{"id":257701,"date":"2025-12-06T08:30:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T13:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=257701"},"modified":"2025-12-05T20:19:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T01:19:25","slug":"nfl-power-rankings-top-20-defenses-week-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/06\/nfl-power-rankings-top-20-defenses-week-14\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Power Rankings: Top 20 Defenses Week 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s that time of the week when we look at which defenses stepped up and which others fell after Week 12 in the NFL. That means we could have some new teams in this week’s NFL Defense Power Rankings. Have a great day, everyone, and may the tackles be with you.<\/p>\n

Week 14 NFL Power Rankings: Defense<\/h2>\n
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Photo Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

20. San Francisco 49ers – 335.8 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Niners<\/a> defense showed up like I said last week by shutting down the Browns<\/a>. This week, they have a bye week before welcoming the Titans<\/a> to their Golden City. The good news is that this defense could be getting better<\/a>.<\/p>\n

19. Arizona Cardinals – 332.2 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Cardinals<\/a> are feisty and have shown that all year by recording over double-digit fantasy points all year. This week, they face their division rivals, the Rams<\/a>, who just got punked by the Panthers.<\/p>\n

18. Carolina Panthers – 331.1 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

Speaking of the Panthers<\/a>, their defense looked like Swiss cheese against the Rams, but they did score a touchdown in the process. They can take that win and enjoy it as they have a week off to bask in their glory.<\/p>\n

17. New York Jets – 327.3 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

Bijan Robinson pretty much beat up the Jets<\/a> defense, but with two sacks and a fumble recovery, they kept themselves relevant. This week, they face the Dolphins<\/a>, who suck, but have the right team to hurt this defense even more.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

16. Las Vegas Raiders – 323.3 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

Every week, the Raiders<\/a> defense plays hard because on offense, there are only two players worth talking about. The Broncos<\/a> are next up for the Raiders, who should finally get put down for the year. What a waste of talent Las Vegas has become.<\/p>\n

15. Atlanta Falcons – 321.6 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Falcons<\/a> defense had one of their worst weeks in weeks against the Jets last week, with only two sacks. This week, they have the hungry Seahawks<\/a> coming to town in what should be a defensive game.<\/p>\n

14. Detroit Lions – 321.6 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Lions<\/a> got dismantled by the Packers<\/a> and are watching their playoff chances fade right before their eyes. This week, they beat the Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, which was a pivotal game for both teams.<\/p>\n

13. Los Angeles Rams – 315.1 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Rams thought they were going to go into Carolina and beat the Panthers easily, but that quickly evaporated when they lost by turning over the ball consistently. This week, the Rams play the Cardinals, who are about to catch an old-school whipping.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Chiefs\u2019
Photo Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

12. New Orleans Saints – 314.6 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

No matter what the Saints<\/a> defense does right, the offense somehow messes it up. This week, they play the Buccaneers<\/a>, who many feel are going to blow them out. However, I wouldn’t count them out.<\/p>\n

11. Jacksonville Jaguars – 312.5 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Jaguars<\/a> defense has been on a warpath recently by holding their last three opponents to 27 points total combined, for those three games. They’ll be playing the Colts<\/a> this week, which will show us how good they are, if they can stop Jonathan Taylor.<\/p>\n

10. Minnesota Vikings – 306.8 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Vikings<\/a> are lost at quarterback, and while they sacrifice Justin Jefferson’s career for mediocrity, their defense tries their best. This week, they’ll be playing the Commanders<\/a>, who aren’t that much of a threat on offense, which should lead to more than a few sacks for this defense.<\/p>\n

9. Kansas City Chiefs – 306.7 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Chiefs<\/a> are barely hanging on in the standings and are out of the playoffs right now. They could be in trouble this week with the Texans<\/a>\u2019 number-one defense coming to town.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Week
Photo Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

8. Buffalo Bills – 304.5 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Bills<\/a> started out their game against the Steelers<\/a> terribly, but after halftime, they kicked things up like a turbo booster. This week, they could find themselves in a shootout with Joe Burrow back for the Bengals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7. New England Patriots – 296.4 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Patriots<\/a> destroyed the Giants<\/a> last week, but this shouldn’t come as a surprise since they have one of the league’s easiest schedules. They’ll be off this week and will have the Bills coming to town the next week.<\/p>\n

6. Seattle Seahawks – 289.4 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Seahawks knew they were going to be in a defensive battle last week against the Vikings. Unfortunately for the Vikings, their offense didn’t show up, leading to a grade-A whipping.<\/p>\n

5. Denver Broncos – 286.4 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Broncos had it easy against the Commanders with Marcus Mariota at quarterback, which led to two sacks and an interception. They’ll have an easy game this week against the Raiders, who get torn up by everyone.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Calen<\/h4>\n

4. Green Bay Packers – 284.8 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Packers showed the Lions that they want to win their division by sacking Jared Goff the times. This week, they have another divisional game against the number one team in the NFC, the Bears.<\/p>\n

3. Los Angeles Chargers – 275.3 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Chargers<\/a> beat up the Raiders last week by sacking Geno Smith five times and intercepting him once. This week, they’ll be hard tested against the Eagles<\/a>, who are always a hard out.<\/p>\n

2. Cleveland Browns – 271.3 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The Browns defense did what their offense couldn’t do against the Niners, and that’s okay football. This week, they have a layup against the Titans, who have taken over as the new Browns for the league over the past few years.<\/p>\n

1. Houston Texans – 265.7 Total Yards Against<\/h4>\n

The number one defense continues to shine in Houston as the Texans stopped Jonathan Taylor and the Colts offense. This week, they’ll be facing the Chiefs, who are fighting for the playoffs. This game is a must-watch because I feel whoever loses this game could find themselves out of the playoffs.<\/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 12 in the NFL. That means we could have some new teams in this week’s NFL Defense Power Rankings. Have a great day, everyone, and may the tackles be with you. Week 14 NFL Power […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5637,"featured_media":257702,"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":[33916],"tags":[2165,2320],"class_list":["post-257701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-power-rankings","tag-defense","tag-nfl-schedule"],"modified_by":"Doug Henderson","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257701","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=257701"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":257705,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257701\/revisions\/257705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}