If defense wins championships, then these NFL Power Rankings will be the best ones to rank highly on.
The NFL playoffs are down to the final eight teams after the Wild Card round concluded on Monday night, and we're already set up for another phenomenal weekend of football in the Divisional round. But which teams have the best defenses?
At this time of year, you want to have two things: A quarterback who can win you games and a defense that can shut down the best of the best. We're ranking every defense remaining in the playoffs worst to best heading into the Divisional round.
NFL Power Rankings: Texans have the best defense left in the playoffs (but it's close)
8. San Francisco 49ers
I absolutely hate putting a Robert Saleh-coached defense at the bottom of a list like this, but the San Francisco 49ers might have the strongest case -- at this stage, anyway -- of having the "worst" defense left in the mix.
During the 2025 regular season, the 49ers were dead last in the NFL in sacks (20) and they ranked 20th in the league with nearly 5,800 yards of offense allowed. That's not to say the 49ers' defense hasn't stepped up at times. Just look at last week's battle in Philadelphia.
With that in mind, however, the Eagles have also been one of the league's worst offenses this year in a number of important metrics, and that game could have been a bit of fool's gold. We'll see if the 49ers' inability to consistently get to the QB bites them against the Seahawks, or if they can find a way to buckle down against a familiar opponent. In fact, familiarity with Seattle works to their advantage despite their defensive weaknesses.
7. Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears have probably had more stinkers defensively this season than any other team left standing in the playoffs, but they have been an absolute machine at creating takeaways under coordinator Dennis Allen.
The Chicago defense is extremely dangerous in the takeaway department. They ranked 29th this past season in total yards allowed and 23rd in points allowed. By those metrics, they should be in the 8th spot on this list, and not the 49ers. But the Bears rush the passer better than the 49ers, and they also create far more takeaways.
Those two teams played each other in late December in what ended up being anything but a defensive battle, to really prove my point that they may be the two worst defenses remaining. That game ended with the 49ers on top 42-38, and Brock Purdy threw a pick-six to start the game. The takeaway element is saving the Bears in this one.
6. Buffalo Bills
As bad as the Buffalo Bills' defense has been at times this season, they still finished the year with the #1-ranked pass defense overall. Situationally, they were not great. They had the 24th-ranked defense on third downs and the 19th-ranked defense in the red zone.
Worst of all, this team has consistently struggled to stop the run. Only the Giants and Bengals gave up more yards per carry (5.1) than the Bills this past season. But that Buffalo defense came through in the Wild Card round of the playoffs against a red-hot Jaguars team, so you never know when it comes to the playoffs.
Going up against a Denver Broncos offense in the Divisional round that has struggled with consistency, it's going to be fascinating to see how that Buffalo defense follows up its performance against the Jags.
5. New England Patriots
None of us should have expected differently, but the Patriots' defense has taken a massive leap forward this season under head coach Mike Vrabel. They ranked 8th in the NFL this past season in yards allowed and 4th in total points allowed, and we just saw them absolutely dominate a Chargers offense that was beaten up going into the playoffs.
However, there is a caveat. Or maybe multiple. This is where we can be hyper-critical and point out that the Patriots didn't play a lot of great teams this past season. Their defense has stepped up against better teams, too, but these numbers speak volumes.
The Patriots ranked 30th in the NFL this past season in red zone defense, an absolutely atrocious number. They were 12th in third-down defense and 19th in takeaways (19). This will be fascinating to watch as we get deeper into the playoffs.
4. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams' defense has been good enough this year that defensive coordinator Chris Shula is getting some looks from other teams as their next potential head coach. They have had some of the best player development on that side of the ball out of any team in the league the past couple of seasons, and there's no question that they can get after the quarterback.
However, the Rams have also been susceptible this season through the air. Especially in the second half of the season, that Los Angeles pass defense struggled tremendously. They ranked 7th in the league this year on third down and 3rd in the league in the red zone. So even giving up yards through the air, this defense has been consistently tough to score on.
With 26 total takeaways this season, the Rams ranked 5th in the NFL in an important category that can propel them through to the Championship round, even as road warriors.
3. Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks earned the #1 seed in the NFC as one of the most consistently complementary teams in football, but their defense did some heavy lifting at times this season.
People might not realize, based on how great their season turned out, that the Seahawks' offense had 28 giveaways this year, and only one team was worse than that...In the entire NFL.
The Seattle defense almost completely wiped that stat off the board by ranking 6th in the NFL with 25 takeaways, so an offense that was turning the ball over at a relatively high rate was getting consistent mulligans throughout the year. The Seattle defense also ranked 1st in the NFL in points allowed this past season, and they had the #1 third-down defense with the 5th-ranked red zone defense.
They are elite on that side of the ball.
2. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos, for the second consecutive season, set a franchise record in sacks as a team. That is a preposterous stat. The Broncos' 68 sacks this past season challenged the vaunted Chicago Bears' record in a single season of 72, a record that was set all the way back in 1974.
They didn't end up breaking that record, but there is not a team in the NFL that gets after the quarterback like the Broncos. They not only have one of the league's best and deepest groups of pass rush threats, but they have arguably the best secondary in the league, led by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II.
The Broncos' main weakness defensively this season has been an inability to consistently generate takeaways. Going into Week 18, they had just 11 takeaways as a defense. They got a couple off of the Chargers in that final game, but for a defense that gets to the QB so frequently, it's a shocker that this team wasn't among the league leaders.
They finished the year ranked 3rd in points allowed, 2nd in total yards allowed, #1 in the red zone, and #2 on third downs. The Denver defense is Super Bowl-caliber.
1. Houston Texans
Although there are a number of great defenses in the NFL playoffs separated by very thin margins over a large sample this season, why do the Houston Texans give off "cheat code" vibes on that side of the ball?
The Texans had an incredible season ranking 1st in the league in yards allowed, 2nd in points allowed, and tied for 7th in sacks. They were the 6th-best third-down defense in the league, and they forced 29 total takeaways, second only to the Bears among defenses left in the playoffs.
There isn't really a weakness to discuss right now with this Houston defense. They are phenomenal in every way possible. It requires a truly special effort offensively to beat these guys, which hasn't happened in a long time. They've won nine games in a row, and the last team to beat them was the Denver Broncos back on November 2.