Analysis
10/27/22
3 min read
Week 8: Top-10 NFL Defenses Right Now
The 33rd Team’s weekly top-10 defensive rankings are derived through an evaluation by our scouting department, led by former NFL team executive T.J. McCreight and assisted by scouts Justin Casey, Kevin Cohn and Evan Pritt.
>>> Other Week 8 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | Offense
1. Buffalo Bills
PPG: 13.5 (1st) | YPG: 281.5 (1nd) | Previous Rank: 1
Comment: They are only giving up 13.5 points per game and 281 total yards. The Bills were on their bye week.
2. Philadelphia Eagles
PPG: 17.5 (4th) | YPG: 297.8 (4) | Previous Rank: 2
Comment: The Eagles are only giving up 17.5 points per game and 297 total yards. The Eagles were on their bye week.
3. Denver Broncos
PPG: 16.4 (3rd) | YPG: 286 (2nd) | Previous Rank: 3
Comment: Only gave up 121 yards passing to Zach Wilson, but the Jets rushed for 6.5 yards per carry, and the Broncos could not do enough to win the game.
4. Dallas Cowboys
PPG: 14.9 (2nd) | YPG: 305.3 (6th) | Previous Rank: 5
Comment: Dallas only gave up six points and sacked Jared Goff five times in their victory against the Lions.
5. Cincinnati Bengals
PPG: 18.9 (8th) | YPG: 321.1 (11th) | Previous Rank: 7
Comment: They only allowed eight completions and 124 yards passing in their 35-17 victory against the Falcons.
6. San Francisco 49ers
PPG: 19 (9th) | YPG: 294.9 (3rd) | Previous Rank: 4
Comment: They could not contain the Chiefs' offense as Patrick Mahomes passed for 423 yards, Juju had 124 yards receiving, on top of Marquez Valdes-Scantling's 111 yards and Travis Kelce's 98 yards.
7. New York Giants
PPG: 18.6 (6th) | YPG: 355.4 (19th) | Previous Rank: 9
Comment: The stats haven’t been overwhelming, but in critical situations, this defense gets to another level. They have locked down games late and come away with huge turnovers. They are playing with an attitude that they can shut down teams at the end of games.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
PPG: 17.7 (5th) | YPG: 308.3 (7th) | Previous Rank: 6
Comment: They struggled to contain PJ Walker and D’Onta Foreman in their loss to the Carolina Panthers.
9. New York Jets
PPG: 19.6 (10th) | YPG: 314.7 (10th) | Previous Rank: N/A
Comment: A young defense that is coming into its own. They are giving up less than 20 points per game, they have 11 takeaways which is good for 8th in the league.
10. Green Bay Packers
PPG: 20.9 (14th) | YPG: 308.4 (8th) | Previous Rank: 10
Comment: The struggling Packers gave up 364 total yards, 166 of which were on the ground in their loss to Washington.
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