NFL week 3 has just concluded and some major updates to the power rankings of teams are being made. Many teams exploded for great games offensively and defensively, while others floundered. This week has seen many offensive masterclasses, with there being a total of 7 major blowouts and over half of NFL teams scoring 20 plus in their 3rd game of the year. But that is not what we will be talking about today. Right now, we will discuss the standout defenses so far through the season. They say, “defense wins championships,” so let’s see which ones can propel their teams to victory.
For this power ranking we will be separating each team into 7 different tiers which are as follows. The first tier is called “Top 1” as the defense in this tier has consistently been the overall best defense in the league so far, hands down. The next category of teams is called “Game Changers” which are the defenses that are the reasons their teams have been winning. After this, we continue with the “Rising” tier. This tier is filled with teams that have looked good, but are now finally showing signs of being incredibly capable defenses. Opposite of the last tier they are the “Descending But Still Good” tier which is for teams that, as you may have imagined, played mediocre at best this week, but have been stout overall this season. Getting near the bottom half of the list, we have the “Mediocre” tier. Then after them, we have the “One Week Wonders” which are defenses that played great, but you should not expect the same thing in the coming weeks. Following up that tier, we end the list off with the “Horrendous” tier, which is for teams that have not proven they can properly play defense, yet this season.
Horrendous Tier
Starting off with the Horrendous tier defenses, we have the following teams: Bears, Broncos, Giants, Chargers, Raiders, and Vikings. These teams are the ones with defenses that are ranked in the bottom five of at least one major team defensive statistic, and for some of them they are in multiple. The defense stated above are defenses that either keep other teams in the game or are incapable of being trusted in any scenario to get a key stop to win the game.
To dive into specifics for each team, the Broncos are ranked dead last in total yards allowed, and are atrocious on every level of defense. After shockingly giving up 70 points to the Dolphins, the Broncos can only go up from here, but it will be on the shoulders of Sean Payton and his coaching to get them out of this fiasco of a situation. Equally horrific, the chargers defense has started out the year rough. Their offense is quite possibly the most efficient and consistent in the league, however they are still losing games because the defense cannot stop opposing team’s offenses. The Chargers rank second to last in yards allowed, as well as have the worst passing and third down defense in the league. Not much better, the bears defense does not really have any upside whatsoever. There is nothing that stands out other than how below average they are. Thanks in no part to the Bear’s offense, the team has started out 0-3 with each game being a blowout.
After the Bears, the Giants and Raiders, teams follow up with essentially the same exact defense. They are two teams that have great defensive lines that are wasted because the secondary and linebackers are incapable of holding down the middle of the field. Both Defenses have also lost close games against opposing offenses that essentially are never able to get good drives going, those being the Cardinals and Steelers. Finally, in the Horrendous tier, there is the Vikings. This team has one main identity and that is Justin Jefferson and their passing attack. Other than that, the only thing separating them from the pack is their turnover difference, which is not in favor of them. They currently have a turnover difference of -7 which is tied for worst in the league.
One Week Wonders Tier
Next up after the Horrendous Tier there is the One-Week Wonders. This is a tier full of Horrendous Tier teams that performed well in this past week. In this tier there are the Cardinals, Texans, and the Colts which all had performances of the season this week. In this tier, there are also some teams that are in the bottom 10 in most NFL defensive stats, but were able to overcome their usual abilities and show out this weekend.
The first team in this tier is the Cardinals, which are regarded as one of the worst teams in the NFL, as they are really tanking in an effort to get Caleb Williams. This year they traded away all of their key pieces, and it shows, especially on the defensive side. So far they are the ranked 7th worst in total yards allowed and are incapable of stopping the run affectively. Their performance against the Cowboys this week changed most people’s perception of them. This week, they only allowed 16 points and were able to make the Cowboys turn over the ball, something they don’t do much of often. Having a similar experience this weekend, the Texans have not been strong this year as their defense does not have any real standout players making plays for them. This was the case until week 3 when the Texans took off and were able to secure an interception in the red zone to secure a huge win against the Cowboys. The final team in this tier is the Colts, which have had a solid offensive output through the beginning three weeks, but have been incapable of getting off the field on the defensive side. However, against a stable offense in the Ravens they were able to hold them to 19 points with Lamar Jackson being held in check, having very few passing yards for his standards. This combined with their team’s defense growing every week is why they are definitely the best out of the worst defenses in the NFL.
Mediocre Tier
After the one-week wonder tier, we have the Mediocre Tier, which as you may suspect is filled with teams that do not stand for being particularly good or particularly bad. The teams have been placed in this tier are the Panthers, Commander, Dolphins, Titans, Lions, Bengals, Jaguars, Falcons, Rams, Buccaneers, Seahawks, and the Packers. For this tier, all the teams are in basically similar situations where they have a decent amount of positives, but just enough amount of negatives for their defenses to not make a huge difference on the field. These teams are also the ones that could teeter in between tiers quite frequently, as they could have a stand-out performance one week and then have a down week the next. Since these teams are all quite similar in situation, I will only talk about two situations that stand out the most out of those teams, which are the Rams and the Panthers.
The Rams are arguably the worst team in this tier, as they are incapable of getting turnovers. A once stout defense feared in the league because of big names such as Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, they have now become incapable of making game changing plays, at least so far throughout the year. In this past week they were able to get their first turnover as they intercepted Joe Burrow. This interception, however, did not have any real meaning as they inevitably lost the game, which is at the root of the problem. The concerns that the Rams face is that the defense is not able to keep up with how much the offense is turning the ball over. In a decently opposite situation, the Panthers have been a big surprise so far this year. They were believed to be a terrible defense before the season start, but they have proven their haters wrong and have shown that even with multiple major injuries, you are still capable of being a stout defense. This current success they are having may not last, however, as one of their key linebackers was just injured this week, further decreasing the already lower talent level on the defensive side of the ball.
Descending But Still Good Tier and Rising Tier
These two tiers go hand in hand, as they are essentially the same tier of teams, with a difference in performance over the last week. Both tiers house teams that are getting to be around the top ten in major statistical categories for defenses. These are also teams that I along with many would consider to be respectable with game changing players that are easily recognizable. Another key part of these teams are that when put into tough situations like a defensive stop in the 4th, they can be trusted. The teams that are in the descending but still good tier are the Saints and the Steelers. On the other hand, the teams that are in the rising tier are the Chiefs, Ravens, Eagles, and the Bills.
To start off with, in the descending but still good tier, the saints have been playing pretty good this year. The saints are usually a pretty stout defensive team, typically housing a good defensive line. That tradition has carried on over to this year as they have only let up 299 rushing yards this season and have the 7 fewest amount of total yards allowed this season. Their amount of points being let up is also something not to slouch at. The reason they are in the descending but still good tier is that they were incapable of getting pressure on an essentially a rookie quarterback, who inevitably won the game for the Packers, beating out the Saints. Next on the list of descending but still good are the Steelers, who have had a dominant season thus far, holding their opinions to very low amount of points and total yards. The only weakness of this team on the defensive side of the football is their cornerbacks. In their week 3 game against a very sub par Raiders, they allowed them to stay in the game because of poor passing defense, especially against marquee wide receiver, DeVante Adams.
After the descending tier teams, there are obviously the rising teams. The first of which is the Chiefs, with whom most people associate with having the best offense in the league, but this year after getting Chris Jones back are having a fantastic season thus far. In the first two weeks, they were able to hold two superb offenses in the Lions and Jaguars to 21 points and under. This week they did not disappoint either as they held the worst offense in the league, the Bears, to 10 points. Following up the Chiefs with a major performance this week were the Eagles, which had a monster day against the Baker Mayfield led Buccaneers. The Eagles only allowed a whopping 146 passing yards and got one interception on the day. They have not had the best year so far, but this performance has put them on a winning mentality track. If their defensive line continues to play with those beasts, then it will be hard for any team to beat them.
Similarly to the Eagles, the Baltimore Ravens are next on this list for being tremendous in one specific area. That area is the linebacker play, and with a very injury prone defense the linebackers, Roquan Smith as well as Patrick Queen, have been able to help this defense stay afloat and even flourish. Together they have only missed two tackles this season and if I had to compare these two players to something I would say heat seeking missiles. This style of defense is not unused in past years by the Ravens and is working effectively even without staple players such as Marlon Humphrey in the secondary. Finally, in the rising tier there are the Bills with whom have one of the most balanced defenses in the NFL. The secondary is marked with just notable players ranging from Tredavious White to Micah Hyde, and their front seven is nothing to look past either with quite possibly the best interior rusher Ed Oliver on the team. In this week three, they are possibly coming off the biggest field day a secondary has had this season thus far. The team overall had 4 interceptions against Sam Howell, and Commander’s offense.
Game Changers Tier
In the second to last tier in this tier list, we have 5 of the top 6 defenses in the NFL which have either carried their respective teams to wins are have made key plays in every game which led their offense to big games. These teams are in the top 5 to 10 in almost all statistical categories and are easily recognized as the best. Whether it be stand out players or great cohesive play from all levels of the defense, they have it all. The teams that fit into this tier are as follows: Cowboys, Patriots, Jets, and the 49ers.
The first of these four teams that had a slight stutter in this week’s game against the Cardinals were the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys due to almost no fault to the defense lost the game and was a major upset. The reason this game was such an upset was because of how good we all know the defense to be. Whether it be up front pass rush to their ability to get interceptions in the secondary, this defense is a turnover machine, and they have the most turnovers generated in the league. A main reason for their success as of this far into the season is that they have a Micah Parsons. Widely regarded as the best and most versatile defensive player in the NFL, he is mainly an edge rusher, but is also able to tackle well in the open field as he has been an otherworldly threat on the other side of the ball that all offenses have to game plan for. With recent injuries however to the secondary, mainly Trevon Diggs, this team may not stay up here for much longer. Following the Cowboys, there are the Jets and the Patriots, which are basically the same team offensively and defensively. They are both sound defenses that are going to be this year the only reason their teams win. In their most recent matchup they were against each other with the Patriots coming out on top. Whether this speaks to them having a better defense, you will have to decide. All we can deduce from this is that New England has a slightly better offense, as their defenses are essentially the same at every level of the game.
In the final spot on the game changers tier, they are the arguable second-best defense in the NFL, with so much start studded talent, they are the 49ers. This team has almost too many positives, so I will have to condense it a lot. Starting out on the defensive line, they have a fearsome defensive rushing attack led by Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead that over the past three weeks have only let up 159 rushing yards so far this season. In the linebacker position they have Fred Warner, arguably the best at his position, who is constantly making uniform tackles and covering incredibly well for someone in his position. And finally, in the secondary they have the all-pro safety Talanoa Hufanga who is a ball-hawk that doubles as a heavy hitter in the strong safety position. What makes this team very fearsome is their team play, and they are so good at rallying and making group tackles, disallowing for the offense to get anything going. This team’s performances have been nothing short of demoralizing for the other teams.
Top 1 Tier
In the final overall spot on this list we have the dare I say, undisputed number 1 defense in the league miles ahead of any other team. They have consistently shown themselves to withstand every test so far, no matter if they were up against teams who made it to the Conference Finals last year or teams starting on their own side of the field. It doesn’t matter to this defense if their offense is mediocre, because as wisely stated so many times before, “defense wins championships” and if there were to be a Superbowl right now you would be hard-pressed to find a defense better suited to play in that game. They are of course the Top 1 defense in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns.
This Browns defense has so far caught the rest of the NFL with their pants down as they have destroyed everyone opponent they have come against. So far this year, the team has only let up a league leading 491 yds this season, which is almost 300 better than the next best. They have the best passing defense in the NFL and the second-best Rushing defense. Furthermore, they have the least amount of points allowed this season, and it is not even close, if you disregard points that could not have been stopped by the defense. If you take off points earned because of the offense’s mistakes, then they would have only allowed 13 points, 1 touchdown and 2 field goals. In their games this season, they have only allowed 14 first downs, a total one higher than the total amount of points scored. In addition to their high percentage of getting off of the field on third down, they continually stuff the opposing teams’ offense before they can get into Brown’s territory as their week three opponents, the Titans, only had one offensive possession of over 35+ yards.
The headliners of this defense are numerous, with Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit leading the team in the secondary. Then in the middle of the field, players like Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Sione Takitaki are constantly on run support stuffing high-level players, namely Derrick Henry. To finish out we have to talk about the key part of this whole team not just the defense, they are the best unit in the NFL, it is the Brown’s defensive line. What the Brown’s defensive line has been able to do over the past years is nothing short of incredible, and with the introduction of Jim Schwartz’s scheme they have only gotten better. Led obviously by Myles Garret, this defensive line has unlocked Myles’ full potential, allowing him to move freely across the line because of new additions such as Ze’Darius Smith. Myles Garret in his week three performance had 3.5 sacks against Titans quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, and it is all because of the constant switching of positions that Myles is allowed to do to get his best matchup. As previously mentioned, the Brown’s defense is the best in the NFL, and let’s continue to marvel in this spectacle of a defensive master class and see if they continue to keep dunking on their opponents.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this is a look at what the current best defenses in the NFL are, with the Bears probably being the worst and the Browns obviously being the best.
