Our weekly NFL defense rankings examine every unit across the league to determine the best defenses in the NFL. With the preseason wrapped up, let’s dive into our evaluations for the worst and best NFL defenses this season. We’ll update our NFL defense rankings, with analysis on all 32 teams, every Sunday night each week.
Our NFL defense rankings are updated as of Tuesday, December 2. We’ve provided evaluations on NFL defenses for all 32 teams coming out of Week 13. First, let’s dive into our Week 14 fantasy defense rankings.
Read More: NFL Week 14 Power Rankings, Evaluating all 32 Teams after Week 13
Week 14 Fantasy Defense Rankings
Here is our fantasy defense rankings this week. You can find analysis on all 32 defenses for Week 14 below.
- Cleveland Browns D/ST vs Tennessee Titans
- Denver Broncos D/ST vs Las Vegas Raiders
- Philadelphia Eagles D/ST vs Los Angeles Chargers
- Seattle Seahawks D/ST vs Atlanta Falcons
- Los Angeles Rams D/ST vs Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Chargers D/ST vs Philadelphia Eagles
- Houston Texans D/ST vs Kansas City Chiefs
- Washington Commanders D/ST vs Minnesota Vikings
- Kansas City Chiefs D/ST vs Houston Texans
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers D/ST vs New Orleans Saints
- Minnesota Vikings D/ST vs Washington Commanders
- Miami Dolphins D/ST vs New York Jets
- Dallas Cowboys D/ST vs Detroit Lions
- Tennessee Titans D/ST vs Cleveland Browns
1. Houston Texans (1)
Coming into Sunday, the Colts offense had averaged 6.3 yards per play (1st), 31 points per game (1st) with a 41.6 percent third-down conversion rate (9th) and averaged 38.5 yards per drive. The Houston Texans defense limited Indianapolis to just 16 points with a 5.5 yards-per-play average, a 30 percent third-down conversion rate, and just 31.2 total yards per drive. This is the best defense in football. With the Chiefs offensive line banged up, a defensive clinic from Houston in a victory is on the table in Week 14 vs Patrick Mahomes.
2. Seattle Seahawks (3)
Just another week with a defensive touchdown for the Seattle Seahawks. No matter which quarterback Minnesota put out on the field Sunday, it was going to end in disaster. This Seattle Seahawks defense does everything well, and as long as they shut down Bijan Robinson in Week 14, which is doable for this front, Seattle can hold Atlanta under 20 points in Week 14.
3. Denver Broncos (2)
The first game back with Patrick Surtain II didn’t go nearly as expected for this Denver Broncos defense. It’s a bit unnerving that Washington had relative ease moving down the field when it needed game-tying scoring drives, finishing the game 8-for-17 on third down and 3-for-3 on fourth-down attempts. Fortunately for Denver, its pass rush can immediately rebound next week versus the turnstile Raiders offensive line. Last time they went head-to-head, Denver allowed just 7 points and 188 total yards.
4. Cleveland Browns (5)
Of the 26 points surrendered by the Cleveland Browns defense on Sunday to the 49ers, 17 came on drives that started within 35 yards of the end zone. Now, Cleveland did struggle on third down (11-of-17), but San Francisco mustered just a 3.9 yards-per-play average and 22.9 yards per drive. In short, this is easily still one of the best NFL defenses this season. Expect a defensive masterpiece in Week 14 versus Tennessee.
5. Los Angeles Rams (4)
On the one hand, one of Carolina’s touchdowns on Sunday came off a pick-six. Now, with that acknowledged, the Los Angeles Rams defense allowed 358 total yards, 5.8 yards per play, and a 46.7 percent third-down conversion rate to the Panthers. It all goes back to the corners, the lone weakness on what is otherwise an outstanding defense. If Tet McMillan and Jalen Coker gave Los Angeles problems, it stands to reason Marvin Harrison Jr. could in Week 14.
6. Green Bay Packers (7)
We’ll start with the good news for this Green Bay Packers defense. Over the last five games, opponents are averaging just 15.2 points and 278.4 total yards per game, all with a 4.9-yards-per-play average. Green Bay has been particularly stout versus the pass—152.6 passing yards and 0.6 passing touchdowns allowed per game—with Micah Parsons leading a pass rush that has 11 sacks in a five-game span. However, the Packers also lost standout defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt on Thursday to a season-ending injury. Set to face Chicago in Week 14, Parsons and Rashan Gary will be pivotal to slowing down the Bears.
7. Philadelphia Eagles (6)
Stopping the run has been a bit of an issue for the Philadelphia Eagles defense this season, just not nearly to the degree it was on Black Friday. Chicago ran for over 100 yards in each half, with Vic Fangio getting outmastered in a chess match versus Ben Johnson. The good news for Philadelphia is that their Week 14 opponent, the Chargers, has the worst offensive line in the NFL. The Eagles defensive line should dominate on Monday Night Football, and we’ll likely see the same result in Week 15 versus Las Vegas. However, the run defense is a major concern come playoff time.
8. Los Angeles Chargers (10)
It went about as well as you might expect from this Los Angeles Chargers defense against the Raiders. Jesse Minter’s group feasted on an awful offensive line (5 sacks and 1.7 yards per carry allowed), leading to a defensive clinic that felt too easy. Given the Eagles’ offensive woes as of late and the absence of Lane Johnson, Los Angeles could hold an opponent under 20 points for the second consecutive week.
9. New England Patriots (11)
We’re keeping our eye on the New England Patriots run defense in this Monday Night Football matchup against the Giants. From Weeks 6–9, opponents averaged just 62.8 rushing yards per game with a 3.7 YPC average versus New England. In the three games since, the Patriots have allowed 124.3 rush YPG and 5.2 YPC. New York can run the football fairly effectively with Tyrone Tracy Jr., so this should be a reasonable test to see if New England can rebound against the run.
10. Minnesota Vikings (12)
Brian Flores has completed the in-season turnaround of this Minnesota Vikings defense. On Sunday in Seattle, Flores easily neutralized the Seahawks’ passing game (4.9 ypa and 94 net passing yards) with 4 sacks and just a 3.5 yards-per-play average allowed total. Unfortunately, as has become all too common, it doesn’t matter because the Vikings’ quarterback is giving away points. If Jayden Daniels returns in Week 14, he’s in for a brutal test against this unit.
11. Baltimore Ravens (13)
The perfect summary of Week 13 for this Baltimore Ravens defense is the unit being thrown onto the field in a 1st-and-Goal situation at the 2-yard line and forcing a turnover on downs. Because of all of Baltimore’s turnovers, its defense “allowed” seven red-zone trips on Thanksgiving Day. However, much of that came off turnovers, and the Ravens defense still held Cincinnati to 1-for-7 inside the red zone. Coming out of this game, Baltimore has allowed just 16.6 points per game and a 4.93 yards-per-play average in the last five games. As long as it can contain the Steelers rushing attack in Week 14, this group should perform well again.
12. Detroit Lions (8)
We’ll acknowledge that one of the touchdowns allowed by the Detroit Lions defense on Thanksgiving shouldn’t have counted. With that said, this group is now responsible for allowing a 105.6 QB rating, 8.1 yards per attempt, and a 9-to-1 TD-INT ratio in the last four games. This is what happens when your pass rush is Aidan Hutchinson and nothing else, all the while Kerby Joseph is injured. Set to face CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in Week 14, it’s going to be a very rough Thursday night for Detroit’s secondary.
13. Kansas City Chiefs (9)
Steve Spagnuolo lost the chess match to Dak Prescott, and talent won out in matchups between the Kansas City Chiefs cornerbacks versus CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. That’s all this comes down to. Now, Kansas City has allowed 25.3 points and 364.5 total yards per game (6.1 yards per play) in the last four weeks, so there are certainly problems with this unit. However, a Week 14 matchup against the Texans won’t necessarily expose them. What we do expect is that the Chiefs pass rush looks better than it really is in these next two games versus Houston and the Chargers.
14. Chicago Bears (17)
There’s always some risk of regression with a defense that leads the NFL in takeaways. The Chicago Bears will enter Week 14 with by far the most takeaways (26) in the NFL, responsible for an astounding 17 interceptions in 12 games. Even when that takeaway rate drops, though, Chicago has to feel like their effectiveness will remain following the return of top cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. The Bears’ pass defense makes for a great test for the Packers, but you can bet Matt LaFleur will try to run the football early and often against a unit that has allowed 130 rushing ypg with a 5.0 yards per carry average in the last six games.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (21)
The NFL stats put up by this Jacksonville Jaguars defense as of late are impressive. After limiting Tennessee to just 3 points and 188 total yards on 11 drives this week, the Jaguars defense has allowed just 216.3 total yards per game in the last three weeks. In that three-game span, opponents are averaging just 3.6 yards per play with a 25 percent third-down conversion rate and 12 sacks. What’s different compared to this unit’s success earlier in the year is that Jacksonville has ‘just’ 3 takeaways in that stretch. We tend to believe the success is due to facing bad competition, but we do have a lot more confidence in this Jaguars pass defense versus Daniel Jones and a struggling Colts offense in Week 14.
16. Dallas Cowboys (22)
Is the Dallas Cowboys defense great? No, the Eagles and Chiefs still averaged nearly 6 yards per play versus Dallas and you can clearly attack these corners. What matters is that this unit, especially versus the run, is worlds better than it was a few weeks ago. Quinnen Williams has helped improve the run defense and the return of DeMarvion Overshown has taken this front seven to another level. With Detroit without Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta in Week 15, the Cowboys’ pass rush could have some nice success pressuring Jared Goff and Detroit could be held under 27 points.
18. New Orleans Saints (15)
The New Orleans Saints defense just had no answer for De’Von Achane, who contributed 45 percent of Miami’s total yardage on Sunday. We’ve really liked the direction this unit has been headed in under defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, but it is worth noting that opponents have averaged 139.8 rushing yards per game with a 4.3 yards-per-carry average in the last six games. We’d expect Tampa Bay to take full advantage of that in Week 14, and the Buccaneers also have the receiver duo that could pose a few more problems for the Saints secondary.
18. Buffalo Bills (20)
At least Sunday marked a step forward for the Buffalo Bills defense. Pittsburgh had no success on the ground (3.2 yards-per-carry average) and those early woes positioned Buffalo to get into a favorable game script that made Pittsburgh test a much better Bills pass defense. Unfortunately for Sean McDermott, this might be a one-game thing as Cincinnati will be able to run it with Chase Brown and they have the receiver tandem that can win the matchups versus Buffalo’s corners.
19. Carolina Panthers (23)
Derrick Brown is a force to be reckoned with on every play. The standout defensive tackle forced the strip-sack of Matthew Stafford that ultimately flipped the game for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Of course, this unit also made two other big plays with a pick-six and an interception off a deflection in the end zone. Now, the Panthers defense did surrender 370 total yards (7.4 yards per play) and 22 first downs, but those takeaways dictated who won. We’re optimistic about what Ejiro Evero can do with this unit after the bye.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers (18)
The Pittsburgh Steelers allowed a franchise record 249 rushing yards at home on Sunday. What makes that particularly embarrassing is that Buffalo had two backup tackles starting. We can’t even put much value into how Pittsburgh’s pass defense fared because Buffalo is one of the few teams incapable of exploiting the Steelers’ vulnerable and aging secondary. Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers pose big problems for Pittsburgh next week, but a hobbled Lamar Jackson will make the Steelers defense look better than it is.
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (16)
In the last four games, including Sunday versus Arizona, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense has allowed 392 total yards per game with a 6.9 yards-per-play average to opponents. Takeaways, six in that four-game span, are the only thing standing in the way of things getting really ugly for this defense. The numbers might look better in Week 14 against the Saints, but that’ll only be because New Orleans doesn’t have much firepower outside of Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson.
22. Indianapolis Colts (14)
The Sauce Gardner injury is absolutely a blow the Indianapolis Colts defense couldn’t afford. We’ve already seen this unit take a significant step backward with DeForest Buckner (neck) on injured reserve, and the team’s hope was that having Gardner and Charvarius Ward on the perimeter would lessen that blow. With Gardner now sidelined indefinitely, opponents will exploit both the middle of the field and whoever isn’t covered by Ward, all while their quarterback has time to throw. With how well Trevor Lawrence has played as of late, we expect Jacksonville to put up 27-plus points in Week 14.
23. San Francisco 49ers (24)
It might seem a bit unfair to have the San Francisco 49ers have minimal movement in our NFL defense rankings after allowing just 17 points and 483 total yards combined over the last two games. The firm belief is that all that success is a bit of a fluke, with Robert Saleh getting this very thin and inexperienced defense to play well above its head. All that said, it’s safe to presume the 49ers will put on another defensive clinic when they return to the field in Week 15 to face Cam Ward and the lifeless Titans offense.
24. Atlanta Falcons (19)
The Atlanta Falcons defense allowed 20 second-half points to the Jets offense. New York also went a fairly respectable 7-for-16 on its third-down attempts while scoring touchdowns on two of its three red-zone trips. All of that is to say, last week’s performance seems like a bit of a fluke. Facing the Seahawks in Week 14, we’ll see how that blitz-heavy approach works out versus Sam Darnold.
25. Miami Dolphins (26)
Everything looked good with this Miami Dolphins in the first half on Sunday. New Orleans had three-and-outs on its first three drives, lost a fumble on the next one followed by a three-and-out then an interception. In two quarters, the Saints offense mustered just 72 yards on its first six drives (12 yards per drive). In the second half, Miami gave up 17 points, 222 total yards and 37 yards per drive. Drawing a Week 14 matchup versus the Jets, the key for Miami will be containing Breece Hall and this has been a much better run defense in the last month-plus.
26. Arizona Cardinals (25)
There have been ups and downs with this Arizona Cardinals defense all season. What Jonathan Gannon can feel good about is that following Sunday’s game, his guys have allowed just 7 points in the fourth quarter over the last two weeks. It’s real progress after the woes this unit had in the final quarter for the first half of the season. Entering Week 14, the Cardinals run defense and secondary are about to be put to a major test against Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, and Davante Adams.
27. Washington Commanders (31)
Progress is progress. In the last two games, the Washington Commanders defense has allowed just 21.5 points and 356.5 total yards per game and both of those contests win to overtime. Given how incapable of sustaining drives the Vikings offense has been with its current quarterback play, the Commanders D/ST is a strong streaming option in Week 14.
28. New York Jets (27)
The New York Jets defense got stops when it mattered, limiting Atlanta to 1 yard with a pair of three-and-outs on its final two drives on Sunday. We’re just looking for the little positives from Aaron Glenn’s defense and while it’s still plenty short on talent, we see more reasons each week why Glenn is the right man for the job.
29. Tennessee TItans (29)
It wasn’t an awful day for the Tennessee Titans defense, as Jacksonville went just 3-for-13 on third down and averaged under 5 yards per play with 272 total yards on the day. With that said, Jacksonville took a big lead early and then seemed to put it on cruise control. Set to face Shedeur Sanders in Week 14, Tennessee’s defnese could surrender under 24 points and it still might not be enough to win.
30. Las Vegas Raiders (28)
It’s more of the same inconsistency for this Las Vegas Raiders run defense, which allowed 150-plus rushing yards for the third time in the last seven games. Next Week, the Raiders defense takes on a team in Denver who hasn’t been able to run the bar particularly well since J.K. Dobbins went down. What the Broncos can do, though, is keep the pocket clean for Bo Nix and give him a few shots at explosive plays downfield.
31. Cincinnati Bengals (32)
This is still the worst defense in the National Football League, even if the Cincinnati Bengals played pretty well on Thanksgiving Day against the Ravens. Even with that solid performance, opponents are still averaging 416.1 total yards per game with a 6.6 yards-per-play average versus Cincinnati over the last two months. Facing Josh Allen in Week 14, we fully expect this Bills offense to put up 28-plus points and 400 yards.
32. New York Giants (30)
A new defensive coordinator, same New York Giants defense. Even putting aside the concerning fact that Abdul Carter has now been benched twice for disciplinary reasons, New York is now allowing 31.7 points and 397.2 total yards per game over the last six contests. In that span, quarterbacks have posted a 112.3 passer rating with a 14-1 TD-INT ratio and the opposition is averaging 181.7 rush ypg with a 6.3 yards per carry average. Nothing is changing after the bye.
NFL defense rankings FAQ
Sportsnaut’s NFL defense rankings evaluate and rank all 32 NFL defenses each week, reviewing their performances and projecting how they’ll perform in their upcoming game based on matchups and NFL defense stats.
The Houston Texans have the best defense in the NFL right now.
The Cincinnati Bengals have the worst NFL defense right now.
The Houston Texans have the best pass defense in the NFL this season.
The Cincinnati Bengals have the worst pass defense in the NFL right now, allowing 257.3 passing yards per game with the most passing touchdowns (25) allowed) through 10 games.
The New England Patriots have the best run defense in the NFL right now.
The Cincinnati Bengals have the worst run defense in the NFL right now, allowing 160.9 rushing yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry.
The Chicago Bears lead the NFL in takeaways this season with 22.
The Chicago Bears set the NFL record for most sacks in a season with 72 sacks in 16 games in 1984. Most recently, the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles became just the fourth team in NFL history to record 70 sacks in a single season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers allow the most passing yards in the NFL in 2025.
The 1985 Chicago Bears had the best NFL defense ever. Led by three Hall of Famers – Mike Singletary, Richard Dent and Dan Hampton – Chicago allowed just 101 total points on its way to winning Super Bowl XX, including an NFL record two shutouts in the playoffs. In addition, the 1985 Bears’ defense held opponents to a 50.2 passer rating with a 46.5 percent completion rate and 17-37 TD-INT ratio in 19 total games and opponents averaged just 76 rushing yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry across 19 contests in the regular season and playoffs.
The Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers are some of the best NFL defenses to target in fantasy.
