Defense wins championships. So goes the old adage, and if the man the Super Bowl trophy is named after thinks defense is paramount, who are we to argue with Vince Lombardi?
The modern NFL is about offense, but that's all the more reason defense is so important. Defense is reactive by nature, but today's great defensive units are learning to be proactive.
This era's defensive innovators have their units on the attack, taking the game at the opponent instead of sitting back and letting it happen to them. Last decade's positionless tweeners are flexible weapons now, the defensive version of "skill players."
Unlike offense, where quarterbacks carry an outsize weighting of the overall unit effect, defensive positions are mostly weighted evenly — with a slight bonus to corners and edge rushers to value the passing game.
That also makes defense far more volatile and harder to predict than offense since defenses are not particularly sticky from one year to the next. Which means it's a fool's errand to attempt to rank them — but I've done it anyway with my 2025 NFL Defense Rankings.
Last year we were ahead of the curve on the Seahawks' defensive breakout. The year before, we were on the Browns and Texans' leaps early.
Yesterday, we ranked offenses. Today is about defense, though these rankings are less about 1-to-32 and more about the likelihood of finishing near the top, middle or bottom, in tiers as always.
Be sure to check out the whole NFL rankings series:
2025 NFL Defense Rankings
| Tier Number | Category |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Juggernaut Potential |
| Tier 2 | Attack! Attack! |
| Tier 3 | Let's Get Crazy |
| Tier 4 | Should Be Good, Won't Be Great |
| Tier 5a | Wildcards I Believe In |
| Tier 5b | Wildcards I Can't Talk Myself Into |
| Tier 6 | Just Not Enough Talent |
| Tier 7 | Might Just Be Terrible |
| Tier 8 | Not Even a Good Coach Can Save This Mess |
| Betting Takeaways |
Tier 1 — Juggernaut Potential
1. Houston Texans (Last Year: 14)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (2)
The Texans defense took an immediate leap under DeMeco Ryans, from below average to top three against the run in both years with Ryans, and from bottom 11 five consecutive seasons against the pass all the way to No. 3 last fall.
Ryans doesn't do anything too complicated. He basically just says,"Our guys are gonna be better and play harder than your guys," and with names like Will Anderson, Danielle Hunter and Derek Stingley in the fold, he's right. That makes Houston a bit less volatile, too, and the defense could be even better this year if the red-zone defense progresses to the man.
The best way to build an elite modern defense is to focus on edge rushers and corners. Houston ranks top three for me in both areas and now adds C.J. Gardner-Johnson to redefine the safety group.
The Texans defense is by far the best unit on either side of the ball in the weak AFC South, and that alone might be good enough for a division title.
The Steelers are a bit of an outlier here compared to most other rankings, which have a clear top six that excludes Pittsburgh.
I'm not sure why.
Pittsburgh has more of its salary cap invested in its defense than any other team, and the roster makes it evident why.
T.J. Watt is still one of the league's best pass rushers, and Alex Highsmith might quietly be top 10, while Nick Herbig is the best situational rusher. Now add veterans Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay to buoy what was a vulnerable secondary, plus maybe Pittsburgh's best defender in Cam Heyward.
It's an older group, but the Steel Curtain produces year after year under Mike Tomlin. Pittsburgh has had a top-14 Defensive DVOA in 16 of 18 Tomlin years, and the Steelers have ranked top 10 against the pass in five of the last six years and top seven against the run in five of seven.
Weirdly enough, for all those above-average finishes, Tomlin's defenses only have seven finishes in the top quarter of the league — but five of those seven snuck into the top three.
Let's cut through the numbers: Tomlin's defense is always good but not always great — but when it is great, it's usually elite.
Tier 2 — Attack! Attack!
3. Minnesota Vikings (8)
4. Baltimore Ravens (7)
5. Philadelphia Eagles (15)
6. Seattle Seahawks (5)
These are three of the defenses we talked about at the top — taking the game to the opponent and attacking to dictate.
The Vikings ranked No. 2 in Defensive DVOA last season under Brian Flores and led the league against the pass thanks to an always-aggressive pass rush.
Flores blitzes around 30% of the time, almost triple the league average, flummoxing bad quarterbacks and forcing sacks and turnovers — though also stranding the secondary at times and leaving his defense exposed to explosive plays.
This might be the best pass rush Flores has ever had.
Sophomore Dallas Turner is healthy next to Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard, and now Minnesota splashed on two great pass-rushing tackles on the interior in Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen to form what may very well be the best defensive line in the league.
It's going to need to be. Minnesota's corners are a clear weakness, and stalwart S Harrison Smith is fading, though Josh Metellus is an underrated weapon next to him. The Vikings will be erratic at times, but dangerous as always.
The Ravens struggled to find their way on defense early last season under new DC Zach Orr, but they were as good as anyone down the stretch after returning stud S Kyle Hamilton to a more traditional role and trusting the secondary to hold up.
Baltimore's secondary may be the best in the league after adding veterans Jaire Alexander and Chidobe Awuzie to an already talented corner duo of Marlon Humphrey and sophomore Nate Wiggins.
That quartet plus Hamilton will wreak havoc in the secondary, and Baltimore always seems to find a pass rush somehow, despite a lack of elite edge rusher. Maybe rookie Mike Green can provide a spark there.
Baltimore has finished top 10 in Defensive DVOA in eight of the last nine years — all but a disastrous injury season — and that's with any number of different coordinators and schemes. These guys just figure it out year after year, and the fact that they should play with a positive game script all year thanks to the offense can only help.
The Eagles don't fit the attacking mentality of this tier under DC Vic Fangio, but no one needs to tell you how dominant this unit was en route to a Super Bowl victory last year.
Rookie corners Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were immediately great, and Zack Baun was plucked off the scrap heap and turned into an All-Pro linebacker overnight. The Eagles finished No. 1 in Defensive DVOA, and eight of the last 10 such units to do so finished in the top 10 the following season with a median finish of fifth, according to Aaron Schatz.
Now they need to do it again and prove those big leaps hold up. And they need to find a pass rush after losing Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Brandon Graham, Haason Reddick and Fletcher Cox over the last two years from the defensive front.
Philadelphia's defense ranked top six in two of the last four years but bottom eight the other two. Add in injuries to LBs Nakobe Dean and Jihaad Campbell to start the season and this might still be a touch more volatile than anyone wants to admit.
The Seahawks were my big breakout defense last season and leapt from bottom five into the top 10 under Mike Macdonald's aggressive attacking style, but they're probably the least talented unit of this bunch.
Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy are an excellent interior combo on the line, but corner Devon Witherspoon is the only other standout talent for now.
Macdonald elevates the sum of the parts, and he found some solutions midseason at linebacker, but this defense is still in the early stages of figuring everything out.
Tier 3 — Let's Get Crazy
7. Chicago Bears (16)
8. Denver Broncos (30)
9. San Francisco 49ers (4)
10. New England Patriots (26)
I mentioned above that most rankings around the interwebs have a consensus top six. I've got a top six, too, and it's five of the same six teams, but I have the Steelers safely in while many rankers' No. 1 (the Broncos) barely crack the top 10.
DC Vance Joseph's scheme is super aggressive. When it works, it's great — but when it doesn't, it's ugly.
Joseph's attacking style of defense utilizes a heap of man-to-man coverage and is heavily reliant on reigning DPOY Patrick Surtain shutting down half the field and Denver's other corners holding up on the rest. It leaves those young corners vulnerable and often limits turnover opportunities.
Denver took a crazy leap last season from 30th in Defensive DVOA all the way to fourth, including best in the league against the run.
Still, I'm skeptical.
In eight previous seasons, Joseph's defenses had never even finished top 10 in PPG, and only one top-10 finish in YPG. They finished 20th or worse in run defense six of the eight seasons. Does that sound more like a magical elixir or a one-year fluke to you?
Denver's advanced metrics got a huge boost from a farcical 38-0 Week 18 victory against Chiefs' backups, and the Broncos had seven games against backup QBs. The team went just 1-6 against top-12 DVOA offenses, with 30+ points allowed in four of seven.
Are Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto and the other breakouts on this team real? Can new additions Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga add another layer to this team — or even stay on the field? I worry about this unit having some 2024 Browns potential.
With the Bears defense, it's all about new DC Dennis Allen.
Allen's Saints defenses finished in the top quarter of the league in DVOA six consecutive seasons before fading the last two years, and that includes four straight top-five run defenses and perennial top-12 units against the pass.
Allen sets a high floor and maximizes the talent, and Chicago has plenty of talent after investing a heap in the front seven and seeing another great year from CB Jaylon Johnson.
The 49ers are also a bet on a coach, returning DC Robert Saleh.
Saleh was miserable as head coach of the Jets, but his defenses — even in New York — were outstanding. The Jets leapt from dead last to sixth then third in DVOA under Saleh — and they were good before he got fired last year and cratered after he left.
In Saleh's previous stint with the 49ers, he helped the defense jump from 24th to consecutive top-seven finishes. In fact, San Francisco's defense has finished top seven in DVOA five of the last six seasons with an average finish of 5.5, and Saleh is especially good against the pass.
Still, he has his work cut out for him.
Fred Warner and Nick Bosa are studs but there are serious holes on this defense, with a secondary that's likely bottom quarter of the league and perhaps the league's worst interior line. Longtime D-line coach Kris Kocurek will try to do his thing with rookies Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins on the line, plus maybe a bit of rehab on pass rusher Bryce Huff.
On talent alone, this San Francisco defense may not even rank top half of the league. This is a big bet on Saleh magic.
Unlike Chicago and San Francisco's known coordinators, the Patriots' top-10 ranking is a bet on sheer talent.
I was ahead of the curve on New England last year, ranking the Pats bottom 10 post-Bill Belichick when nearly everyone had them top 10. Now I'm swerving again and ready to buy back in.
This team had a heap of a cap room and added a ton of floor-raising talent to the defense.
Carlton Davis is really good and forms a top-five CB duo with Christian Gonzalez; Milton Williams will pair with a now-healthy Christian Barmore on the interior line.
Robert Spillane and Harold Landry add veteran leadership, and the Pats still have some of those other funky defensive weapons like Jabrill Peppers, Kyle Dugger, Jahlani Tavai and Marte Mapu.
I rank the Patriots above average at every defensive positional group. The only real question is new unknown DC Terrell Williams, who's never called plays before but had a hand in developing guys like Aidan Hutchinson, Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry and Ndamukong Suh on the defensive line.
Everyone's excited about New England's upside this season, but I think they're focused on the wrong side of the ball. This unit has top-five potential.
Tier 4 — Should Be Good, Won't Be Great
11. Buffalo Bills (10)
12. New York Giants (27)
13. Kansas City Chiefs (12)
14. Indianapolis Colts (23)
You'll notice I ranked Buffalo and Kansas City right around this range last year, and it's about where both Super Bowl contenders typically end up — on the fringe of the top 10 by DVOA, good but not great.
The Bills have finished top 12 in Defensive DVOA in seven seasons straight under Sean McDermott. I don't buy this unit ever getting fully healthy seasons from Joey Bosa, Matt Milano and Daquon Jones to hit its ceiling, and I worry a bit about McDermott's Cover 2 holding up against great QBs — but the floor is pretty safe.
The Chiefs always seem to find a way under Steve Spagnuolo, though there's real weakness at edge and safety. Chris Jones and Trent McDuffie are elite talents, but Kansas City is a bit over reliant on those two carrying an otherwise pretty average collection of talent.
With the other two teams in this tier, it's all about the guys up front.
The Giants could end up with the best defensive front in the league.
Dexter Lawrence is an absolute superstar on the interior. New York added first-rounder Abdul Carter to Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux off the edge.
I'm not as excited about the additions of Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland and have never been a big fan of DC Shane Bowen's style that typically allows huge passing numbers, or I might have slid the Giants into my top 10.
The Colts have the league's finest defensive tackle combo in DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart, plus a pair of wildcard young pass rushers in Kwity Paye and Laiatu Latu.
It's a talented line, and new DC Lou Anarumo will attempt to raise the ceiling after years of vanilla Gus Bradley schemes.
Tier 5a — Wildcards I Believe In
15. Detroit Lions (13)
16. Cleveland Browns (1)
17. Green Bay Packers (22)
18. New York Jets (3)
19. Los Angeles Rams (31)
I ended up with nine teams in a fat middle of my defensive rankings, so I'm splitting them into two sub-tiers and effectively ranking them in order of upside. These are the five I believe in.
If I were doing these rankings two months from now, the Lions would probably crack the top 10.
Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch are an elite safety combo, and Aidan Hutchinson was playing like a DPOY before getting hurt last season. Add in a breakout season for CB Terrion Arnold next to D.J. Reed and the Lions are cooking.
The unit was cooking last year until injuries ravaged them late. Unfortunately, those injuries carry over into the new season, particularly on the line where this unit will badly miss Alim McNeill until he returns. We also know very little about new DC Kelvin Sheppard for now.
This is my No. 5 defense on talent alone. Once the D-line is healthy and Sheppard shows his stuff, the Lions could rise quickly.
The Browns were among the league's best defenses in 2023 before returning right back to outside the top 20 last fall.
Myles Garrett is as impactful as any defender in football, and he could get some big help this season from DT Mason Graham. The defensive line dictates everything for DC Jim Schwartz, though it's fair to wonder how this inconsistent secondary can hold up behind it.
Rookie LB Carson Schwesinger will also be in the spotlight early with the Browns missing their usual linebackers.
One of the big risers last season, the Packers finally put things together under new DC Jeff Hafley, forcing a heap of turnovers.
Green Bay's defense ranked fourth in EPA per play on the season, though just 20th in Success Rate. That should temper expectations a bit, since it belies a unit that was inconsistent from down-to-down, relying on unreliable turnovers to turn the tide.
The Packers took a big step forward defending the run, and Xavier McKinney and Edgerrin Cooper are stars, but the talent at edge and corner leaves you wanting.
The Jets still have plenty of talent on defense, even after crumbling last season following the firing Robert Saleh.
Brandon Stephens is in for D.J. Reed at corner and Sauce Gardner should bounce back after a letdown season, while guys like Quinnen Williams and Quincy Williams are tough up the middle.
I don't love new DC Steve Wilks, nor the pass rush this team has to work with, but new Jets coach Aaron Glenn sure found a lot of defensive answers in Detroit.
The Rams are simply a bet on ascending young talent on the defensive line. In the past two years alone, the team has added Jared Verse, Kobie Turner, Byron Young and Brandon Fiske, plus now veteran Poona Ford at DT to stifle the run.
L.A. feels matchup dependent. If the opposing line is weak, the Rams' defensive front can wreck, but otherwise the guys behind them may still get picked apart.
Tier 5b — Wildcards I Can't Talk Myself Into
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (20)
21. Arizona Cardinals (32)
22. Dallas Cowboys (6)
23. Los Angeles Chargers (28)
We're still around the middle of the pack, but these are four units I'm sour on.
The Bucs finished top 10 in DVOA three consecutive seasons under Todd Bowles but have faded to somewhere between 13th and 16th the last three years — basically average.
There's no particular strength and no big offseason addition outside of the hope of rehabbing Haason Reddick as a once-elite pass rusher, but he's only finished with a top-40 PFF grade at edge twice in his career.
Tampa Bay's defense ranks 24th in my roster matrix on talent alone. Bowles can only do so much.
This year's Cardinals appear to be a chic sleeper for a top-10 rise under DC Nick Rallis, but I can't get there.
This team does a lot of fun, funky stuff, and credit to Arizona for taking what I thought was the league's least talented defense a year ago and finishing top half of the league by DVOA.
Now the defense adds a real influx of talent with names like Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson and Josh Sweat stepping into starting roles, and I get the idea — but not all growth is linear.
The Cowboys defense is basically a hope and a prayer that superstar Micah Parsons can do everything.
Spoiler: He can't do everything despite being the best defensive player in the league.
Corners DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs have been unreliable and can't stay healthy, and DC Matt Eberflus is a coaching retread and a big step down from Dan Quinn and Mike Zimmer leading this unit in recent years.
It should probably be noteworthy that I'm stuffing the Chargers last of this middle tier, technically bottom 10 in the NFL.
DC Jesse Minter is one of those hot coordinator names and really got the most out of his pass defense a year ago, but the run defense remains rickety and this defense got found out a bit down the stretch, especially against good offenses.
The Chargers were just 1-5 against top-12 DVOA offenses and this defense gave up around 450 yards to the Bengals, Ravens and Bucs. That's just not going to cut it.
Young talents like CB Tarheeb Still and LB Daiyan Henley may continue to step forward, but this defense has clear weaknesses and more downside than upside.
Tier 6 — Just Not Enough Talent
24. Miami Dolphins (11)
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (17)
26. Atlanta Falcons (24)
27. Washington Commanders (29)
We've reached the bottom 10, and there's just not much talent left this far down in the ranks.
The Dolphins are likely the most talented unit left, even after trading away Jalen Ramsey.
They returned Minkah Fitzpatrick in that deal, and a healthy return of edge rushers Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb would do wonders for this team, with the hope of an elite pass rush saving a secondary that has to replace its top five starters.
It feels like the Jaguars defense should have a bit more talent after so many years of high draft picks, but Jacksonville has finished bottom seven by Defensive DVOA in four of the last five seasons.
Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd are a strength at linebacker, but this defense needs more consistent play from guys like Travon Walker and Tyson Campbell to truly find its way under new DC Anthony Campanile.
The Falcons have finished bottom four in Defensive DVOA in three of the last four years themselves, and this team is still desperate for any sort of a pass rush.
Atlanta invested a pair of first-round picks in edge rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce. If Raheem Morris and DC Jeff Ulbrich can get those two to step up, the cornerback room behind them has enough talent to be intriguing.
The Commanders have a defense that probably grades out better in Madden than in real life.
Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu might be the best pair of off-ball linebackers in the league, but that's the least valuable positional group on defense, and Marshon Lattimore struggled after joining the team midseason. Veteran names like Von Miller and Javon Kinlaw probably sound exciting, but only on paper.
It should be worrisome that even Dan Quinn couldn't coax anything but a bottom-10 defense out of this group last fall. There's just not much here to work with — the Commanders defense ranks third worst in my rosters matrix on talent alone.
Tier 7 — Might Just Be Terrible
28. Cincinnati Bengals (21)
29. Tennessee Titans (18)
30. New Orleans Saints (9)
Yes, you should be very worried about the Bengals defense.
Cincinnati looked awful on Monday night and that's basically the roster, with Trey Hendrickson really the only positive player — if he even suits up. This looks like a bottom-three secondary, and the run defense could be abysmal.
The hope has to be new DC Al Golden bringing over his magic from Notre Dame, a formula that's worked pretty well lately for hires like Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter.
The Titans outperformed expectations a year ago under new DC Dennard Wilson, but there's just not much talent in house.
Jeffery Simmons is a star, and sophomore T'Vondre Sweat looked great next to him on the interior, but there's not much else here, including a bottom-five ranking at both linebacker and edge rusher with a lot of talent out the door in recent years.
The Saints defense has been slowly fading the last couple years, but it may be about to bottom out.
New Orleans ranks bottom three in interior line and cornerback, and this unit will miss Dennis Allen's schemes. Unless new DC Brandon Staley finds the magic he seemed to lose years ago, it could get ugly — especially since Kellen Moore's up-tempo offense featuring a bad quarterback will probably only make things worse.
Tier 8 — Not Even a Good Coach Can Save This Mess
31. Las Vegas Raiders (19)
32. Carolina Panthers (25)
This duo is really disappointing down at the bottom because there's so much to be optimistic about with coaching and offensive improvements, but there's just precious little talent to work with.
The Raiders win the tiebreaker on the basis of Maxx Crosby, and DC Patrick Graham actually had this unit humming near the end of last season — but then they moved on from Robert Spillane, Divine Deablo, Jack Jones and Tre'von Moehrig.
Pete Carroll has found a lot of success historically working his magic in the secondary, but this looks like the worst secondary in the league right now. I rank Las Vegas bottom three at interior line, corner and safety.
Of course, the Panthers finished last in Defensive DVOA with a bullet last season, and they're my favorite to do so again.
DC Ejiro Evero is a talented leader but he doesn't have many options, even with the healthy return of DT Derrick Brown.
Carolina ranks among the worst in the league at linebacker and edge rush, and the Panthers finished with the worst defense in the league and then used most of their offseason adding offensive pieces to help Bryce Young.
Welp.
5 Key Takeaways for Bettors
1. The conferences are split pretty evenly.
We've seen some pretty strong conference splits in a few of these rankings. The AFC dominated the quarterback ranks, taking all of the top five spots. The NFC responded by taking over the skill-position rankings.
Well, the conferences are split pretty evenly with defenses, both at the top and bottom of the rankings.
It's worth noting, though, that the NFC has four teams that rank top 10 on both offense and defense — the Eagles, 49ers, Vikings, and Bears. Only the Ravens rank top 10 on both units in the AFC. Do we have a juggernaut on our hands?
2. How far can defense alone get a team, even if we don't believe in the offense?
Turns out, pretty far.
The top nine DVOA defenses made last year's playoffs — only the Commanders and Rams made the postseason with a bottom-10 defense.
That's great news for the Texans and the Steelers in the AFC — especially since the conference has so few good offenses.
It could also be good news for teams like the Seahawks, Broncos and Patriots, all division long shots but ranked inside my top 10 defenses and best in their respective divisions.
3. Is the No. 1-ranked Texans defense alone enough?
It might be — at least in the AFC South.
There are eight offenses and defenses in the division, and only one other unit finished in the top half of my rankings — and only just barely, with the Colts sneaking in at No. 14.
There are plenty of questions about Houston's offense (though it too might well be best in the division), but the defensive floor alone may well be enough for another trip back to the playoffs.
4. Life isn't fair — just check out the defensive disparity in two NFC divisions.
The entire NFC North slots into the top half of the defensive rankings — fine, the Packers are just barely outside at No. 17 — and that's after ranking all four offenses in the division top half of the league, too. What a divison!
Meanwhile, the entire NFC South ranks in the bottom half of the defensive rankings, all 20th or lower. And the entire division also ranked bottom half of the league in offense (fine, Tampa Bay was at No. 15).
In other words, the entire NFC North is better than the entire NFC South, at virtually everything. But exactly one team in each division will host their first playoff game at home either way, because life isn't fair.
The terrible NFC South plays the NFC West and AFC East this season, so that's good news for sleepers in those divisions. The NFC North plays the NFC East and AFC North.
5. It's yet another warning flag for the Bengals, and maybe the Commanders.
This is the sixth and final 1-to-32 rankings article, and Cincinnati ranked bottom five in three of them — offensive line, coaching staffs and now defense.
Yikes.
Admittedly, if you could only pick one ranking to finish top five, you'd pick quarterbacks and Joe Burrow, but that's still pretty scary. Especially because the rest of the division ranks in the top half of the league defensively — and because the Bengals also have to play that scary NFC North quartet of defenses we just talked about.
The Bengals will be passing a ton. That's great for fantasy football and maybe OPOY — not so much for MVP or playoff hopes.
It's not great news for the Commanders either, bottom quarter of the league defensively and also in line to face the whole NFC North.
