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NFL Week 4 Defense Rankings

Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller (58) in the fourth quarter against the New York Jets at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The undefeated Carolina Panthers are one of several teams fielding a top-tier defense early on in the 2021 NFL season, joining the Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Rams — last year’s No. 1 unit. But while some defenses are on the come-up, others are sliding down the charts, with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers among the most notable fallers.

Here are the best and worst defenses in the NFL heading into Week 4 of the 2021 NFL season.

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Team EPA/Play Rank EPA/Run Rank EPA/Pass Rank
Carolina Panthers -0.299 1 -0.434 1 -0.237 2
Buffalo Bills -0.282 2 -0.401 3 -0.230 4
Denver Broncos -0.263 3 -0.159 15 -0.299 1
New Orleans Saints -0.178 4 -0.226 10 -0.157 6
Arizona Cardinals -0.160 5 -0.036 25 -0.233 3
New England Patriots -0.147 6 -0.109 20 -0.180 5
Cincinnati Bengals -0.134 7 -0.431 2 -0.013 10
New York Jets -0.085 8 -0.310 5 0.105 19
Dallas Cowboys -0.083 9 -0.128 17 -0.072 7
Chicago Bears -0.076 10 -0.196 12 0.022 12
Philadelphia Eagles -0.057 11 -0.143 16 0.023 13
Pittsburgh Steelers -0.042 12 -0.299 6 0.105 20
Los Angeles Rams -0.015 13 0.027 31 -0.031 8
Las Vegas Raiders -0.015 14 -0.170 14 0.053 14
Miami Dolphins -0.009 15 -0.107 22 0.064 15
Los Angeles Chargers -0.007 16 0.017 29 -0.023 9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -0.004 17 -0.349 4 0.121 21
Cleveland Browns 0.001 18 -0.253 8 0.134 22
Minnesota Vikings 0.012 19 0.021 30 0.007 11
Atlanta Falcons 0.026 20 -0.184 13 0.148 23
Houston Texans 0.045 21 -0.029 26 0.093 17
San Francisco 49ers 0.045 22 -0.048 24 0.092 16
Tennessee Titans 0.060 23 -0.003 28 0.094 18
Indianapolis Colts 0.061 24 -0.199 11 0.305 31
Baltimore Ravens 0.065 25 -0.295 7 0.242 29
Seattle Seahawks 0.085 26 -0.107 21 0.231 28
Jacksonville Jaguars 0.087 27 -0.127 18 0.255 30
Green Bay Packers 0.092 28 -0.095 23 0.218 26
Washington Football Team 0.101 29 -0.117 19 0.227 27
New York Giants 0.107 30 -0.025 27 0.171 24
Detroit Lions 0.134 31 -0.232 9 0.395 32
Kansas City Chiefs 0.176 32 0.131 32 0.211 25

Tier 1

1. Denver Broncos

Head coach Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme is at the forefront of where the NFL is going, and he got a massive personnel upgrade this past offseason. Von Miller is back and looking like one of the best pass-rushers in the league once again, racking up 15 total pressures across three games. First-round cornerback Patrick Surtain II has already been making plays, and the Broncos can now go four deep at the position with Bryce Callahan, Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller once Darby returns from injury. Denver’s defense is allowing just a 60.6 passer rating, the best mark in the league.

2. Carolina Panthers

It’s impossible to talk about the Panthers' defense without throwing out the caveat of who they have faced. The Jets and Texans were expected to be among the worst teams in the league this season, while the Saints have been away from home for a month due to a hurricane and were missing eight positional coaches due to COVID-19 when they played Carolina.

Other content you might like: Jaguars trade former first-round CB C.J. Henderson to Panthers via PFF News Staff

That being said, the Panthers' defense has been nasty, pressuring quarterbacks at a league-leading 47.6% rate and allowing just 30 rushing yards before contact across three games. Shaq Thompson is having a career year at linebacker, making plays in all facets of play, while Haason Reddick and Brian Burns have combined for 24 pressures as an edge-rushing duo.

3. Los Angeles Rams

Some regression from the league’s best unit was to be expected this year, but the Rams' defense is still a quality unit. They lost John Johnson III and Troy Hill to the Browns in the offseason, as well as the man behind the scheme in Brandon Staley. New defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has kept the same system, though, and that continuity seems to have worked.

Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey remain two of the best players in all of football, with Donald already racking up 19 total pressures and Ramsey now playing extensively in the slot to be closer to the action. An unexpected boost has come from linebacker Troy Reeder, whose 78.9 overall PFF grade reflects a big upgrade at the position from a year ago.

4. New Orleans Saints

Lost in all of the offseason focus on Jameis Winston and the succession plan for Drew Brees at quarterback was the fact that the Saints' defense would likely remain extremely potent, and that’s exactly what has happened. Even dealing with several losses so far this season, the Saints have had a dominant run defense, allowing just 11 rushing first downs and 1.8 yards after contact per attempt, the second-best mark in the league. Only Denver and New England are allowing a lower passer rating to opposing quarterbacks.

The Saints do have some weaknesses, and it will be interesting to see if they can continue to get by with their cornerback group beyond Marshon Lattimore as the season progresses.

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