the Cowboys last week nor the Dolphins this had any answers for Baltimore’s aggressive defensive system.
