The NFL Playoffs are officially here. Let’s take a look back at the top defensive units of the regular season and power rank all 32 of them.
32. Washington Commanders (Last Week #32)
The Commanders D has been among the worst in the league in the second-half of the season. Dallas humiliated them again this week, racking up 38 points and pouring on 440 yards of total offense.
31. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week #29)
Yikes, the Eagles defense has completely come apart at the seams. The lowly New York Giants shredded them this week for over 400 yards of offense and 27 points.
30. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week #27)
After getting humiliated by the Bears in Week 17, the Falcons defense went from bad to worse with their season on the line, allowing a massive 48-point outburst from Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints.
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29. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week #24)
Nothing says “this team is broken” like allowing 28 points to Ryan Tannehill and the 2023 Tennessee Titans. Not only did the Jaguars bend to the veteran quarterback, but they also let a somewhat washed up version of Derrick Henry run roughshod on them.
28. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week #26)
Seattle’s run defense is a serious concern. First, the Steelers went for over 200 yards of rushing in Week 17, now Arizona posted a massive 206-yard rushing day.
The Seahawks brass 100% needs to address this in the offseason.
27. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week #23)
Minneosta’s defense struggled to contain Jared Goff and the high-powered Lions offense this week. Detroit shredded them for 381 yards of total offense and 30 points.
26. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week #28)
Arizona’s defense played well this week at home against an inspired Seahawks team. They limited Seattle’s ability to move the ball, as they held them to under 250 yards of total offense, but were ultimately edged out by Geno Smith and co.
25. Carolina Panthers (Last Week #31)
The Panthers defense actually picked itself up nicely this week and had a solid showing against a strong Buccaneers offense.
Carolina held Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans in check all game, ultimately allowing just nine points and 218 yards of total offense in the loss.
24. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week #21)
The Bengals defense did a good job of capitalizing on a favorable opportunity this week with Cleveland resting a number of key starters, including its QB1, Joe Flacco. The Bengals D made mincemeat of Jeff Driskel.
23. New York Giants (Last Week #30)
The New York defense made life miserable for the Eagles this week. The G-men played physical football all game and held what was supposed to be a Super Bowl contender to 10 points.
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week #25)
After getting torched by the Saints last week, the Bucs defense rose to the occasion this week dominating the lowly Panthers. Carlina managed just 199 yards of total offense and was shut out at home by the inspired Tampa Bay performance.
21. Tennessee Titans (Last Week #20)
The Titans defense balled out this week against an admittedly dysfunctional Jaguars offense at home. Vrabel’s group was flying all over the field and made things uncomfortable for Trevor Lawrence all afternoon.
19. Denver Broncos (Last Week #7)
The Denver defense had no answer for Aidan O’Connell this week—which is never where you want to be when you are supposed to be one of the top defenses in the league…
Las Vegas had no issues with the Broncos D this week, as they racked up over 350 yards of total offense and 27 points in the win.
20. Detroit Lions (Last Week #17)
The Lions defense did a good job of deploying the whole “bend don’t break” philosophy, as Detroit was shredded for over 400 yards of total offense, but only allowed 20 points to Nick Mullens and the Vikings offense.
18. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week #12)
Indy’s defense did well to tighten up this week with the playoffs on the line. They were particularly effective against the run, limiting Houston to just 60 yards on the ground, but were ultimately outdone by C.J. Stroud.
17. Green Bay Packers (Last Week #19)
Green Bay’s defense showed up in a big way this week, holding the Bears to under 200 yards of total offense and only nine points with a playoff berth hanging in the balance.
16. New England Patriots (Last Week #11)
New England’s defense hung tough for most of the afternoon through the poor weather conditions. The Jets were limited to just six points for most of the game before they finally broke through for a touchdown late in the fourth.
The Patriots were particularly effective against the Jets admittedly anemic passing offense, as they held New York to under 70 yards of passing yardage.
15. Miami Dolphins (Last Week #18)
Miami’s defense was all over Josh Allen for most of the night. They did a great job disguising their coverages and blitzes and forced the risk-taking star quarterback into a couple of bad mistakes.
14. Buffalo Bills (Last Week #9)
Buffalo’s defense fared surprisingly well this week against the dynamic Dolphins offense. That said, they did have the advantage of a couple big names missing, a la Jaylen Waddle and Raheem Mostert.
13. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week #15)
The Los Angeles Chargers have now turned in two consecutive impressive showings. Giff Smith’s held the Broncos to 16 points in Week 17 and now the admittedly Patrick Mahomes-less Chiefs to 13 in the final game of the season.
Granted, these were two favorable matchups, but an impressive turnaround nonetheless.
12. Houston Texans (Last Week #14)
Houston’s defense did a masterful job of limiting Indianapolis’s offense this week to clinch a playoff berth. They made Gardner Minshew uncomfortable all game long and limited the Colts to 133 yards through the air. They will need to tighten up against the run though once the playoffs start because allowing 227 yards won’t cut it.
11. New Orleans Saints (Last Week #13)
The Saints defense had itself a nice showing this week against a star-laden Falcons offense. Atlanta had a particularly hard time running the ball against them, as they finished with just 78 yards on the ground.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week #22)
Week 18 was a big one for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the defense limited an admittedly undermanned Ravens team to 10 points and 224 total yards of offense with a chance at the playoffs on the line.
It obviously isn’t the same when Tyler Huntley is under center, but still an impressive showing.
9. Chicago Bears (Last Week #6)
The Chicago Bears have been one of the better defensive teams in the entire league down the stretch of this season. Chicago did, however, struggle to contain Jordan Love Sunday afternoon. The Bears, to their credit, did well to limit Green Bay on the scoreboard, despite the Packers racking up yardage like no one’s business.
8. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week #10)
Las Vegas has been playing some great defense of late. Denver couldn’t get anything going on the ground and finished with a measly 48 yards to accompany their 14-point output.
7. Cleveland Browns (Last Week #3)
The Browns defense didn’t show up this week—literally and figuratively, as a couple of key starters were resting and it seems like the rest of the guys didn’t feel like playing either. Cincinnati marched all over them with relative ease.
6. New York Jets (Last Week #16)
The Jets defense was one of the top units in the league for most of the season and they ended 2023 on a high note, sticking it to Bill Belichick and the Patriots by holding them to three points and 129 yards of total offense.
5. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week #8)
The Cowboys defense had no issue with the Washington Commanders this week. Sam Howell couldn’t get anything going against this ferocious group.
Dallas held the Commanders to just 10 points and 180 yards of total offense in the win.
4. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week #5)
The Rams defense put its best foot forward this week against their divisional rival, holding an admittedly Sam Darnold-led 49ers offense to 20 points and securing a nice win to head into the postseason.
3. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week #4)
Not a huge surprise here, but the Chiefs defense had no issues with Easton Stick and the Chargers offense. They held them to just 12 points on the game, despite a couple of key starters resting with the postseason looming.
2. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week #2)
It would’ve been nice to see the 49ers force Carson Wentz into a few more challenging situations. The veteran QB, as we all know at this point, is extremely error-prone. That said, the 49ers were resting a few key contributors on that side of the ball as well and they did put forth a respectable effort, holding L.A. to just over 250 yards of total offense and 21 points.
1. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week #1)
The Ravens defense was undeniably one of the top groups in the league all season. They may have lost the meaningless matchup with Pittsburgh Week 18, but they did play well considering there were a couple of key players sitting out.
