{"id":255657,"date":"2025-11-21T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=255657"},"modified":"2025-11-29T10:58:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T15:58:51","slug":"nfl-power-rankings-top-20-defenses-in-week-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/21\/nfl-power-rankings-top-20-defenses-in-week-12\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Power Rankings: Top 20 Defenses in Week 12"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s that time of the week when we look at which defenses stepped up and which others fell after week 8 in the NFL. That means we could have some new teams on this list, so let’s get to this week’s top defenses in the NFL. Have a great day, everyone, and may the tackles be with you.<\/p>\n

Week 12 NFL Power Rankings: Defense<\/h2>\n
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Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

20. New York Jets – 329.7 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Jets<\/a> start off this week’s article by staying in the top 20 defenses in the NFL. Unfortunately, they’ll be heading to Baltimore to play the Ravens<\/a>, who should easily win this game.<\/p>\n

19. Indianapolis Colts – 327.6 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Colts<\/a> enjoyed their bye week, but now they have to face the league’s goat this week. That means they’ll be facing Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs<\/a>, who were just punked by the Broncos<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n

18. Las Vegas Raiders – 326.8 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Raiders<\/a> come into this week positive after getting whooped by the Cowboys<\/a> last week. With the Browns<\/a> coming to Las Vegas, Maxx Crosby and the Raiders are licking their chops, ready to dominate whichever rookie quarterback they run out there.<\/p>\n

17. Philadelphia Eagles – 326.8 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Eagles<\/a> have a huge divisional matchup against the Cowboys, who practically can score at will. That means the Eagles are going to have to generate a pass rush this week, or Dak Prescott will slice them up.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

16. Atlanta Falcons – 326.5 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Falcons<\/a> are a good team that always looks lost when they play most Sundays. After the Panthers<\/a> had their way with them this season, they head to New Orleans to play the Saints<\/a>, who I feel have a chance to win this game.<\/p>\n

15. Carolina Panthers – 325.9 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

Speaking of the Panthers, after beating the Falcons again, they’ll be facing the Niners<\/a> this week. With Brock Purdy back for the Niners, it’s going to be a long day for the Panthers defense, who have only had three sacks in the past three games.<\/p>\n

14. Jacksonville Jaguars – 323.6 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Jaguars<\/a> surprised everyone last week by defeating the Chargers<\/a> in all facets of the game. This week, they’ll be in Arizona to face the Cardinals<\/a> in a game that could get out of hand if they let Jacoby Brissett dice them up like he’s done since taking over for Kyler Murray.<\/p>\n

13. Los Angeles Rams – 323 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

As I predicted last week, the Rams<\/a> beat the Seahawks<\/a> and took over the division lead in the NFC West. After recording four interceptions against Sam Darnold, they will be in another face-paced game against Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

12. Buffalo Bills – 322.7 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Bills<\/a> seem to get torched every week, yet their defense stays consistent enough to make them relevant. This week, they’ll have problems since the Texans<\/a> defense is the best in the league.<\/p>\n

11. Minnesota Vikings – 317.5 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Vikings<\/a> come into this week hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive against the Packers<\/a>. With Josh Jacobs currently questionable, the Vikings will have an easier day if Jacobs misses. Regardless, a divisional game like this is huge.<\/p>\n

10. New Orleans Saints – 317.5 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

After beating up the Panthers before their bye, the Saints will be facing the Falcons this week. If the Saints can get pressure on Kirk Cousins, they’ll have the Falcons singing \u201cwe hate that,\u201d all the way back to Atlanta.<\/p>\n

9. Seattle Seahawks – 301.5 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Seahawks literally had their doors blown off by the Rams and were forced to keep up with them in their game last week. This led to multiple pressures on Sam Darnold, who broke under pressure by throwing four interceptions. This week, they’ll be playing the Titans<\/a>, who are no match for the Seahawks.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

8. New England Patriots – 300.6 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Patriots<\/a> beat up on the Jets and held them to 14 points in week 11. This week, they’ll be facing the Ja\u2019marr Chase-less Bengals<\/a>, who thought spitting on Jalen Ramsey would be cool. I’m predicting an easy win for the Patriots, who should be able to run all over the Bengals.<\/p>\n

7. Kansas City Chiefs – 296.8 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Chiefs thought they had another epic comeback win until Bo Nix and the Broncos stung them in the end. The Chiefs now have to play the Colts, who are fresh off a bye week with a rested Jonathan Taylor.<\/p>\n

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Are the Chiefs still among the top NFL teams? We think we might know the reason for their struggles<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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6. Green Bay Packers – 292.1 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Packers need to be more consistent, and this week they’ll most likely have to do it without starting running back Josh Jacobs. This game could develop into a shootout, but if Micah Parsons can get going, J.J. McCarthy will end up having a long day.<\/p>\n

5. Detroit Lions – 291.8 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Lions<\/a> defense is your prototypical bend-but-don’t-break defense that, at times, can give up a lot of scores. With the Giants<\/a> next on the menu, you can bet that they won’t have anything to worry about, since the Giants don’t scare anyone.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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4. Los Angeles Chargers – 286.1 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Chargers were shut down and could do nothing right against the Jaguars, who scored 35 points on them last week. This week, they get to charge their batteries for their bye week while they get ready for the Raiders in week 13.<\/p>\n

3. Denver Broncos – 274.4 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Broncos were all over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs last week as they held them to 19 points in their win. They have a bye week this week and will face the Commanders<\/a> in week 13, in what should be another win for the division-leading Broncos.<\/p>\n

2. Cleveland Browns – 273.5 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The only thing Browns fans can hang their hats on is their defense. In the two games before their bye week, and in the two games afterwards, the Browns have recorded 18 sacks, which has their opponents scared when they step on the field. They’ll be playing the Raiders this week, which should add some more sacks to that total since the Raiders simply suck because of how bad Geno Smith has played this year.<\/p>\n

1. Houston Texans – 258.1 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The number one defense in the NFL still resides in Houston, as the Texans have shown that they can stop any offense. Since their bye week five weeks ago, the Texans have recorded 13 sacks, five fumble recoveries, and five interceptions. Those types of numbers are phenomenal, and that’s why the Texans have been the best defense in the NFL for most of the year.<\/p>\n

For more great football analysis, check out DrRoto.com<\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s that time of the week when we look at which defenses stepped up and which others fell after week 8 in the NFL. That means we could have some new teams on this list, so let’s get to this week’s top defenses in the NFL. Have a great day, everyone, and may the tackles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5637,"featured_media":254756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,27,3,8,15,24,25,14,12,13,17,18,34,26,5,28,6,6431,21,33916,32],"tags":[2165,33781,2320],"class_list":["post-255657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-falcons","category-bills","category-browns","category-broncos","category-lions","category-packers","category-texans","category-colts","category-jaguars","category-raiders","category-chargers","category-rams","category-vikings","category-patriots","category-saints","category-jets","category-nfl-teams","category-eagles","category-power-rankings","category-seahawks","tag-defense","tag-nfl-power-rankings","tag-nfl-schedule"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5637"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255657"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255671,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255657\/revisions\/255671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}