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 Sunday, November 9. We’ve provided evaluations on NFL defenses for all 32 teams coming out of Week 10. Stay tuned on Tuesday for our Week 11 fantasy defense rankings.
1. Seattle Seahawks (1)
The Seattle Seahawks defense made its mark early, with two strip-sack touchdowns by DeMarcus Lawrence and two three-and-outs on the first four drives. From there, holding a 28-point lead, Seattle’s pass rush could pin its ears back and wreak havoc against Jacoby Brissett. Arizona did put up 2 touchdowns in garbage time, but even one of those came on a short field (19 yards) after a Sam Darnold interception. Seattle’s defense, especially its secondary, is a fantastic matchup for the Rams in Week 11.
2. Denver Broncos (3)
There’s another win delivered by this Denver Broncos defense. The unit certainly benefitted a bit from facing an offense that couldn’t exploit a secondary missing Pat Surtain, but it wouldn’t have mattered much anyway since the Broncos pass rush generated double-digit pressures, 11 QB hits and 6 sacks on Geno Smith. In the last two games without the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, the Broncos defense has still allowed just 11 points per game with opponents mustering just 4.6 yards per attempt with a 58.2 percent completion rate, averaging 152.5 passing yards per game. We are elated for next week’s fantastic matchup versus Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs receiving corps, but Denver’s pass rush will have the advantage.
3. Houston Texans (2)
Jacksonville put up 29 points on Sunday, but the Houston Texans defense was only responsible for 22 of those. Breaking that number down further, 10 points came almost immediately after turnovers, with the Jaguars offense set up inside the 30-yard line. So, while the point total is high, what really matters is that this Texans defense allowed just a 3.9 yards-per-play average and 213 total yards on 10 drives. A defensive clinic is coming from Houston in Week 11 against the Titans.
4. Los Angeles Rams (4)
Takeaways were the propelling force for this Los Angeles Rams defense on Sunday. Mac Jones was picked off by Emmanuel Forbes on a fourth-down attempt, Jauan Jennings coughed one up, and San Francisco went 1-for-3 on its fourth-down attempts. Otherwise, the 49ers averaged 6.6 yards per play with Jennings and George Kittle having quite a bit of success versus the Rams secondary. Facing Seattle in Week 11, it will be the ultimate test for both sides. The history of this Rams defense in pressuring Sam Darnold is well-known, but the Seahawks receiving corps could pose real problems for Los Angeles if Darnold has time to throw.
5. Detroit Lions (7)
There’s not a ton of weight that can be put into a defensive clinic against an offense without Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin, but at least this Detroit Lions defense did what you’d expect. Washington put up an 81-yard touchdown drive in garbage time, muddying the 288 total yards allowed on Sunday by Detroit. Still, holding an opponent to a 20 percent third-down conversion and netting six QB hits is always a great achievement. Facing the Eagles offense in Week 11, it’ll be a much better test for Detroit.
6. Cleveland Browns (5)
The Cleveland Browns defense doesn’t hold any responsibility for the two return touchdowns allowed Sunday, which contributed to 14 of the 27 points scored by the Jets. We will note, however, that it’s far easier to hold an opponent to 42 net passing yards when they don’t have Garrett Wilson and have Justin Fields under center. Cleveland also ran into some issues stopping Breece Hall (125 scrimmage yards on 22 touches). The good news for this Browns defense is that linebacker Carson Schwesinger returned to the field on Sunday. Facing Baltimore in Week 11, Myles Garrett and this Browns pass rush will be asked to carry the team again.
7. Los Angeles Chargers (10)
Following a defensive clinic versus Pittsburgh, the Los Angeles Chargers defense has now allowed just 40 total points in the last three games with its opponents averaging just 197 total yards per game. Trevor Lawrence now gets to facing a Chargers secondary and pass rush that has 12 sacks in its last three games, while allowing just a 55.4 percent completion rate, 132 passing yards per game and 4.8 yards per attempt with a 61.1 QB rating. It’s probably going to be a rough outing for the Jags offense.
8. New England Patriots (8)
It helps facing a Buccaneers offense without Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, but it’s the sustained success that continues to stand out from the New England Patriots defense. Including Sunday’s game, opponents are now averaging just a 26.4 percent third-down conversion rate with one rushing touchdown and averaging just 6.2 yards per pass attempt. Facing a Jets offense that can only do one thing, run the football, New England’s defense should thrive on Thursday Night Football.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6)
On a down-to-down basis, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have one of the best run defenses in the NFL. Unfortunately, they’ve been prone to giving up a few explosive plays. It happened again on Sunday, with TreVeyon Henderson recording 84 percent of his 147 rushing yards on two touchdown runs. With that acknowledged, Tampa Bay’s pass defense did an admirable job versus Drake Maye, limiting him to his lowest passer rating (89.4) since Week 1 with his lowest yards-per-attempt average (8.7) since Week 3. James Cook and Josh Allen will test this Buccaneers run defense in Week 11, but Buffalo doesn’t necessarily have the receiving corps to cause problems for Tampa Bay.
10. Kansas City Chiefs (12)
The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t make any moves to address this defense at the NFL trade deadline. It’s a bit of a risk, given this front ranked 21st in ESPN pass-rush win rate (36 percent) and 26th in pressure rate (18.4 percent) entering the Week 10 bye. Fortunately, a Week 11 matchup versus Denver means facing a quarterback in Bo Nix who ranks 19th in QB rating when not pressured (98.9) and has been the third-worst quarterback in the NFL (6 interceptions, 5.9 ypa, 81.8 QB rating) when not blitzed this season.
11. Minnesota Vikings (15)
From Weeks 4-8, the Minnesota Vikings defense allowed opposing quarterbacks to put up a 9-1 TD-INT line with offenses averaging 353.8 total yards per game and 5.9 yards per play. After Sunday’s performance against the Ravens, this Vikings defense has allowed 313 total yards per game with a 4.89 yards-per-play average. It’s a massive step forward, even if this unit still has some issues versus the run (152 yards allowed to Baltimore) and it is still a bit vulnerable at corner. We’re excited to see how Bears play-caller Ben Johnson finds ways to get Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, and DJ Moore into favorable matchups versus Minnesota in Week 11.
12. Philadelphia Eagles (14)
We’re very excited to see how this Philadelphia Eagles defense fares versus Green Bay at Lambeau Field. Jalen Carter can be a game-wrecker versus the interior of the Packers’ offensive line, and the addition of Jaelan Phillips gives Vic Fangio an edge rusher who can take advantage of the attention Carter draws. The Eagles also benefit a bit here from Green Bay missing Tucker Kraft. With how well the Eagles defense seems to match up versus Green Bay on paper, Monday Night Football could be a big step toward Philadelphia climbing its way back into the top 10 of our NFL defense rankings.
13. Indianapolis Colts (9)
The good news for this Indianapolis Colts defense is that Sauce Gardner played extremely well in his debut with the team on a short week of practice. When he wasn’t matched up against Drake London, though, Indianapolis’ zone coverage was exploited. That’s one of the glaring issues right now with this Colts defense. Opponents have no trouble finding holes in the zone coverage thanks to awful coverage linebackers. As Atlanta demonstrated (140 yards and 4.8 yards per carry), some teams can have a fair amount of success running on Indianapolis. Facing Patrick Mahomes, Rashee Rice, and Travis Kelce in Week 12, it could be a rough go for this Colts defense.
14. Green Bay Packers (13)
The Green Bay Packers defense just doesn’t seem to match up very well versus Philadelphia. Saquon Barkley should have plenty of success running the football against a unit that was just gashed a week ago by Rico Dowdle. There’s also the risk of what happens if Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary don’t get home quickly because these Packers corners are alarmingly outmatched in coverage against A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. We think there’s a very real chance Philadelphia puts up 30-plus points on Monday Night Football.
15. Baltimore Ravens (19)
In the four games since acquiring safety Alohi Gilman, the Baltimore Ravens defense has allowed just 14.5 points per game after surrendering 35.4 PPG in the first five weeks of the season. Across that same four-game span, Baltimore’s pass defense has held quarterbacks to a 2-4 TD-INT line and under 6.4 yards per pass attempt. One other area of improvement that stands out is the Ravens’ third-down defense, limiting opponents to a 30.6 percent third-down conversion rate in the last four contests. All of those numbers should look even better after Baltimore puts on a defensive clinic in Week 11 versus the Browns.
16. Buffalo Bills (11)
From Weeks 1 through 8, opponents averaged 150.3 rushing yards per game with a 5.5 yards-per-carry average versus the Buffalo Bills defense. After a solid performance versus Kansas City, that unit reared its ugly head again on Sunday as Miami erupted for 197 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns, and averaged 6.2 yards per carry. We can give a little benefit of the doubt for the pass defense given Taron Johnson and Christian Benford were out, but Buffalo’s inability to stop the run remains a red flag moving forward as does this pass rush. On the bright side for the Bills, running the football has been one of the Buccaneers’ biggest issues this season and their offensive line is still banged up entering this upcoming matchup.
17. Atlanta Falcons (16)
The Atlanta Falcons had no answer for Jonathan Taylor on Sunday, really just watching the All-Pro running back put up 244 yards as part of a 323-yard ground effort from the Colts’ offense. Those numbers will cloud the NFL stats for Atlanta’s run defense moving forward, so we’ll note that this group already had issues stopping the ground with 136 rushing yards per game and a 4.4 yards-per-carry average from Weeks 3 through 9. On the bright side, the Falcons pass rush is healthy and now responsible for 13 sacks in the last two contests. You can safely predict what the Panthers will try to do with Rico Dowdle in Week 11 versus Atlanta.
18. Arizona Cardinals (17)
There were mixed results from this Arizona Cardinals defense on Sunday in Seattle. On the one hand, they generated three takeaways and two of the touchdowns allowed were fumble return touchdowns by the Seahawks. However, Arizona also allowed a 60 percent third-down conversion rate, 6.3 yards per play, and 372 total yards in a game where Seattle took its foot off the gas very early. Set to face San Francisco in Week 11, it should be a little easier for this Cardinals secondary, but Christian McCaffrey will likely put up another 100-plus scrimmage yards as he did in the 16-15 win back in September.
19. New Orleans Saints (23)
The New Orleans Saints defense had a game plan for Sunday’s matchup: force Bryce Young to win the game without Rico Dowdle carrying the offense. Dowdle put up 21 yards and a touchdown on Carolina’s game-opening 67-yard touchdown drive. After that, the Saints defense pitched a shutout with just 108 total yards allowed on 10 drives. New Orleans obviously didn’t have the talent to perform last week versus the Rams offense, and that will likely be the case again when it returns from the bye to face Bijan Robinson and Drake London.
20. Carolina Panthers (21)
Chris Olave (104 yards on 5 receptions) won his matchups versus Jaycee Horn and the Carolina Panthers defense got beat by Juwan Johnson (92 yards and 1 touchdown). Horn doesn’t lose a ton of battles, so we aren’t concerned too much about him, but this defense is now allowing 70.8 receiving yards per game to tight ends, one of the worst marks in the NFL. Given the regression we’ve also seen from this run defense, we could see strong performances from Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts in Week 11.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers (22)
The Pittsburgh Steelers pass rush certainly feasted on the injury-decimated Chargers offensive line, sacking Justin Herbert 6 times on Sunday Night Football. However, Pittsburgh had real issues containing Kimani Vidal (95 rushing yards) and the Darius Slay concussion quickly thinned out a secondary that still isn’t playing at a level you’d expect given the names. This defense gave up 33 points less than a month ago to Cincinnati and we see no reason why Joe Flacco won’t put up another 300-yard game with multiple touchdowns.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (20)
The Jacksonville Jaguars defense allowed 209 total yards, 20 points, and a 6.3 yards-per-play average in the fourth quarter to a Davis Mills-led Texans offense. This unit is a shell of what it used to be just over a month ago. In the last six games, opponents are now averaging 370.8 total yards per game and a 6.0 yards-per-play average with a 47.8 percent third-down conversion rate. All of that is to say, there’s no reason to believe the Jaguars defense will fare well versus Justin Herbert and the Chargers receiving corps in Week 11.
23. Las Vegas Raiders (26)
The Las Vegas Raiders defense certainly isn’t the reason they lost on Thursday Night Football, though some woeful misses and poor reads by Bo Nix also had a lot to do with the 220 total yards allowed and 33 percent third-down conversion rate with 2 interceptions. With that said, after allowing 150-plus rushing yards in consecutive weeks to Kansas City and Jacksonville, the Raiders rebounded in Week 10 and now are limiting opponents to just a 3.5 yards-per-carry average in the last six games. We do, however, expect Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens to have plenty of success versus this secondary in Week 11.
24. San Francisco 49ers (18)
There are just too many injuries suffered by this San Francisco 49ers defense at this point to have any faith in this unit. It also has put defensive coordinator Robert Saleh into a difficult position, as he doesn’t have any semblance of a pass rush nor the secondary to make up for that. You saw the results Sunday, with Los Angeles putting up 401 total yards, going 5-for-6 in the red zone, and putting up 42 points. We’d expect both Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. to perform well versus San Francisco in Week 11.
25. Chicago Bears (25)
If Jaxson Dart hadn’t suffered a concussion on Sunday and Brian Daboll hadn’t gone ultra-conservative on 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line, the numbers would’ve looked even worse for this Chicago Bears defense. New York still ran for 169 yards, with its running backs averaging 4.1 yards per carry and Dart putting up 66 yards and 2 scores on the ground. As for Chicago’s pass defense, it allowed 226 receiving yards to Darius Slayton, Theo Johnson, and Wan’Dale Robinson on 17 receptions, and the majority of that came with Dart under center. We don’t have high hopes for the Bears defense versus Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones in Week 11.
26. New York Giants (26)
We’ll say this about the New York Giants defense. They could’ve had multiple sacks on Sunday, but Caleb Williams pulled off a Houdini act seemingly endlessly. Thus ends the positives we have for this unit. New York still has one of the worst run defenses in the NFL, as evidenced on Sunday in Chicago (171 yards, 6.1 yards per carry, and 2 touchdowns allowed), and this defense as a whole seems to implode in the fourth quarter. Jordan Love and Josh Jacobs should be excited about this matchup in Week 11.
27. Dallas Cowboys (31)
Adding Quinnen Williams will certainly help a Dallas Cowboys defense that had allowed 159.7 rushing yards per game and a 5.3 yards-per-carry average in its last six games entering the Week 10 bye. However, we’re not convinced this pass defense has improved. After all, the secondary is who was largely responsible for surrendering 237.7 passing yards per game and 2.5 passing touchdowns per game with a 104.1 QB rating in that six-game stretch.
28. Miami Dolphins (28)
The Jaelan Phillips trade was certainly the right call, but it won’t take long to find out how much worse this Miami Dolphins defense can get. Generating pressure will prove even more difficult now, and that will have a damaging impact on a secondary that already allowed the seventh-highest yards per attempt (7.7), the ninth-highest passing touchdown rate (6.1 percent), and both the highest completion rate (74.1 percent) and QB rating allowed (114.4) in the NFL entering Week 10. Maybe it won’t be as apparent given the upcoming opponents on the Dolphins schedule – Commanders (Week 11), Saints (Week 13), and Jets (Week 14) – but the Steelers, Bengals, and Buccaneers will take advantage after that.
29. Tennessee Titans (28)
Well, at least the front office allowed the Tennessee Titans defense to keep Tvondre Sweat and Jeffery Simmons past the NFL trade deadline. However, stripping apart the cornerback room has already done plenty of damage, as evidenced by the NFL stats in the last three games. From Weeks 7-9, the Titans defense allowed quarterbacks to average 226.7 passing yards and 2.3 passing touchdowns per game, putting up 8.1 yards per attempt with a 73.8 percent completion rate and a 120.1 QB rating. Meanwhile, teams averaged 156.7 rushing yards per game and 5.6 yards per carry versus Tennessee. In Week 11, this Titans defense will be in for a rough day if it can’t generate pressure on C.J. Stroud, who put up 224 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a 78.6 percent completion rate in their Week 4 meeting.
30. Washington Commanders (30)
Outside of the final series to run out the clock, Detroit scored on every series (eight) and put up over 530 total yards against the Washington Commanders defense. That’s even with the offense going just 5-for-10 on third downs. This might be close to the new normal for Washington’s defense moving forward, as they lose nearly every battle at the line of scrimmage and there’s no semblance of coverage. De’Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle should have a field day against the Commanders in Week 11.
31. New York Jets (24)
By trading Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, the New York Jets committed themselves to having one of the the worst defenses in the NFL. Of course, given this was still a bottom-10 defense when Williams and Gardner were on the field, committing fully to the rebuild is the right long-term move for New York. The true results will be on display in Week 11, when the Jets defense takes on an MVP-caliber quarterback in Drake Maye.
32. Cincinnati Bengals (32)
The Cincinnati Bengals defense with Trey Hendrickson is arguably the worst in the NFL. Without the All-Pro edge rusher, it is a historically bad unit. Coming out of the bye, Cincinnati’s defense has allowed 36.2 points and 449.6 total yards per game with a 7.0 yards per play average in the last five games. Pittsburgh’s offense hasn’t been great this year, but we saw just a few weeks ago what Aaron Rodgers can do to the Bengals defense.
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 Seattle Seahawks have the best defense in the NFL right now.
The Cincinnati Bengals have the worst NFL defense right now.
The Atlanta Falcons have the best pass defense in the NFL this season.
The Cincinnati Bengals have the worst pass defense in the NFL right now, allowing 260.1 passing yards per game with the most passing touchdowns (23) allowed) through nine 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 166.4 rushing yards per game and 5.4 yards per carry.
The Chicago Bears lead the NFL in takeaways this season with 19.
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.
