Sportsnaut
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 Monday, November 3. We’ve provided evaluations on NFL defenses for all 32 teams coming out of Week 9. On Tuesday, we’ll release our Week 10 fantasy defense rankings.
The Seattle Seahawks defense is cooking right now. After holding the Commanders to 14 points (7 in garbage time) and 290 total yards, opponents are now averaging just 15 points and 272.3 total yards per game versus Seattle in the last three contests. In that stretch, quarterbacks have completed only 58.4 percent of their passes, averaged 4.6 yards per attempt and put up a 72.3 QB rating. If Kyler Murray starts versus the Seahawks defense in Week 10, he’s in for a rough Sunday.
A matchup between two of the best NFL defenses went exactly as you’d expect. The Houston Texans only sacked Bo Nix once on Sunday, but pressure and excellent coverage kept him under 175 passing yards (4.7 yards per attempt) with aa 53.4 ESPN QBR. A defensive clinic with 2 takeaways and a 4.4 yards-per-play average allowed just isn’t enough when your quarterback is Davis Mills. The Texans defense will feast on Jacksonville in Week 10, but that might not be enough to win.
In their first game without All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II, the Denver Broncos defense understandably had issues covering Nico Collins. Stopping No. 1 wide receivers is going to be a problem for them for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, Denver’s pass rush (7 QB hits and 4 sacks) stepped up and this front neutralized the Texans’ run game (2.8 yards per carry). Brock Bowers will put up big numbers versus the Broncos defense in Week 10, but the pass rush will also wreak havoc in the Raiders’ backfield.
After holding the Saints to 224 total yards and 10 points, opponents are now averaging just 15.9 points, 18.6 first downs, and 302.9 total yards per game against the Los Angeles Rams defense this season. Over that eight-game span, the Rams defensive line has dominated both in getting to the quarterback (27 sacks) and neutralizing the run game (99.75 rushing yards per game). Los Angeles now gets its rematch against San Francisco, an offense that put up 507 total yards against it in the last meeting.
The Cleveland Browns aren’t breaking up this unit at the NFL trade deadline, so there’s every reason to believe this will remain one of the best NFL defenses in 2025. Cleveland is coming off the bye, something it might have needed defensively after...
