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NFL Defense Rankings Week 8 (2026): all 32 defenses, ranked

Updated October 30, 2026

Entering Week 8 of 2026, the Minnesota Vikings have the NFL's best defense: -0.27 EPA allowed per play and 12.3 points allowed a game through Week 7 (games through October 22 to 26, 2026). The Miami Dolphins rank last at +0.13.

Ranked by expected points allowed per play, which counts every snap rather than the ones that ended in points, with the plain numbers beside it: points allowed, where each unit ranks against the pass and the run, sacks and interceptions, and the Week 8 opponent with its offense rank. A Stream tag marks a top-half defense drawing a bottom-ten offense, the fantasy pickup of the week.

← Week 7 defense rankingsWeek 9 defense rankings: lands next weekAll weeks

Week 8 NFL defense rankings, 1 to 32

#	Defense	EPA allowed / play	Pts allowed / G	Pass D	Run D	Sacks	INT	Week opponent
1	Minnesota Vikings 6-0	-0.27	12.3 1st	1st	1st	21	7	at DET 5th-ranked offense
2	Seattle Seahawks 4-3	-0.11	17.9 4th	3rd	3rd	17	8	vs CHI 8th-ranked offense
3	Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2-5 Stream	-0.09	21.6 14th	2nd	5th	16	8	vs ATL 25th-ranked offense
4	Los Angeles Chargers 0-6	-0.06	25.2 22nd	7th	19th	11	5	at LAR 16th-ranked offense
5	Chicago Bears 5-2	-0.04	20.4 9th	13th	15th	19	4	at SEA 13th-ranked offense
6	Denver Broncos 5-2	-0.04	20.1 7th	4th	26th	21	7	vs KC 7th-ranked offense
7	Atlanta Falcons 3-4 Stream	-0.03	24.7 20th	10th	11th	16	3	at TB 26th-ranked offense
8	Green Bay Packers 4-3	-0.03	20.7 11th	11th	12th	16	9	vs CAR 12th-ranked offense
9	Pittsburgh Steelers 5-2 Stream	-0.02	19.7 5th	8th	8th	18	7	vs CLE 23rd-ranked offense
10	Kansas City Chiefs 5-1	-0.02	17.2 2nd	12th	6th	8	6	at DEN 22nd-ranked offense
11	Los Angeles Rams 3-4 Stream	-0.02	22.7 16th	9th	10th	10	5	vs LAC 32nd-ranked offense
12	Cleveland Browns 5-2	-0.01	20.9 12th	6th	14th	20	5	at PIT 17th-ranked offense
13	Cincinnati Bengals 4-2 Stream	-0.00	20.3 8th	5th	17th	21	4	vs TEN 31st-ranked offense
14	New York Giants 4-2-1	+0.01	23.0 17th	20th	18th	9	6	Bye
15	Jacksonville Jaguars 4-2	+0.01	17.3 3rd	14th	4th	11	7	vs IND 20th-ranked offense
16	New York Jets 2-5	+0.01	21.4 13th	25th	7th	19	1	vs LV 15th-ranked offense
17	New England Patriots 4-3	+0.02	20.4 10th	17th	21st	17	4	at MIA 29th-ranked offense
18	San Francisco 49ers 6-1	+0.03	19.9 6th	15th	2nd	15	3	Bye
19	New Orleans Saints 2-5	+0.03	27.7 28th	22nd	32nd	18	4	Bye
20	Carolina Panthers 3-3	+0.03	27.7 27th	16th	30th	11	3	at GB 21st-ranked offense
21	Las Vegas Raiders 3-4	+0.04	28.1 29th	23rd	13th	16	5	at NYJ 18th-ranked offense
22	Tennessee Titans 1-6	+0.04	22.3 15th	24th	24th	17	5	at CIN 6th-ranked offense
23	Indianapolis Colts 2-5	+0.05	25.7 24th	18th	27th	13	2	at JAX 3rd-ranked offense
24	Baltimore Ravens 4-3	+0.06	23.9 18th	19th	22nd	16	3	at BUF 1st-ranked offense
25	Philadelphia Eagles 2-5	+0.08	25.0 21st	27th	31st	8	3	at WSH 19th-ranked offense
26	Houston Texans 2-5	+0.08	24.3 19th	21st	28th	21	3	Bye
27	Detroit Lions 4-2	+0.09	27.5 26th	28th	25th	21	4	vs MIN 30th-ranked offense
28	Washington Commanders 1-4-1	+0.10	28.7 31st	26th	20th	11	3	vs PHI 27th-ranked offense
29	Arizona Cardinals 2-5	+0.12	29.7 32nd	31st	9th	15	3	at DAL 4th-ranked offense
30	Dallas Cowboys 3-4	+0.12	25.7 23rd	30th	29th	10	2	vs ARI 24th-ranked offense
31	Buffalo Bills 5-1	+0.13	28.5 30th	29th	23rd	11	3	vs BAL 10th-ranked offense
32	Miami Dolphins 1-5	+0.13	26.2 25th	32nd	16th	6	4	vs NE 9th-ranked offense

What each defense gives up to fantasy positions (PPR points a game, rank of 32; 1st is fewest)

Points allowed to QBs, RBs, WRs and TEs, all 32

#	Defense	Pts to QBs / G	Pts to RBs / G	Pts to WRs / G	Pts to TEs / G
1	Vikings	8.2 1st	16.4 1st	25.3 4th	6.9 1st
2	Seahawks	10.4 2nd	20.9 14th	21.5 1st	9.9 4th
3	Buccaneers	13.8 6th	18.2 3rd	29.6 11th	16.2 24th
4	Chargers	15.0 8th	23.9 24th	30.4 13th	11.4 10th
5	Bears	18.7 23rd	18.9 6th	29.5 10th	13.1 17th
6	Broncos	15.2 9th	23.5 23rd	27.4 6th	16.1 23rd
7	Falcons	17.6 20th	26.6 28th	34.4 22nd	16.4 25th
8	Packers	13.0 5th	25.8 26th	35.4 23rd	9.0 2nd
9	Steelers	12.8 4th	20.5 12th	30.5 14th	10.9 8th
10	Chiefs	12.4 3rd	19.6 7th	23.9 3rd	18.5 28th
11	Rams	16.3 14th	20.9 15th	26.3 5th	9.9 3rd
12	Browns	14.7 7th	19.7 8th	32.4 19th	13.9 20th
13	Bengals	17.4 19th	18.2 4th	31.2 16th	15.3 22nd
14	Giants	19.0 24th	20.5 11th	31.3 17th	12.0 12th
15	Jaguars	15.8 13th	17.5 2nd	38.4 28th	11.8 11th
16	Jets	16.8 17th	22.2 18th	31.2 15th	10.4 6th
17	Patriots	15.4 12th	20.6 13th	32.4 21st	12.7 16th
18	49ers	15.3 10th	23.1 22nd	29.2 9th	12.1 13th
19	Saints	16.9 18th	30.8 32nd	30.2 12th	16.7 26th
20	Panthers	16.4 16th	28.6 31st	27.9 7th	13.3 18th
21	Raiders	20.7 28th	26.1 27th	31.7 18th	19.9 29th
22	Titans	15.4 11th	22.3 19th	35.8 26th	11.1 9th
23	Colts	18.1 21st	22.0 17th	29.0 8th	13.7 19th
24	Ravens	16.3 15th	18.5 5th	35.8 25th	12.3 14th
25	Eagles	19.2 25th	21.2 16th	40.4 31st	10.5 7th
26	Texans	18.7 22nd	22.7 21st	39.4 30th	10.1 5th
27	Lions	26.0 32nd	19.7 9th	38.7 29th	29.4 32nd
28	Commanders	22.9 31st	20.4 10th	35.9 27th	21.5 31st
29	Cardinals	22.3 29th	22.6 20th	32.4 20th	16.8 27th
30	Cowboys	19.7 27th	24.6 25th	35.7 24th	12.4 15th
31	Bills	22.5 30th	28.0 29th	42.3 32nd	15.2 21st
32	Dolphins	19.3 26th	28.5 30th	23.8 2nd	20.8 30th

Defensive players of Week 6

Edge rusher of Week 6

David Walker

OLB · Buccaneers

3 pressures

Interior lineman of Week 6

Jeffery Simmons

DT · Titans

6 pressures

Linebacker of Week 6

Pete Werner

ILB · Saints

11 tackles

Cornerback of Week 6

Cordale Flott

CB · Titans

2 yds allowed

Safety of Week 6

Amani Hooker

FS · Titans

13 tackles

From PFR advanced stats and play by play; the full list is on the players of the week page.

Who has the best defense in the NFL entering Week 8?

The Minnesota Vikings: -0.27 EPA allowed per play and 12.3 points allowed a game through Week 7 (October 22 to 26, 2026). The top five: Minnesota Vikings (-0.27), Seattle Seahawks (-0.11), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-0.09), Los Angeles Chargers (-0.06), Chicago Bears (-0.04).

Which defense should I stream in Week 8 fantasy?

Top-half defenses facing a bottom-ten offense this week: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs ATL, the 25th-ranked offense), Atlanta Falcons (at TB, the 26th-ranked offense), Pittsburgh Steelers (vs CLE, the 23rd-ranked offense), Los Angeles Rams (vs LAC, the 32nd-ranked offense).

Who has the worst defense in the NFL in 2026?

The Miami Dolphins rank 32 of 32 entering Week 8: +0.13 EPA allowed per play and 26.2 points allowed a game.

What is EPA allowed per play?

Expected points added: how many points a play moved the offense's scoring chances, from the down, distance and field position before and after it. A defense that allows -0.10 per play takes a tenth of a point off the offense every snap; +0.10 gives one back. It counts every play, not just the ones that ended in points, so it separates a defense that is good from one that has been lucky.

Which defenses are best against the pass and the run in Week 8?

Against the pass, the Minnesota Vikings (-0.27 overall, 1st in pass EPA allowed per dropback). Against the run, the Minnesota Vikings, 1st in rush EPA allowed per carry. The Pass D and Run D columns above rank all 32.

Past weeks

Week 8 defense rankings (2026)Week 7 defense rankings (2026)

More for your lineup: the fantasy hub, the fantasy trade calculator (what a deal is really worth), who to start this week, the waiver wire and the NFL defense rankings. The season board, no week in the URL: the NFL defense rankings; offense beside defense: the NFL team rankings; the matchups behind every number: the betting HQ.

EPA from nflverse play by play, regular season only, through Week 7. Points allowed from final scores. Fantasy points allowed are full PPR, charged to the defense each player faced and grouped by his listed position. Sacks and interceptions are the sacks taken and picks thrown by the quarterbacks each defense faced.