Most of the attention goes to the offensive side of the ball, but the old cliché of “defense wins championships” didn’t arise out of nowhere. With the 2024 NFL season in the books, how do all 32 teams shape up in our defense rankings?
Using our Defense+ metric, we examine each team’s performance this season. We’ll keep every team in the same order they finished the regular season. However, for the 14 teams that made the playoffs, we’ve added an extra line denoting their grade and rank to include games played this postseason.
PFSN’s defense rankings combine statistics such as yards per play, points per drive, sack percentage, turnover percentage, success rate against the run and pass, third-down conversion rate, red-zone efficiency, pressure percentage when not blitzing, and various expected points added (EPA) measures against both the run and pass.
These are then weighted accordingly to produce our rankings for each season.
1) Denver Broncos
All stats referenced in this article are from TruMedia unless stated otherwise.
The Denver offense gets plenty of attention because of its young quarterback and creative head coach, but this defense was as good as it got from start to finish a season ago, after grading 23rd in Defense+ in 2023.
Patrick Surtain II is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and projects to stifle pass games for a long time. The Broncos also showed a lack of compliance during the draft, as they not only added Jahdae Barron (a corner out of Texas) with the 20th overall pick but also a pair of high-pedigree edge rushers in the middle of the proceedings.
This is the gold standard for defense right now, and that doesn’t appear likely to change given the roster they’ve constructed.
2) Philadelphia Eagles
Consistency is vital in any profession, but the 2024 Eagles proved that you can reach the ultimate goal if you run hot. By our metrics, they’ve been as volatile as any unit in the sport: 23rd in Defense+ in 2021, sixth in 2022, and 30th in 2023 before a runner-up finish in 2024. If you’re going to be all over the map like this, your good must be excellent, and that was the case last season.
Philly posted the second-lowest blitz rate in the league (16.2% compared to a league average of 25.2%), which worked last year. Still, it’s fair to wonder about the sustainability of that with defensive end Josh Sweat taking his talents to Arizona this offseason.
3) Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota finished 2024 as our third-ranked defense, their first finish better than 20th since 2019. The result sticks out, but the process to get there doesn’t — they’ve now led the league in blitz rate in consecutive seasons.
Notably, the defense dialed back its aggression a bit last season. The unit’s sack rate rose meaningfully, a sign that they are getting better at executing this scheme. This is a scary thought for the rest of the league, and something that will need to continue to be the case with a first-year starter under center.
4) Los Angeles Chargers
Jim Harbaugh came to town and posted a top-5 finish for a franchise that had been in the bottom 10 in our rankings for three straight seasons. This team may function as an old-school group, but they were the top-scoring defense a season ago. As this coaching staff gains comfort, it’s easy to project them as an elite unit again in 2025.
5) Detroit Lions
Losing Aidan Hutchinson in mid-October (broken tibia/fibula) indeed capped this unit’s upside, but they still managed to post the fifth-highest rate — their first above-average ranking since we began tracking in 2019.
Aidan Hutchinson tib/fib rehab video
-6mo post
-Clunky running is gone. Now looking real good 👍 with lateral cutting motions. Should be full go this offseasonpic.twitter.com/ibiMTH2zre— Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) April 4, 2025
This is the use case for offense impacting defense. In part because of their success on the other side of the ball, the Lions had the second-highest opponent average throw depth a season ago. Most of the NFL is designed to make those deep throws minus-EV (expected value) plays. With Hutchinson trending in the right direction, this defense can be a key cog for a Super Bowl run in The Motor City.
6) Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks rebounded from an ugly showing in 2023 (29th) on the back of the third-highest pressure rate in the league. We will see if that can sustain, but in a league where QB comfort is priority No. 1, Seattle’s ability to disrupt projects favorably moving forward.
7) Houston Texans
DeMeco Ryans has the ear of this team, and it shows. The Texans ranked 31st in defense in 2020, 29th in 2021, 23rd in 2022, and 12th in 2023, before finishing seventh in 2024. This opportunistic bunch forced the fifth-most turnovers last season (29) and profiles as a unit that can reach elite status very much in the Detroit mold if C.J. Stroud can bounce back after a bumpy sophomore campaign.
8) Baltimore Ravens
Nothing to see here, just another top-10 finish for a team that has reached that level in five of our six seasons of charting, with the exception coming in 2021. They had some down moments, but with Kyle Hamilton swarming around and Kyle Van Noy continuing to produce, this defense is capable of flipping the game quickly.
9) Cleveland Browns
It’s an understatement to say that the Cleveland organization has plenty of problems, but the defense wasn’t one of them. This fanbase deserved more on-field success based on where like-ranked units finished the season.
After an unusual offseason, Myles Garrett is back, which should give this defense every opportunity to repeat its impressive finish. Given the uncertainty on the other side of the ball, they will have to deliver it.
10) Green Bay Packers
Thanks to posting the seventh highest success rate against the run in 2024, the green and gold finished with easily their highest Defense+ finish on file. This was a similar group that finished 23rd in 2023, and if they can sustain the growth they showed during 2024, the Packers could make a deep run into January.
11) Miami Dolphins
Not all steps forward are massive ones. The Fins were our 17th-best defense in 2022 and 13th in 2023, before finishing 11th a season ago. Consistent progress like that is how you position yourself for sustained success.
We all know the potential on the other side of the ball, but this unit allowed the third-fewest yards per pass in 2024, thanks to posting the ninth-lowest opponent completion percentage. If this team can break into the 75th percentile in our rankings, why can’t they earn an invite to the postseason dance?
12) Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh forced a league-high 33 turnovers in 2024 and finished exactly where you’d assume (12th place is their three-year average). Nothing about this unit jumps off the page, and it doesn’t have to; stability is a strength.
If only the offense followed a similar line of thought.
13) Chicago Bears
Like the Browns, you could easily argue that the Bears’ fanbase deserved more success given how well their defense graded out.
The development of Caleb Williams will ultimately dictate the fate of this young team in a loaded NFC North, but it would appear that the defense is up to the challenge should a big Year 2 leap take place for the former top overall pick.
14) Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City has now bookended a fourth-place Defense+ finish in 2023 with a pair of 14th’s. Chris Jones missed a pair of games and recorded his lowest sack total since his rookie season, leading to concerns that his upcoming season at 31 years old could further provide evidence that his best days are behind him.
That said, this was still the fourth-best scoring unit a season ago. As long as Patrick Mahomes pressures opponents to be efficient, this defense will be in a position to succeed and finish as an above-average unit.
15) New York Jets
We saw the Jets post consecutive top-5 performances entering 2024, but they fell short of expectations and were a big reason this team underachieved. This remains a talented roster that projects to finish better than this. However, it should be noted that there is no easing into this season. After hosting the Steelers in Week 1, the Jets then face the Bills, Buccaneers, and Dolphins to round out September.
16) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s hard to get much more average than consecutive 16th-place finishes, and that’s where the Buccaneers find themselves. If Baker Mayfield’s 2024 was a sign of things to come and not a flash in the pan, this level of defense will justify Tampa Bay being the favorite to win the NFC South.
This profile has some upside to chase, as we saw the Bucs create pressure at the fifth-highest rate a season ago.
17) Washington Commanders
This defense was a liability early in the season, and while it wasn’t necessarily a strength by the end of the regular season, it was close enough to break even. If Jayden Daniels takes a step forward in Year 2, simply sustaining that level of production (don’t forget, this was the 31st-ranked defense in 2023) will be more than enough to make 2025 a successful season.
18) Buffalo Bills
The defense in Buffalo used to be a strength (top seven Defense+ finishes in 2021, 2022, and 2023), but that wasn’t the case in 2024. Josh Allen’s superpowers are plentiful, but asking him to overcome a limited supporting cast and a below-average defense is a lot.
Joey Bosa was brought in this offseason, but he will have to prove, at 30 years old this season, that he can stay on the field (he has missed 23 games over the past three seasons) and be productive in those snaps.
19) New Orleans Saints
Last season was easily the worst in our records for the Saints, fueled by them allowing the fifth-most yards per completion (11.7). Asking for a significant rebound is a long shot, especially if you believe the offense will struggle at such a rate that opposing offenses operate with leverage and positive game scripts.
20) New York Giants
While the offense in New York is stuck in the bottom tier, their defense has been on the low-end of mediocre for four straight seasons (Defense+ rank 18 to 25 in all of those years). Abdul Carter joins a Giants defense that ranked third in sack rate last season (8.2%), trailing only the Cowboys and Broncos.
If the G-Men are going to overachieve, it’s because the offense takes a mini step forward and the defense flirts with a top-12 ranking.
21) Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders have poured draft capital into the offensive side of the ball, leaving the defense without many paths to improvement. They were our 15th-ranked unit in 2023, and a return to the middle tier would give this team hope of challenging the eight-win mark they hit two seasons ago rather than repeating last year’s four-win disaster.
22) Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward has brought excitement to Tennessee, but this defense has been trending in the wrong direction, and a shiny new toy under center isn’t going to help correct course. In 2022, the Titans were ranked as our 12th-best defense, but they regressed to 20th in 2023, before finishing 22nd last season.
Only the Panthers and Raiders were worse at generating pressure when blitzing than Tennessee last season — that needs to be rectified for this team to have any chance of showing signs of growth in 2025.
23) Indianapolis Colts
In our six years of tracking, the Colts have just one above-average season (2020), and they were negatively impacted by an offense that didn’t consistently threaten opponents last season.
Will the defense get any support from the offense this season? That’s one of the burning questions this season and holds plenty of weight. Indianapolis was the sixth-best rush EPA defense in 2024, and if the game script tilts more in their favor, we could see the defensive metrics flip in short order.
24) Los Angeles Rams
That’s now three straight bottom-10 Defense+ seasons for the Rams, and there isn’t much help for an instant fix. Aaron Donald isn’t returning, and Los Angeles used just one pick in the first four rounds on this side of the ball.
The Rams overcame this flaw and won 10 games the previous season. This weakness caps their ceiling in a significant way, and it projects to be the case again over the next six months.
25) Dallas Cowboys
The Panthers.
That was the only team that allowed more points during the 2024 regular season than the Cowboys, a disastrous showing for a franchise that had previously posted three straight top-5 Defense+ finishes.
They surrendered 6,039 yards of offense, 944 more than they surrendered the year prior, which is the easiest way to understand how dramatic their decline was. Micah Parsons still reached a dozen sacks despite missing four contests, and as long as he is wreaking havoc, this unit has far more upside than any team swimming in this area.
That said, this was easily the worst red zone defense in the league, and if that doesn’t get corrected, it doesn’t matter how impactful Parsons is in the red zone. If Dallas is going to rebound in a big way this year, it’s because they are turning seven-point drives into three-point attempts. It is that simple.
26) San Francisco 49ers
Before falling apart in 2024, the Niners had nothing but top-10 finishes in our database. Like the Cowboys, they struggled massively when the opposition got into scoring position, which was quite often due to this defense’s inability to get off the field (24th in third-down conversion rate).
Fred Warner remains the core of this defense, and Bryce Huff was brought over from the Super Bowl champions — there are certainly pieces in place to return this team to average, if not better, on this side of the ball.
27) Arizona Cardinals
The league’s worst defense in 2023 took baby steps forward in 2024 with a 27th-place finish, so that’s a plus. That said, by ranking in the bottom six in both rush and pass defense (per EPA), we are talking the dullest of positive signals.
They did, however, bring in Josh Sweat this offseason, a 28-year-old game wrecker who has the potential to impact this unit as a whole positively. We will believe it when we see it, but there is certainly a path for this defense to trend closer to the league average in 2025.
28) Cincinnati Bengals
Remember in 2022 when this looked like a franchise with balance and staying power? They were our 11th-best defense that season and trending toward the elite tier of the conference, but with 27th and 28th Defense+ finishes since, Cincinnati has looked more like a one-trick pony over the past two years than a legitimate threat to the top tier of the AFC.
In 2024, this was the second-worst run defense in terms of success rate, which needs to be corrected sooner rather than later. If they can’t stop the run, things crumble from the inside out, and they have no chance.
Trey Hendrickson is back, and edge Shemar Stewart was added with the 17th overall pick. Due to the offensive upside on this roster, this unit doesn’t need to be one of the 10 best in the sport, but finishing in the bottom third of the league will cut out the legs of any long-term plans they were hoping for.
This defense will be under the most pressure to rebound in 2025. If that occurs, they will be a real contender.
29) Atlanta Falcons
We were optimistic about the Falcons after an 11th-place Defense+ finish in 2023.
That optimism disappeared quickly. If you’re a glass-half-full type of person, you’ll note that they allowed the second fewest yards per completion a season ago, and while that’s factually correct, if the opposition is still completing 69.9% of their passes, it doesn’t matter.
Atlanta showed awareness by addressing this side of the ball early and often in April — it’s now a wait-and-see situation as their young talent learns on the fly. There’s some hope for this defense if you’re taking a step back and looking at the rest of the decade, but for 2025, it’s hard to move forward with much confidence.
30) New England Patriots
This is an example of how sideways things can go in a hurry. The Patriots entered 2024 fresh off three straight top-10 Defense+ finishes, believing that this was their team’s strength, while Drake Maye was set to learn on the fly on the other side of the ball.
Not so much.
This team thinks its franchise quarterback is on the roster, but is unsure if the defense can keep them competitive enough for it to matter. Last season, New England ranked 31st in pressure rate and had the lowest sack percentage (5% with a league average of 6.9%).
This team has already hit rock bottom and is trending in the right direction. Their growth hinges as much on a rebound from this unit as it does on their young signal-caller.
31) Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville was a top-15 unit in back-to-back seasons before the floor fell from beneath them in 2024. This is an offense-driven league, and if you can’t get off the field as a defense, you’ll pay the price, something that Jaguar Nation is keenly aware of.
Last season, the Jaguars forced a league-low nine turnovers. To put some context into just how poor that is, not only did every other defense in the league force at least a dozen, but two NFC North teams (Green Bay and Minnesota) forced more than nine mistakes in September alone.
32) Carolina Panthers
We saw signs of life from this offense down the stretch last season, and that’s enough to sell tickets. But asking this team to win at a reasonable level with this defense simply isn’t fair. The Panthers, the worst-scoring unit in the league in 2024, have finished in the bottom five in our grading metric in consecutive seasons and the bottom 10 in five of the last six.
We will need proof of concept before projecting any improvement on this side of the ball in Carolina.