Week 5 is in the books. Now it is time to take a look around the league and see how every NFL team’s defense compares across the league!
32. Denver Broncos (Last Week #31)
Once again, Denver struggled on the defensive side of the ball, allowing 31 points to Zach Wilson and the Jets. This marks the second consecutive week that the Broncos have served as a get-right game for a bad offense with a young quarterback trying to find his footing.
31. New England Patriots (Last Week #30)
Wow. It is hard to believe what we are seeing out of Bill Belichick’s group. Yes, they are banged, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, but this is a sad state of affairs.
30. Chicago Bears (Last Week #32)
The Bears defense actually showed some signs of life against the Commanders. They were in the backfield early and often chasing Sam Howell around and did a sound job locking up Terry McLaurin.
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Still, we will need some more consistency out of Eberflus’ crew before they make any sizable movement in the rankings.
29. Washington Commanders (Last Week #28)
Giving up a 40-burger is bad, but when it comes at the hands of the Bears, well, that’s worse. Washington’s defensive line actually played okay, but the secondary got torched all night long.
28. New York Giants (Last Week #22)
Defending the Miami Dolphins is no small task, but the Giants did a particularly meager job attempting it this week. Miami’s speedsters had no trouble putting up 31 points in a convincing win.
27. Carolina Panthers (Last Week #27)
The only reason Carolina didn’t skid further in the rankings this week is because there were some other horrible showings around the league. The Panthers got bullied by the Lions Week 5 to the tune of 159 rushing yards and 42 points.
26. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week #24)
Arizona’s defense fought hard like it has all year, but it caught the Bengals on the wrong day, as Cinci looked like the team we all expected coming into the year.
25. Green Bay Packers (Last Week #29)
Green Bay’s defense wasn’t the root of the team’s problems against the Raiders, as its offense struggled to shift out of neutral all night. The Packers D actually deserves a little bump this week for keeping them in this game.
24. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week #15)
Granted, most teams won’t look good against the Chiefs offense, but it was a tough outing for the Vikings defensively, largely because they couldn’t get off the field on third down, as KC converted nine of 15 opportunities.
23. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week #19)
Los Angeles actually faired pretty well against a physical Eagles offense. The Rams bent, allowing a sizable 454 total yards, but didn’t break, keeping Philly to just 23 points, giving themselves a chance to win.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week #21)
Jacksonville had the advantage of having already acclimated to the time zone across the pond, but still, the Jags put together their second consecutive strong showing, holding a talented Bills offense to just 29 rushing yards and 20 points.
21. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week #23)
Cinci bounced back well after a disappointing showing against the Titans the week prior. The Bengals D gave Joshua Dobbs trouble all afternoon, holding to a sub-50% completion percentage and forcing him into two picks.
20. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week #4)
Huge slide for the Cowboys this week, falling from 4th to 20th! You simply can’t be considered amongst the league’s top defenses if you can only pick up on the NFL bottom dwellers. This was a very telling performance against San Fran.
19. Tennessee Titans (Last Week #12)
After taking one step forward against Cleveland in Week 4, Tennessee took two steps back Week 5, allowing Indianapolis—with its backup quarterback under center, to take it to them.
18. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week #26)
The Raiders defense had a big game against Green Bay. The coverage was disguised well all night and they gave Jordan Love fits, as he surrendered three picks in the loss.
17. BYE Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week #16)
Week 5 gave Khalil Mack and the Chargers defense a chance to rest up after his record-breaking performance. They should have a good opportunity to build on their momentum this week against a reeling Cowboys offense.
16. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week #25)
Indy balled out defensively this week stifling Derrick Henry to the tune of just 43 yards on 13 carries and holding the Titans to 16 points in a big win.
15. Miami Dolphins (Last Week #20)
Strong showing from Miami defensively, but for any significant movement in the rankings they’ll have to do it against someone other than Daniel Jones and this terrible Giants offense.
14. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week #18)
Another quality performance from Arthur Smith’s defense, as the Falcons held the Texans to 19 points. The run D was particularly effective, as Houston managed just 64 rushing yards in the contest.
13. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week #7)
Baltimore took a tumble this week, not because allowing 17 points is all that horrible generally speaking, but because it came against a lowly Steelers offense… And because 14 of those points came in the fourth quarter, as they squandered what looked like a surefire W.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week #17)
Pittsburgh’s defense was the beneficiary of some untimely drops by the Ravens wide receivers, but it still deserves credit for holding Lamar and the crew to 10 points in a big AFC North upset!
11. BYE Cleveland Browns (Last Week #13)
Cleveland has had a nice chance to regroup on the bye and will look to get back on track, unfortunately, they’ll have to do so against a 49ers team that is playing the best football in the league.
10. BYE Seattle Seahawks (Last Week #11)
Seattle was smiling its entire week off watching the highlights of them torturing Daniel Jones and the Giants in Week 4, but they’ll have to raise their level this coming week, as they head to Cinci to face Joe Burrow and a Bengals offense that is starting to find its groove.
9. Houston Texans (Last Week #10)
DeMeco Ryans has done an unbelievable job with this young Texans defense. Houston did a solid job against the Falcons, particularly in terms of limiting their potent rushing offense, keeping them under 100 rushing yards as a team—and limiting their star rookie, Bijan Robinson to 46.
8. Buffalo Bills (Last Week #3)
Buffalo’s defense picked itself up nicely after a tough start on Sunday, ultimately holding Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars to 25 points, but they committed way too many penalties for a group that’s supposed to be contending for a Super Bowl. There is also reason to worry about this unit going forward as the injuries are really starting to pile up.
7. Detroit Lions (Last Week #9)
Another big week for the Detroit Lions, as they moved to 4-1 on the strength of a brutish defensive performance. Nearly all of Carolina’s production came in garbage time as this one was never in doubt for the Lions.
6. BYE Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week #8)
Tampa’s upcoming matchup with Detroit should be very telling, as they return to action to host the Lions. This will be a good opportunity for us to see how “for real” this defense is, but the early indicators have been great, as they’ve allowed just 17 points per game thus far.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week #5)
Kansas City had another solid showing defensively, holding Kirk Cousins and the Vikings to just 20 points, though, it wasn’t without controversy, as there were some controversial calls that really bailed them out down the stretch.
4. New Orleans Saints (Last Week #14)
The Saints defense bounced back nicely after the beat down it took from Baker Mayfield and the Bucs, blanking an admittedly terrible Patriots offense.
3. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week #6)
This Eagles team looks legit. Philly moved to 5-0 on the strength of a dominant defensive performance against the Rams, holding them to 14 points and shutting them out in the second half
2. New York Jets (Last Week #2)
Considering the multitude of poor situations that the offense put them in, the Jets defense balled out again this week. New York held Denver to just 18 first downs and 40% efficiency on third down.
1. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week #1)
Once again, the San Francisco 49ers have put forth another masterful performance. They humiliated Dak Prescott and the Cowboys, holding them to just 10 points in what many believed would be a competitive game.
The Niners defensive line was in the backfield all game and forced Dak into a number of bad throws. The Cowboys signal caller completed just 14 of 24 passes for 153 yards—and surrendered three picks in the process.
