NFL Defensive Rankings by Position

Per-game allowances to each position with the quality of offenses faced removed. Rank 1 = toughest of 32. 2026 regular season through Week 5, cumulative window, opponent-adjusted and recency-weighted.

Defense vs Quarterbacks

A one-standard-deviation tougher defense moved quarterback passing yards by about 8.5 per game in 2024-25 — the largest defensive effect we measure.

#	Defense	Rating	Pass Yds (rank)	Pass TDs (rank)	INTs (rank)	Rush Yds (rank)	Any TD (rank)	Next
1	Jets	100	200.8 (1)	1.3 (8)	0.6 (24)	12.6 (11)	-0 (2)	vs Browns
2	Rams	85.1	201.2 (2)	1.5 (21)	0.7 (16)	12 (7)	0.3 (24)	vs Bills
3	Giants	81.8	204.3 (3)	2.1 (28)	1.2 (2)	11.8 (5)	0.1 (6)	at Commanders
4	Chargers	80.3	218.1 (6)	1.2 (5)	0.8 (10)	15 (15)	0.2 (16)	vs Broncos
5	Patriots	80.1	222.1 (9)	1.2 (4)	0.7 (19)	15.4 (17)	0 (3)	vs Raiders
6	Vikings	77.8	229.5 (13)	1.3 (12)	0.9 (9)	12.6 (10)	-0.1 (1)	at Saints
7	Seahawks	76.3	205.3 (4)	1.9 (25)	1 (4)	15.7 (18)	0.2 (17)	vs 49ers
8	Buccaneers	74.3	231.6 (15)	1.3 (10)	1.1 (3)	12.2 (8)	0.1 (12)	vs Steelers
9	Broncos	73.2	224.8 (10)	1.1 (2)	0.9 (5)	17 (21)	0.3 (28)	at Chargers
10	Bears	72.5	215.2 (5)	1.3 (6)	0.9 (6)	17.2 (22)	0.4 (31)	at Packers
11	Eagles	67.4	220.7 (7)	1.3 (9)	0.6 (23)	9.8 (1)	0.5 (32)	at Jaguars
12	Dolphins	66.2	232.7 (16)	1.1 (3)	0.9 (7)	14.7 (14)	0.3 (29)	vs Bengals
13	49ers	63.3	225.3 (11)	1.4 (15)	0.4 (28)	10.4 (2)	0.2 (22)	at Seahawks
14	Saints	60.4	221.4 (8)	1.5 (20)	0.3 (31)	16.8 (20)	0.1 (13)	vs Vikings
15	Falcons	59.7	236.9 (18)	1.3 (13)	0.4 (30)	11 (3)	0 (4)	vs Ravens
16	Ravens	54.9	231.3 (14)	1.4 (17)	0.6 (25)	19 (23)	0.1 (14)	at Falcons
17	Raiders	53.7	226.6 (12)	1.8 (24)	0.8 (13)	16.1 (19)	0.2 (21)	at Patriots
18	Steelers	53.4	243.3 (21)	1.5 (19)	0.8 (15)	11.4 (4)	0.2 (19)	vs Colts
19	Titans	51.2	241.2 (19)	1.4 (16)	0.6 (21)	15.4 (16)	0.1 (10)	vs Texans
20	Chiefs	45.6	253.4 (27)	1.3 (7)	0.8 (11)	20.2 (27)	0.1 (5)	vs Chargers
21	Panthers	41.9	236.2 (17)	1.3 (14)	0.8 (14)	27.7 (32)	0.3 (30)	at Eagles
22	Browns	37.5	252.1 (25)	1.8 (23)	0.8 (12)	12.9 (12)	0.1 (7)	at Jets
23	Packers	37.1	241.3 (20)	1.9 (26)	0.9 (8)	21.6 (30)	0.2 (18)	vs Bears
24	Jaguars	34.3	278 (32)	1.1 (1)	1.2 (1)	12.4 (9)	0.3 (26)	vs Eagles
25	Texans	31.4	258.4 (29)	1.6 (22)	0.4 (27)	12 (6)	0.1 (8)	at Titans
26	Colts	28.9	252.6 (26)	1.5 (18)	0.6 (22)	21.2 (28)	0.3 (27)	at Steelers
27	Cardinals	23.9	248.8 (23)	2.3 (31)	0.7 (17)	14.1 (13)	0.1 (15)	vs Lions
28	Bengals	18	267.9 (30)	1.3 (11)	0.4 (29)	19 (24)	0.3 (23)	at Dolphins
29	Cowboys	11.3	248.8 (22)	2.1 (27)	0.3 (32)	26.3 (31)	0.1 (9)	at Packers
30	Commanders	10.5	253.4 (28)	2.2 (30)	0.7 (18)	19.8 (26)	0.3 (25)	vs Giants
31	Bills	4.2	251.5 (24)	2.5 (32)	0.5 (26)	21.2 (29)	0.2 (20)	at Rams
32	Lions	0	271.3 (31)	2.2 (29)	0.7 (20)	19.8 (25)	0.1 (11)	at Cardinals

Defense vs Running Backs

A one-standard-deviation tougher defense moved running back rushing yards by about 3.5 per game in 2024-25 — the most reliable defensive signal we measure.

#	Defense	Rating	Rush Yds (rank)	Rec (rank)	Rec Yds (rank)	Any TD (rank)	Next
1	Vikings	100	78.6 (4)	4.1 (11)	29.3 (16)	0.5 (3)	at Saints
2	Texans	99.9	80.9 (8)	4 (8)	20.6 (3)	0.7 (10)	at Titans
3	Falcons	97.1	68.1 (1)	5.2 (30)	24.9 (8)	0.9 (21)	vs Ravens
4	Commanders	97.1	80.7 (7)	4.1 (13)	28.3 (15)	0.5 (4)	vs Giants
5	Browns	88.5	90.5 (14)	4.7 (25)	24 (6)	0.2 (1)	at Jets
6	Jaguars	84.5	72.1 (2)	5 (28)	37 (28)	0.7 (12)	vs Eagles
7	Cardinals	82.7	98.9 (23)	2.9 (1)	21.7 (4)	0.6 (6)	vs Lions
8	Chiefs	81.4	79.9 (5)	4.4 (20)	32 (24)	0.8 (15)	vs Chargers
9	Patriots	80.7	80.2 (6)	4.7 (24)	28 (13)	0.8 (17)	vs Raiders
10	Ravens	80.4	90.1 (13)	4.2 (16)	17.3 (1)	0.8 (16)	at Falcons
11	Buccaneers	79.8	78.4 (3)	4.8 (26)	34 (27)	0.7 (11)	vs Steelers
12	Rams	78.3	93.7 (20)	4.3 (18)	26.5 (10)	0.4 (2)	vs Bills
13	Panthers	72.5	90.6 (15)	3.9 (6)	26 (9)	0.9 (20)	at Eagles
14	Broncos	69.2	89.9 (12)	4.5 (22)	31.3 (23)	0.7 (7)	at Chargers
15	Bears	68.5	93.4 (19)	3.6 (5)	30.6 (20)	0.8 (14)	at Packers
16	Lions	65.7	96.6 (22)	3.9 (7)	18.8 (2)	1 (24)	at Cardinals
17	Raiders	64.1	101.3 (28)	3.4 (3)	27.2 (11)	0.7 (9)	at Patriots
18	Bengals	63.8	87.9 (9)	5.1 (29)	37.6 (29)	0.5 (5)	at Dolphins
19	Eagles	58.9	91.9 (17)	4.9 (27)	27.7 (12)	0.9 (19)	at Jaguars
20	Dolphins	54.9	88.1 (10)	4.2 (15)	31 (22)	1.3 (29)	vs Bengals
21	Giants	54.1	100.3 (26)	4 (10)	24.7 (7)	0.9 (22)	at Commanders
22	Steelers	53.7	91.3 (16)	4.2 (17)	32.5 (25)	1.1 (25)	vs Colts
23	Chargers	49.5	94.3 (21)	4.1 (12)	31 (21)	1.1 (27)	vs Broncos
24	Seahawks	43.8	89.1 (11)	5.5 (31)	38.4 (30)	0.9 (23)	vs 49ers
25	49ers	38.3	93 (18)	6.1 (32)	40.8 (31)	0.7 (8)	at Seahawks
26	Packers	38	99.4 (24)	3 (2)	29.4 (17)	1.6 (31)	vs Bears
27	Bills	37.5	100.5 (27)	4.3 (19)	30.6 (19)	1.1 (26)	at Rams
28	Colts	35.5	99.8 (25)	4.6 (23)	43.1 (32)	0.8 (13)	at Steelers
29	Titans	35.2	107.5 (30)	4.2 (14)	32.8 (26)	0.9 (18)	vs Texans
30	Jets	24.9	104.4 (29)	4.5 (21)	28.2 (14)	1.3 (30)	vs Browns
31	Saints	17.4	112.3 (31)	3.5 (4)	22.7 (5)	1.6 (32)	vs Vikings
32	Cowboys	0	125.4 (32)	4 (9)	30.1 (18)	1.2 (28)	at Packers

Defense vs Wide Receivers

A one-standard-deviation tougher defense moved wide receiver receiving yards by about 0.9 per game in 2024-25 — small; receptions barely move.

#	Defense	Rating	Rec Yds (rank)	Rec (rank)	Any TD (rank)	Next
1	Jets	100	118.3 (1)	9.8 (1)	0.6 (6)	vs Browns
2	Broncos	86.5	134.2 (4)	10.1 (5)	0.5 (4)	at Chargers
3	Seahawks	81.2	131 (3)	10 (3)	0.9 (14)	vs 49ers
4	Dolphins	78.8	139.7 (9)	11.6 (19)	0.2 (1)	vs Bengals
5	Buccaneers	77.6	138.8 (7)	10.1 (6)	0.7 (7)	vs Steelers
6	Giants	75.5	128 (2)	9.9 (2)	1.2 (26)	at Commanders
7	Vikings	70.5	140.6 (10)	10.4 (9)	0.8 (13)	at Saints
8	Chiefs	70	141.1 (11)	11.5 (18)	0.5 (2)	vs Chargers
9	Bengals	65.3	141.7 (13)	10.4 (8)	1 (17)	at Dolphins
10	Bears	65.1	147.6 (14)	10.4 (7)	0.8 (10)	at Packers
11	Saints	63.4	134.7 (5)	11.4 (16)	1 (21)	vs Vikings
12	Eagles	60.6	139.3 (8)	11.2 (15)	1 (19)	at Jaguars
13	49ers	60.5	137.1 (6)	11.5 (17)	1 (22)	at Seahawks
14	Panthers	60.5	149.4 (15)	11.7 (21)	0.5 (3)	at Eagles
15	Raiders	60.3	154.7 (19)	10.1 (4)	0.8 (11)	at Patriots
16	Rams	51.3	141.3 (12)	11.1 (12)	1.4 (30)	vs Bills
17	Chargers	51.2	150.9 (16)	11.1 (13)	1 (18)	vs Broncos
18	Colts	48.6	159.1 (21)	11.1 (14)	0.8 (12)	at Steelers
19	Steelers	42.8	161.6 (22)	11.9 (22)	0.7 (9)	vs Colts
20	Patriots	40.6	152.3 (17)	12.6 (28)	0.9 (16)	vs Raiders
21	Ravens	38.5	158.9 (20)	11.7 (20)	1 (20)	at Falcons
22	Falcons	38	165.6 (25)	12 (23)	0.7 (8)	vs Ravens
23	Browns	35.3	165.2 (24)	11 (11)	1.1 (24)	at Jets
24	Commanders	33.3	153.1 (18)	12.4 (25)	1.3 (27)	vs Giants
25	Packers	21	163.9 (23)	13.8 (32)	0.9 (15)	vs Bears
26	Cowboys	20.4	167 (26)	12.1 (24)	1.3 (28)	at Packers
27	Cardinals	15.5	172.3 (28)	10.9 (10)	1.7 (32)	vs Lions
28	Titans	12.1	173.2 (29)	13.4 (29)	1.1 (23)	vs Texans
29	Bills	11.2	169.8 (27)	12.5 (27)	1.5 (31)	at Rams
30	Texans	8.9	176.1 (30)	12.4 (26)	1.4 (29)	at Titans
31	Jaguars	1.6	198.5 (32)	13.4 (30)	0.5 (5)	vs Eagles
32	Lions	0	181.9 (31)	13.5 (31)	1.2 (25)	at Cardinals

Defense vs Tight Ends

A one-standard-deviation tougher defense moved tight end receiving yards by about 1.2 per game in 2024-25 — small and noisy, context rather than a lean.

#	Defense	Rating	Rec Yds (rank)	Rec (rank)	Any TD (rank)	Next
1	Chargers	100	36.5 (5)	3.6 (2)	0.2 (4)	vs Broncos
2	Bears	98.5	36.2 (3)	3.5 (1)	0.2 (6)	at Packers
3	Rams	93.7	35 (2)	4.5 (5)	0.2 (5)	vs Bills
4	Patriots	89.6	38.5 (6)	4.6 (7)	0.1 (3)	vs Raiders
5	Titans	83.8	34.9 (1)	4.6 (6)	0.5 (18)	vs Texans
6	Jaguars	81.7	43.2 (7)	4.2 (3)	0.3 (10)	vs Eagles
7	49ers	80.2	44.6 (8)	5 (13)	0.1 (1)	at Seahawks
8	Seahawks	75.7	36.5 (4)	4.8 (10)	0.6 (22)	vs 49ers
9	Steelers	71.3	47.1 (14)	4.4 (4)	0.5 (16)	vs Colts
10	Bills	67.8	44.7 (9)	4.9 (11)	0.5 (21)	at Rams
11	Falcons	65.7	45.4 (11)	5.1 (15)	0.5 (19)	vs Ravens
12	Eagles	65.3	52.6 (17)	4.9 (12)	0.3 (8)	at Jaguars
13	Packers	60.9	46.7 (13)	5 (14)	0.7 (23)	vs Bears
14	Ravens	60.8	54.4 (19)	4.7 (9)	0.5 (15)	at Falcons
15	Jets	59.6	53 (18)	5.5 (20)	0.3 (9)	vs Browns
16	Giants	59.5	50.4 (15)	5.5 (21)	0.4 (11)	at Commanders
17	Texans	58.1	60.5 (26)	5.3 (17)	0.1 (2)	at Titans
18	Colts	56.7	46.7 (12)	5.3 (18)	0.7 (24)	at Steelers
19	Vikings	54.8	59.3 (24)	4.6 (8)	0.5 (17)	at Saints
20	Cowboys	52.6	50.6 (16)	5.2 (16)	0.7 (25)	at Packers
21	Broncos	50.9	55 (20)	5.9 (24)	0.4 (13)	at Chargers
22	Buccaneers	50.1	57.9 (21)	5.5 (19)	0.4 (14)	vs Steelers
23	Dolphins	44.2	59 (23)	6.1 (26)	0.4 (12)	vs Bengals
24	Raiders	40.3	45.2 (10)	6.2 (28)	1.1 (32)	at Patriots
25	Saints	36.8	62.7 (28)	6.1 (25)	0.5 (20)	vs Vikings
26	Panthers	35.1	59.3 (25)	5.7 (23)	0.8 (29)	at Eagles
27	Cardinals	33.4	58.8 (22)	6.2 (27)	0.8 (28)	vs Lions
28	Browns	31.7	61.1 (27)	6.2 (29)	0.7 (26)	at Jets
29	Commanders	20.3	71.6 (30)	5.6 (22)	0.9 (30)	vs Giants
30	Lions	9.3	69.6 (29)	6.9 (30)	0.9 (31)	at Cardinals
31	Bengals	7.5	86.2 (32)	7.1 (31)	0.3 (7)	at Dolphins
32	Chiefs	0	78.9 (31)	7.4 (32)	0.8 (27)	vs Chargers

Week 5: most generous defenses by position

Cowboys vs QB — ranked 29 of 32 · at Packers
Commanders vs QB — ranked 30 of 32 · vs Giants
Bills vs QB — ranked 31 of 32 · at Rams
Lions vs QB — ranked 32 of 32 · at Cardinals
Titans vs RB — ranked 29 of 32 · vs Texans
Jets vs RB — ranked 30 of 32 · vs Browns
Saints vs RB — ranked 31 of 32 · vs Vikings
Cowboys vs RB — ranked 32 of 32 · at Packers
Bills vs WR — ranked 29 of 32 · at Rams
Texans vs WR — ranked 30 of 32 · at Titans
Jaguars vs WR — ranked 31 of 32 · vs Eagles
Lions vs WR — ranked 32 of 32 · at Cardinals
Commanders vs TE — ranked 29 of 32 · vs Giants
Lions vs TE — ranked 30 of 32 · at Cardinals
Bengals vs TE — ranked 31 of 32 · at Dolphins
Chiefs vs TE — ranked 32 of 32 · vs Chargers

Values are opponent-adjusted per-game allowances to that position (interceptions: forced per game); the raw per-game numbers are in the interactive view.

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