NFL Playoffs Preview: Ranking All 14 Postseason Defenses

You’ve definitely heard the old adage. It’s become synonymous with the highest level of sports: Offense wins games, defense wins championships. 

With the NFL playoffs upon us, the 14 teams in the tournament will be laser-focused on the latter. The road to Super Bowl LX begins Saturday with the wild-card round. 

In descending order, here’s our ranking of each defensive unit this postseason:

14. Carolina Panthers

The Panthers had a middle of the pack defense in the regular season — tied for 10th in takeaways, 15th in points allowed, 16th in total defense — but they struggled to stop the run, which is a red flag in the playoffs. Carolina gave up at least 140 rushing yards in each of its last three games, and 120-plus rushing yards in seven of its final eight contests. 

The Panthers, who ranked 20th in run defense for the year (123.3 rushing yards allowed per game), gave up 200 rushing yards twice this season.  

13. Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike Tomlin’s defense showed improvement down the stretch, and star outside linebacker T.J. Watt is back after a partially collapsed lung sidelined him late in the regular season. 

But Pittsburgh is susceptible to big plays in the passing game. That was clear in its thrilling Week 18 victory over the Ravens, who scored two 50-yard passing touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Steelers ranked 29th in pass defense during the regular season (243.9 passing yards allowed per game). 

12. Green Bay Packers

Jeff Hafley’s defense just hasn’t been the same since losing star edge Micah Parsons, who tore his ACL in Week 15 against the Broncos. Before resting many starters in the regular-season finale, Green Bay allowed 390-plus yards in each game from Weeks 15–17, including 307 on the ground against Baltimore in its home finale.

Green Bay's defense has been in decline since Micah Parsons was injured in mid-December. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

11. San Francisco 49ers

The Niners’ defense lost stars Fred Warner and Nick Bosa early in the year to injuries but still managed to exceed expectations. In the regular-season finale, Robert Saleh’s unit held an explosive Seattle offense to just 13 points. 

The injuries keep coming for San Francisco, though. Linebacker Tatum Bethune, who had been filling in for Warner, will miss the playoffs with a torn groin. 

10. Chicago Bears

When the Bears are forcing turnovers — Chicago led the NFL with 33 takeaways in the regular season — they look as strong as any defense in the league. But otherwise, Dennis Allen’s unit struggles mightily to get off the field. 

Chicago, which ended 2025 ranked 23rd in points allowed and 29th in total defense, gave up 430-plus yards in back-to-back games to end the regular season. 

The Bears' defense is the NFL's best at takeaways, but it ranks near the bottom of the league in total defense. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

9. Buffalo Bills

The Bills struggle to defend the run — they gave up 136.2 rushing yards per game in the regular season, 28th in the NFL — but they’re among the elite at stopping the pass. Buffalo in 2025 led the league in total pass defense (156.9), tied for third in passing yards allowed per play (5.3) and was sixth in expected points allowed per pass (-0.19), according to Next Gen Stats.

8. Los Angeles Rams

The Rams’ defense regressed a bit down the stretch, but its defensive front is as good as it gets in the NFL (Jared Verse, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Nate Landman). Los Angeles allowed just eight rushing touchdowns during the regular season, the fewest in the NFL, and registered 251 pressures, tied for the third-most in the league, according to Next Gen Stats. 

Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) blocks a Falcons field goal attempt in Week 17. He then scooped up the ball and ran for a touchdown, waving at the Atlanta bench along the way.  (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

7. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers’ pass defense is a force to be reckoned with. Los Angeles allowed just a 40.7% completion rate on downfield passes (10-plus air yards) this season, the third-lowest rate in the NFL, per NGS. And with linemen Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu and trade deadline acquisition Odafe Oweh on the field together, the Chargers have recorded 13 sacks and a 51.9% pressure rate on 79 dropbacks.   

6. Philadelphia Eagles 

Boasting one of the league’s best defenses on paper, the Eagles are especially strong in the secondary. Vic Fangio’s unit ranked fourth this season in expected points allowed per pass (-0.21) and eighth in passing yards allowed per game (189.8). 

Philadelphia, which ranks fifth in scoring defense (19.1 points allowed per game), gave up fewer than 20 points in three of its last four regular-season games and hasn’t allowed more than 24 points since Week 6. 

5. New England Patriots 

The Patriots’ defense lacks name recognition outside of star cornerback Christian Gonzalez, but it’s as sound as it comes. New England had the sixth-lowest missed tackle rate in the NFL during the regular season (11.3%) and gave up just 552 yards after missed tackles, the fewest in the league, according to Next Gen Stats. 

The Pats ended 2025 ranked fourth in points allowed (18.8 points allowed per game) and eighth in total defense (295.2 yards allowed per game). 

Christian Gonzalez is a shutdown corner for the Patriots, who ranked fourth in points allowed per game this season. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

4. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jags enter the playoffs with the NFL’s top-rated run defense (85.6 rushing yards allowed per game), which is especially valuable in the playoffs, and ranked second in the regular season in takeaways (31). 

3. Denver Broncos 

The Broncos enter the playoffs with the NFL’s most feared pass rush. Denver ranked first in sacks (68), sack rate (9.7%) and pressures (285) and second in pressure rate (40.7%) during the regular season, per NGS.

Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto finished fifth in the league with 14 sacks, including this one of Commanders QB Marcus Mariota. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

2. Seattle Seahawks 

The Seahawks ended the regular season with the league’s top scoring defense (17.2 points per game). They held three of their final four opponents to 16 or fewer points, including a dominant 13-3 win over the Niners in Week 18 to clinch the NFC West and the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed. 

1. Houston Texans 

Though they lost the scoring defense title in the end, the Texans still had the league’s top overall defense in 2025 (277.2 yards allowed per game). Houston has arguably the NFL’s top edge rusher tandem (Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter) and cornerback duo (Derek Stingley Jr., Kamari Lassiter). In total, six members of DeMeco Ryans’ defense were named a Pro Bowler or Pro Bowl alternate this season. 

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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