Week 8 is officially a wrap and it is now time to take a look at every NFL team and power rank their defense.
32. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week #32)
The Colt have now given up 37, 39, and 38 points in three consecutive games. With performances like that it is impossible not to keep them in dead last for the second straight week.
31. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week #19)
The Rams are starting to look like they are in big trouble after a decent start to the year. Dak and the Cowboys lit their defense up this week for 43 points in what was a complete blowout start to finish.
30. Washington Commanders (Last Week #22)
Washington’s defense was a disaster this week against the Eagles. A.J. Brown was running free down the sideline all game and the Eagles ended up scoring 38 points and finishing with 374 yards of total offense.
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29. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week #30)
Granted, the Detroit Lions were a tough matchup but this Raiders defense has been bad all year long. Maxx Crosby can only do so much—if Vegas wants to become a serious organization, they will need to bring in some reinforcements stat.
28. New England Patriots (Last Week #23)
After one good week, it is back to rain clouds in New England. The Patriots defense got shredded by Tua and the Dolphins this week to the tune of 31 points and 390 yards.
27. Chicago Bears (Last Week #26)
Justin Herbert and what has otherwise been a mediocre Chargers offense this year had no problem moving the ball against the Bears on Sunday Night Football. Chicago’s defense has hole all over it.
26. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week #28)
Arizona’s defense has looked rough in recent weeks. Baltimore was never going to be an easy matchup for them, but they really struggled to stop the Ravens rushing attack.
25. Green Bay Packers (Last Week #27)
This Packers defense may well be one of the worst in the league. Green Bay was getting carved up by Kirk Cousins and the Justin Jefferson-less Vikings before Kirk went out with an injury.
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week #25)
Once again, the Buccaneers defense had a poor showing—this time—on nation television against Josh Allen and the Bills. Buffalo went for 427 total yards of offense and really had no issue moving the ball the entire night.
23. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week #4)
Atlanta left some meat on the bone defensively this week against Tennessee. Yes, Will Levis look great, but at some point the defense has to be held accountable for allowing four touchdowns to rookie quarterback in his NFL debut.
22. Denver Broncos (Last Week #29)
Don’t look now, but the Broncos defense is starting to rediscover the form that had it among the tops in the league last year. Denver balled out on Sunday against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, making things difficult for them all game.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week #14)
Mike Tomlin and the Steelers defense had nothing for the Jaguars this week. The Steelers defense looked discombobulated the entire afternoon, as Travis Etienne and Trevor Lawrence gave them the business.
20. Miami Dolphins (Last Week #20)
Miami had a chance to regain its footing defensively this week with the meager Patriots offense on the other side of the action. The Dolphins played well though, holding New England to 17 points in a game that was never particularly close.
19. New Orleans Saints (Last Week #15)
The Saints have to find a way to cut back on the penalties, as they are continuing to put themselves in bad situations as a result of flags. If they can manage, they should be able regain the form they had at the beginning of the year when they were flying all over the field defensively.
18. Carolina Panthers (Last Week #31)
This was far and away the best defensive performance that we’ve seen from the Panthers all season. Carolina held Houston to 13 points thanks to big contributions from Frankie Luvu, Xavier Woods, and Donte Jackson, who combined for 18 solo tackles and seven assists.
17. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week #24)
Los Angeles looked good defensively on Sunday Night Football, through it was only against Tyson Bagent and the Bears. But still, they held Chicago to six of 14 efficiency on 3rd down and forced two interceptions.
16. Detroit Lions (Last Week #17)
Detroit did a good job of picking itself up by its bootstraps after the shellacking it took from Baltimore—though, I suppose it helps to get the Raiders served up to you on a silver platter.
15. Tennessee Titans (Last Week #21)
Tennessee’s defense looked great this week, perhaps rejuvenated by Will Levis’s debut performance. There was a slight adjustment to Taylor Heinicke after chasing Desmond Ridder from the game, but Vrabel’s group got the job done.
14. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week #16)
Pittsburgh is nothing to write home about offensively, but the Jags did a great job of forcing the Steelers into uncomfortable situations all afternoon. Jacksonville dared Kenny Pickett, then Mitch Trubisky, to beat them through the air, something they proved unable to accomplish.
13. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week #11)
Seattle’s defense struggled a little more than one might like it to considering they have P.J. Walker and the Browns across from them. Even so, this group looks more than capable of helping the Seahawks to a playoff berth.
12. Houston Texans (Last Week #10)
The Texans defense was not the issue this week as it held Carolina to a pedestrian 15 points in a gut-wrenching loss, while combining for six sacks.
11. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week #18)
Obviously, Joe Burrow will get most of the attention, but the Bengals defense played really well this week, limiting the 49ers to 17 points on the strength of three sacks and three turnovers.
10. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week #13)
Dallas has one of the most controversial defense units in the league. Once again, they’ve beat up on a team that was struggling offensively. It would instill far more confidence if the Cowboys could bring that level against a premier opponent.
9. Buffalo Bills (Last Week #12)
Granted, it was only Baker Mayfield and the Bucs, but Buffalo’s defense played well this week and is starting to really pick things up and should only continue to improve with the team anticipating a few key players will return from injury soon.
8. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week #6)
For the first time really all year we saw an offense really take it to the 49ers. Cinci was able to move the ball down the field—pretty much at will.
That said, this group has earned the benefit of the doubt and we’ll give them a chance to bounce back before sending them cascading down the rankings.
7. Cleveland Browns (Last Week #8)
Cleveland played well defensively in this one, forcing Geno Smith into a couple of bad turnovers and they nearly stole this game out from under the Seahawks in the second half.
6. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week #7)
The Vikings had another strong showing defensively, as Danielle Hunter has firmly placed himself in the DPOY race with another sack and three tackles. Jordan Love had nothing for this Minnesota defense all game long!
5. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week #2)
Philadelphia has been very strong defensively this year, but that was not the case against the Commanders this week. Sam Howell carved them up for four touchdowns, nearly knocking them off in what would’ve been a big intra-division upset.
4. New York Giants (Last Week #9)
The Giants had another big week defensively… I mean… they almost managed to win a game without having any offensive output from the quarterback whatsoever after Taylor went out. In fact, they probably should’ve won that game, if only Daboll had trusted the defensive that put them in winning position and punted that ball.
3. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week #5)
Baltimore let its foot off the gas towards the end of this one, but they were suffocating the Cards for most of the game. Patrick Queen and Kyle Hamilton were all over the field combining for 18 solos and three assisted tackles.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week #3)
It is hard to believe that Kansas City would move up after a loss to Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos, but the Chiefs defense played fantastic. The only reason the Broncos were able to beat them was because of the continuous backbreaking turnovers, including one inside the 10-yard-line by Mecole Hardman.
1. New York Jets (Last Week #1)
Once again, the Jets defense proved why they are among the tops in the league. To be fair, they were going up against the Giants with Tommy Devito playing quarterback, but what they pulled off was impressive nonetheless—and it was the only way they were going to secure victory with all of the injuries to their offensive line and the severe impact it was having on already subpar unit.
