Week 6 of the NFL season is a wrap. Let’s take a look around the league and see how every NFL team’s defense stacks up across the league!
32. Carolina Panthers (Last Week #27)
Tough performance from this young Panthers team. Granted they were facing off against one of the top offenses in the league, but when an already bad defense gets scorched for 42 points, the slide to the bottom of the rankings is unavoidable.
31. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week #16)
The Colts were terrible on the defensive side of the ball this week. The Jaguars lit Indy up for 37 points, pushing them to 24th league-wide in points allowed per game.
30. Denver Broncos (Last Week #32)
Denver’s defense played well enough to win Week 6, holding Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to just 19 points. The Broncos were particularly impressive on 3rd down, holding Kansas City to four of 13 conversions and holding them to four field goals.
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29. Chicago Bears (Last Week #30)
Chicago’s defense wasn’t the problem on Sunday. It held the Vikings to just 220 total yards of offense and 19 points. If the Bears defense can continue to improve, we’ll have no choice but to wipe the record of their early season woes and push them up the rankings.
28. New England Patriots (Last Week #31)
Belichick finally got the Patriots defense back on track this week, despite a swath of injuries that have depleted the roster.
But it did come in a losing effort and against a Raiders team that had the two-headed monster of Jimmy G and Brian Hoyer at quarterback, so the bump up is modest.
27. Washington Commanders (Last Week #29)
The Commanders defense looked okay in the box score, allowing just 16 points, but the Falcons really moved the ball on them, going for 402 yards of total offense. Washington was bailed out by some inexcusable mistakes from Desmond Ridder, who threw three more interceptions.
26. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week #14)
Granted, Atlanta’s offense put them in a number of compromising positions, but the defense needed to do more against Sam Howell and the Commanders this week.
25. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week #26)
Jonathan Gannon’s defense got off to a good start, holding the Rams to just two field goals in the first half, but squandered a halftime lead allowing 20 unanswered to close the game.
24. BYE Green Bay Packers (Last Week #25)
Green Bay’s defense has been okay so far in 2023, allowing 22.6 points per game. The Packers are coming off a bye and should have a good opportunity to climb the rankings heading to Denver to face off with a floundering Broncos team.
23. New York Giants (Last Week #28)
Matching up against Josh Allen and the Bills is a tough ask, and the Giants rose to the occasion this week, allowing only 14 points and nearly stealing the win.
22. Tennessee Titans (Last Week #19)
Vrabel’s group got off to a tough start in London, but really buckled down, holding Baltimore to six points in the second half. It seems this defense will need to be perfect if the Titans want to compete.
21. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week #18)
The Raiders defense had another strong showing, this time against the Patriots. All they need to do is continue playing Jordan Love and Mac Jones every week and this could be one of the best groups in the league!
20. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week #21)
The Bengals had a second strong defensive performance in a row, holding Seattle to 13 points, 10 of which came in the first half. The Bengals were particularly ferocious on third down, holding Seattle to just five conversions in 12 attempts.
19. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week #24)
Minnesota rallied nicely after the Chiefs loss, man-handling an admittedly depleted Bears offense that was missing Justin Fields for most of the game.
18. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week #23)
Ernest Jones IV led the way for the Rams defense this week notching seven solo tackles and three assists, as Los Angeles stifled Joshua Dobbs and the Cardinals.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week #22)
Jacksonville’s defense has looked much improved over the last couple of weeks. The Jags may have allowed 310 passing yards to Gardner Minshew, but the plan was clearly to bear down on the run and dare him to beat them, which, considering the 44 rushing yards, three interceptions, and 17-point win—I’d say went fairly well.
16. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week #17)
After Dallas’s first touchdown-scoring drive, the Chargers defense settled in really nicely. They sacked Dak four times and most importantly put the team in a position to win the game.
15. BYE Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week #12)
Pittsburgh’s got bumped back a few slots as the result of some breakout defensive showings, but they’ll have a chance to make the ground back up Week 7 if they can effectively gameplan for Matt Stafford and the Rams.
14. Miami Dolphins (Last Week #15)
Miami’s defense sleepwalked through the start of the game, allowing 14 first-quarter points to Carolina, but quickly woke up and the Panthers wouldn’t score again until bonafide garbage time in the fourth quarter.
13. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week #20)
Credit to Jerry and the Cowboys, the defense showed up on Monday Night. Dallas really needed to win this one and the defense balled out. The secondary was flying around the field in coverage and that elite Cowboys pass rush really proved itself, making things challenging for Justin Herbert all night.
12. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week #13)
After struggling down the stretch against Pittsburgh the week prior, Baltimore righted its wrongs this week, holding off the Titans with a stout defensive performance.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week #6)
Well, that was a tough one for the Bucs. Detroit may have only scored 20 points, but make no mistake about it, the Lions dominated Tampa’s defense this week.
10. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week #10)
Joe Burrow got off to a hot start against Seattle, but the Seahawks quickly settled down and did well to keep Ja’Marr Chase in check, albeit in a losing effort.
9. New Orleans Saints (Last Week #4)
The Saints D has its work cut out for it with how inconsistent the offense has been, but still, would’ve liked to see a little bit more out of them against Houston.
8. Houston Texans (Last Week #9)
Once again, DeMeco Ryans continues to do a great job with this Texans defense. Houston shut down the Saints all afternoon, daring Derek Carr to beat them, something he proved unable to do.
7. Buffalo Bills (Last Week #8)
Buffalo gave Tyrod Taylor and the Giants fits Week 6, holding them to nine points in an impressive performance that bailed out the offense, which was out of sync all night.
6. Cleveland Browns (Last Week #11)
What a week for the Cleveland Browns—particularly the defense! No one was giving them a shot and they held the 49ers elite offense in check all afternoon and pressured Brock Purdy into his worst game as a pro.
5. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week #3)
All Philly had to do was shut down Zach Wilson, which isn’t exactly rocket science—and they did a good job of that to start the game, but finally broke down the stretch allowing the Jets to steal the game in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week #5)
The Chiefs defense looked good again this week, granted it was against the lowly Broncos… They should have a good chance to prove their worth Week 7 when Justin Herbert and the Chargers come to town.
3. Detroit Lions (Last Week #7)
Dan Campbell’s defense absolutely tortured Baker Mayfield and the Bucs this week. They held Tampa to 251 yards of offense and just two of 12 third-down conversions.
2. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week #1)
Even with the loss, it is tough to drop the 49ers any further than second. They have been the best defense all year long and played well enough to win Week 6, holding Cleveland to 19 points. Unfortunately, the Niners kicker, Jake Moody, missed the memo and missed a game-winning kick.
1. New York Jets (Last Week #2)
With the deck stacked completely against them, this Jets defense has been a wonder to watch. Saleh’s group had an unbelievable performance pressuring Jalen Hurts all night and forcing him into three interceptions for the first time in his career, despite missing their top two cornerbacks.
