Vikings opponents are catching 75% of their targeted passes, the second-highest rate in the NFL. The special teams have benefited from some big returns lately, but questionable decision-making in key spots has hurt. Don't forget to check out the NFL Power Rankings Podcast with Dan Hanzus and Colleen Wolfe. New England Patriots (vs. Jaguars) The Patriots have routinely destroyed rookie quarterbacks under Bill Belichick and Trevor Lawrence has been a turnover machine this season. The blowout was on! Less than 24 hours later, the ax came down on Matt Rhule. It's not all on the D. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' offense were shut out in the second half and continue to search for their big-play identity in a post-Davante world. Here's our new No. The special-teams coverage has been good, and punter Tress Way has been terrific. This season, Baltimore defenders are making it too easy with missed assignments and no consistent pass rush. Defense: 16 Josh McDaniels' team was once again on the wrong side of a coin-flip game, this time an excruciating 30-29 defeat to the Chiefs at Arrowhead that dropped Vegas into the AFC West cellar. -- Nick Wagoner, Offense: 22 If the Raiders want to get back to being a playoff contender in the AFC, they have to improve their defense. The big offseason talk is whether they can land Aaron Rodgers. Carolina fired the head coach on Monday, ending hisrun with the Panthers at 11-27 in two-plus seasons. Will the Dolphins get a veteran QB? The turnovers are the red-alert number. With Mahomes reinjuring his right ankle Sunday night, it looked like the Chiefs were in trouble. The Chiefs are doing a nice job of pressuring the quarterback, so it figures the turnovers will come. Who plays quarterback for the Raiders? Defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale cooked up a scheme that didn't allow Aaron Rodgers to score chunk plays (Green Bay was shut out on offense in the second half), while the undermanned offense was once again the recipient of multiple impact plays from Saquon Barkley, who absolutely deserves to be in any MVP conversation through five weeks. He wouldn't say it. League rank:12th, The Rams have their best cornerback healthy (Jalen Ramsey) but have been dealing withseveral injuries in the secondaryearly in the season. His final touchdown, a breakaway 60-yard jaunt with less than six minutes to play, was the difference-maker, as New Orleans snapped its three-game losing streak. Whether you are using the NFL team defense rankings for NFL player props, betting, fantasy, or just your own personal knowledge, we have you covered. The defense bounced back from Week 4's humbling prime-time loss to the Chiefs, but a fourth-quarter letdown was halted by an absurdly generous roughing-the-passer call that kept Tom Brady on the field and allowed the home team to run out the clock in a 21-15 win over Atlanta. That was it. There was more good news for the rookie class on the other side of the ball: Dameon Pierce rushed for 99 yards and his third touchdown of the season. The Panthers have scored 30 or more points three times, and two of those were with Christian McCaffrey. KEY: Gms = Games Played, Tot Pts = Total Points Scored, Pts/G = Points Per Game, RushYds = Rushing Yards, RYds/G = Rushing Yards Per Game . But Sunday? Roger Goodell allegedly knew about $55 million bank fraud committed by Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder and refused to investigate. 1 spot. The Bucs continue to trudge through the early portion of their schedule, winning more often than not but rarely looking like a team that's playing to its full potential. The defense has its own injury problems to contend with, in addition to a roster that still needs upgrades. They are committed to Tua Tagovailoa as quarterback, but now his health is the biggest concern. The biggest issue on defense is getting home. SEA | TB | TEN | WSH, It's no surprise that the Chiefs have the top-ranked offense -- by a wide margin -- given the seasons that Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill are having. The problem is the coverage, specifically the safeties and linebackers. How we rank in our Power Rankings: Our power panel -- a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities -- evaluates how teams stack up throughout the season. Disputed loan at center of Commanders probe, Barnwell: How Jalen Hurts thrived Sunday, plus four trade destinations for Carson Wentz, Jalen Hurts to Philly's rescue? -- Courtney Cronin, The passing offense has been a disappointment, which highlights myriad issues: Cam Newton's inaccuracy on short passes, a major void at tight end (the Patriots rank last in the NFL in production from that spot) and a receiving corps that hasn't been respected by opposing defenses and thus allows foes to load up against the run. --Rob Demovsky, Defensive efficiency:46.2 They're actually getting decent pressure on the quarterback, with a 35% pressure rate (19th) on third down. Losing All-Pro Chandler Jones in Week 5 was a major blow, but the Cardinals' defense has continued to be the backbone of Arizona's success this season. They will sign one -- likely Jones -- and tag the other. Carl Lawson sealed the win with a strip sack of Dolphins third-string QB Skylar Thompson (a play that allowed Quinnen Williams to stiff-arm "disrespectful" Tyreek Hill into another time zone), while Breece Hall announced his arrival as an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate with 197 total yards and a score. Bengals' rebuild not yet complete For a variety of reasons (beginning with the Saquon Barkley injury), it's not, and it's at the top of the list of reasons they have a losing record. The biggest issue on defense is forcing takeaways. Will he be with the Packers or is he getting traded? Chicago Bears. Another mistake-laden loss would likely derail the Vikings' playoff hopes. Mix in a special-teams unit that features the league's most efficient returner in Andre Roberts, and you've got a team ready to make a deep playoff run. They had a pile of big gains against the nickel, including a 43-yard run by Josh Jacobs in the third quarter. The biggest issue on defense is third-down conversions. Its a start. The focus is solely on Guenther, whose defenses are responsible for two of the eight worst single-season defensive efficiency seasons of the past decade. Eh, I don't know. In general, their strength lies in their depth and diversity. But you tend to get these kinds of breaks when things are going good. Losing Chandler Joneshas taken a greater toll on Arizona's pass rush than expected. The defense has been much improved from a season ago, but this is the next step toward being the type of unit that defensive coordinator Dean Pees wants to have in Atlanta. This is another team that has issues at quarterback. They head to the offseason with quarterback worries. However, in the Week 4 loss to the Raiders, the Broncos were pushed off the ball far too often in run defense. He remains the Jenga piece of the Saints' attack -- the whole thing topples over without the running back doing his thing. What's to think they can't keep this going? The biggest issue on defense is the 49ers' offense. -- Jeff Legwold, Offense: 26 -- Lindsey Thiry, Russell Wilson was the MVP front-runner for much of the first half of the season, which the Seahawks needed, with their defense getting gashed at a historic rate. Defense: 26 This young team will challenge for the division title in 2023. We just got to go 1-0 each week. What is the NFL pecking order heading into the final week of the regular season? "I'm not talking today," Jarrett said after the game. TrevorLawrence had a five-turnover meltdown against the Eagles in Week 4, but you could point to the wet and slippery conditions as a major factor behind his struggles. Our power panel -- a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities -- evaluated how teams are stacking up through four weeks and named a new No. The offense went cold, and Minnesota allowed Chicago to crawl back in the game and even take the lead in the fourth quarter. In a recent piece by ESPN, the named the Raiders the worst defense of the decade as they allowed an average of 26.2 points per game during that period. There are only three teams allowing more rushing yards after contact than the Packers. But what has also stood out is how many injuries the Bills have accumulated, especially in the secondary. It didn't help that they spotted the Chiefs 14 points with two lost fumbles in Week 4. Check. The Seahawks are an entertaining team, but a consistently overmatched defense might stop them from being anything more than that. Bills, Titans, Bengals, and Ravens this week all have a claim for the best team in the AFC. He had a top-10 defense in points allowed in four . He said Branch's versatility makes him a 'day one starter' in the NFL. --Lindsey Thiry, Defensive efficiency: 53.6 New episodes every Tuesday all season long. -- Mike Wells, What will define Eric Bieniemy's success? The problem is the AFC is loaded with those guys. Please check your email for a confirmation. On special teams, they might not do a whole lot in the return game, but Ryan Succop has quietly been among the league's more consistent kickers. League rank: 25th. They don't seem as sold on Ryan Tannehill as they used to be. The Dolphins have gotten a defensive player of the year-caliber season out of cornerback Xavien Howard (league-high nine interceptions) and Pro Bowl-caliber seasons from edge rusher Emmanuel Ogbah, returner Jakeem Grant and kicker Jason Sanders. But in recent weeks, the offensive line hasn't been physical enough, opposing defenses are blowing up the short passes, and the running game has evaporated. Leonard has been ruled out for Thursday night's game at Denver. The quarterback, who had struggled mightily through the first four weeks of his second season, caught fire in the second half, finishing 12 of 13 for 135 yards and a touchdown in the final two quarters. --Jake Trotter, Defensive efficiency: 51.0 Until it wasn't. It's always that way with franchise quarterbacks. The Steelers showed up to Western New York with a rookie quarterback making his first start and a defense playing without T.J. Watt. They're currently sixth in the league in that category. The Tom Brady era, however short, is over. Right now, we're not playing complementary football.". The Jaguars have to figure out what went wrong because they faceDameon Pierce, Jonathan Taylor and Saquon Barkley the next three weeks. Visit ESPN to view the 2022 NFL Standings. 7. He completed 13 of his 14 passes in the second half with two . Who rounds out the top five? Case in point, theLions, who showed up Sunday with the highest-scoring offense in football but headed back to Detroit as 29-0 losers. The offense is broken, yet the Steelers keep trying to force what worked earlier in the season. A scrambling Kyler Murray went into a protection slide just short of the first-down marker, setting in motion a chain of events that ended with fill-in kicker Matt Ammendola badly pushing a 43-yard field goal attempt wide right. Will Mac Jones (ankle) be back in the lineup? "I'm not where I was at the end of last season in that old system," Cousins said, "but we're developing it and we're getting there and I'm excited about that continued growth.". Last week, the Bills felt like a juggernaut that had transcended the accepted bounds of the NFL Power Rankings. Solo Tackles per Game. --Nick Wagoner, Defensive efficiency:51.0 League rank: 14th. The Chiefs have taken the ball from their opponent just four times. Cincinnati has one of the best defenses in the NFL. Below, we checked in with NFL Nation reporters across the league and asked what the biggest issue faced by each team's defense is. After dropping three straight, there are plenty of issues to point to on the defensive side, but the root of it stems from Watt's absence. The biggest issue on defense is injuries. We've got to get it together. The Saints need Marcus Davenport and Cam Jordan to consistently step up, while getting production out of 2021 first-round pick Payton Turner, to have success moving forward. Special teams: 14, There isn't a lot that is stunning here: Detroit's biggest concern was defense before the season (and, really, the past two-plus years). More NFL coverage , The Dolphins have been great on defense and special teams, scoring a combined three touchdowns with those units this season. -- Tim McManus, Offense: 18 Aaron Rodgers leads list of players on the fantasy football hot seat for 2023, Fantasy football season recap, key stats and look ahead to 2023, Fantasy football 2023 offensive depth charts, Fantasy football 2023 defensive depth charts, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. -- Paul Gutierrez, Offense: 13 Injuries have impacted the defense at times, but it has kept the Cardinals in games as the offense continues to figure itself out. But instead it was Mahomes lighting up the Eagles' vaunted defense -- the top-ranked pass defense in the league -- in the second half. You won't want to miss a moment of the 2022 season! NFL defense rankings: Offseason outlook for all 32 teams. Guess we just need to sit back, eat some popcorn and wait for it to make sense. The updated rankings reflect that the Dallas Cowboys are surviving without Dak Prescott, who could return in Week 5, as they climb back up the list. League rank: 28. Cooper Kupp saved the Rams Returns have been exceedingly positive on a 2022 draft class that includes instant-impact starters in Hall, cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson. 8. Check out the full pecking . This edition of Dan Hanzus' Power Rankings features a brand new team in the No. CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND Defense: 12 Defense: 13 The Browns are quietly having an absurd season. Here's the weird part: It's not because of the pass rush. More McCaffrey likely equals more points, more wins and less stress on an undermanned defense. Tom Brady, he's coming for you in a lot of ways -- including possibly taking over as the best to ever do it. I believe we hit rock bottom, so now the only place to go is back up." Baltimore went from being the only offense averaging more than 30 points per game last season to being in the middle of the league in scoring. "I love Matthew Stafford. Oh, and a fair bit of tragedy, like the goal-line interception thrown by the quarterback in the final seconds of a 21-17 loss to the Titans. Only four teams have forced fewer turnovers, and all of them have losing records. It's the truth -- and it gives the Ravens a huge advantage in every close contest they're a part of. Bengals coach Zac Taylor needs to pop the hood on his offense and figure out why that's no longer the case. At the 2012 combine, 346-pound defensive tackle Dontari Poe was clocked at 4.98 seconds in the 40-yard dash, did 44 repetitions of 225 pounds in the bench press, had a 29.5-inch vertical and . Panthers impressed by Derek Carr visit In this edition of the NFL Power Rankings, the Giants and Jets soar to new heights, while the Buccaneers and Panthers tumble down the board. Sign up for our newsletter and get every update delivered to your inbox! The Eagles keep answering the bell in different ways. Since the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year tore his pectoral at the end of regulation in Week 1, the Steelers have given up an average of 23 points per game and recorded just three total sacks. The linebacker play has struggled too, leading to veteran Jamie Collins' return to the team on Monday. Its never a comfortable watch with Carson Wentz. The offense needs work and remains inconsistent; that, too, hasn't been a surprise. Sean McVay is back as coach, but the key for next season is keeping Matt Stafford healthy. -- Jenna Laine, Everything you need this week: Through four games, Tennessee has given up five plays of 40 yards or more. The Saints' jack of all trades was at his very best against a porous Seahawks defense, rushing for three scores and throwing for another in a 39-32 win. ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN Fields hot streak allowed Chicago to erase a 21-3 deficit and put a serious scare into the NFC North leaders. The biggest issue on defense is the fourth quarter. Who led the NFL in passing in 2020? What is a surprise is that the offense, bolstered by Ben Roethlisberger's return, is only 20th in the FPI rankings. 1 in the league in total defense. Week 1. They just missed out on the playoffs last season with rookie Kenny Pickett at quarterback. It's true that the quarterback is the most important position on an NFL team, which is why pass-rushing matters so much. Miami Dolphins (at Jets) 9. Discover NFL team overall stats and rankings throughout the season. Dan Hanzus takes stock of the Power Rankings hierarchy. He added 36 rushing yards and had a long TD run negated by a penalty. Wasn't that supposed to be their best unit? Find NFL defense rushing stats by team. Can't say I'm totally on board with the Never Cover Travis Kelce strategy deployed by the Raiders on the goal line, but the Chiefs weren't complaining after their star tight end gobbled up all four of Patrick Mahomes' short touchdown passes in a 30-29 prime-time win at Arrowhead. The biggest issue on defense is the run defense. San Francisco also finished the game without star pass rusher Nick Bosa (groin) and kicker Robbie Gould (knee). The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Plus, the Jaguars hit the top 10 for the first time this season. Detroit will use itsbye to examine everything, including fourth-down decision making: The Lions went for it on fourth down six times on Sunday and failed to convert even once. By the end of last season, Chase was a YAC monster who could not be contained. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph was given the personnel he needed to be successful, and for the most part, he has been. NFL+ gives you the freedom to watch LIVE out-of-market preseason games, LIVE local and primetime regular season and postseason games on your phone or tablet, the best NFL programming on-demand, and MORE! This was an issue last year, and it continues to be one this season. The biggest issue on defense is soft coverage. But they're going to have to rush the passer more effectively if that is going to continue. The biggest issue on defense is a consistent pass rush. We try not to look at what happened the last couple of games and what's ahead. They are Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Daniel Dopp, Eric Karabell, Liz Loza, Eric Moody and Field Yates. Rams top Bengals after OBJ exits They look really solid from front to back, even with safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, formerly of the New Orleans Saints, acclimating to a new position and team. League rank: 24th. Cornerbacks D.J. JAX | KC | LV | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN Kupp's score represents the team's only touchdown in the past nine quarters. WEEK 1 STANDARD RANKINGS: Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | Kicker. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. NFL 2020 defensive rankings. Special teams: 24, Carson Wentz declined dramatically in 2020, plummeting toward the bottom in most statistical categories for QBs before being replaced in the lineup by rookie Jalen Hurts. 2005-2023 Team Rankings, LLC. After the playoff loss to the 49ers, the pressure will amp up on Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy in 2023. -- Turron Davenport, Offense: 19 That also has been a factor in the team's failure to convert seven game-winning or tying drives. --Jamison Hensley, Defensive efficiency: 68.2 The defense has returned a takeaway for a touchdown in the past three games. They're losing one-on-one matchups and committing too many penalties on the back end, where they're playing three young corners plus a backup at safety in Josh Jonesbecause of the serious knee injury Adams suffered in the opener. Sign up for the Raiders Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. --Katherine Terrell, Defensive efficiency:21.8 The biggest issue on defense is effectively rushing the passer. CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND Fantasy football draft strategy 2023: What changes should you consider? --Turron Davenport, Defensive efficiency: 65.8 It's a break the Bucs won't apologize for and they shouldn't. Beasley was released, and Clowney is on injured reserve. Previous rankings: 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Preseason, Jump to: -- Ben Baby, Through conversations with former players, coaches and key figures, Peyton Manning gets to the heart of football history and its cultural impact. -- Alaina Getzenberg, Defensive efficiency: 85.7 This team is better with quarterback Alex Smith but still inconsistent. A big reason for this is the absence of linebacker Shaquille Leonard, who made his short-lived season debut on Sunday, only to leave with a concussion in the second half. The Eagles are first in sacks (16), tied for first in takeaways (10), third in yards allowed (277.3 per game) and 10th in points allowed (17.8). Should they be? Special teams: 19, The Giants' worst unit is their offense? The biggest issue on defense is stopping the run. Per NFL Media research, Rodgers finished 0-for-6 on deep attempts of at least 20 air yards. --Courtney Cronin, Defensive efficiency: 54.3 The best kicker in NFL history was at it again on Sunday night, booting a 58-yard field goal in the third quarter, then the game-winner as time expired to lift the Ravens to a critical 19-17win over the rival Bengals. The biggest issue on defense is defending the run. If the 49ers' defense can stay reasonably healthy, they don't need an offensive juggernaut to be a contender. Rally from multiple scores down? 1 going into next season. Instead, hes held them back with inconsistent play and costly mistakes. Dan Hanzus updates his league pecking order, 1 to 32. He is coming off an ACL injury and there are questions about whether he is the franchise guy.
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