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NFL Defense Rankings Week 9 (2026): all 32 defenses, ranked

Updated November 4, 2026

Ranked by EPA allowed per play through Week 8.

Week 9 NFL defense rankings, 1 to 32

#	Defense	EPA allowed / play	Pts allowed / G	Pass D	Run D	Sacks	INT	Week opponent
1	Minnesota Vikings 6-1	-0.24	13.3 1st	1st	5th	25	8	vs BUF 1st-ranked offense
2	Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-5	-0.14	18.9 6th	2nd	3rd	16	12	at CHI 8th-ranked offense
3	Seattle Seahawks 4-3	-0.07	17.9 3rd	3rd	10th	18	8	vs ARI 22nd-ranked offense
4	Los Angeles Chargers 0-7	-0.07	25.0 20th	9th	24th	12	6	vs HOU 10th-ranked offense
5	Jacksonville Jaguars 5-2	-0.07	15.9 2nd	4th	2nd	15	9	at BAL 15th-ranked offense
6	Chicago Bears 5-2 Stream	-0.06	20.4 9th	12th	12th	22	5	vs TB 25th-ranked offense
7	Pittsburgh Steelers 6-2	-0.05	18.0 4th	6th	4th	26	7	Bye
8	Los Angeles Rams 4-4	-0.05	21.0 12th	5th	6th	12	7	at WSH 17th-ranked offense
9	Atlanta Falcons 3-5	-0.05	23.6 17th	11th	14th	17	3	vs CIN 5th-ranked offense
10	Green Bay Packers 5-3	-0.04	20.5 10th	10th	11th	22	10	at NE 9th-ranked offense
11	Denver Broncos 6-2	-0.02	20.6 11th	8th	26th	23	7	at CAR 16th-ranked offense
12	Cleveland Browns 5-3 Stream	+0.00	21.6 13th	7th	28th	21	6	at NO 23rd-ranked offense
13	New York Giants 4-2-1 Stream	+0.01	23.0 15th	19th	18th	9	6	at PHI 29th-ranked offense
14	New England Patriots 5-3	+0.01	20.2 8th	16th	13th	22	5	vs GB 21st-ranked offense
15	Kansas City Chiefs 5-2	+0.01	18.7 5th	14th	9th	9	6	vs NYJ 12th-ranked offense
16	Cincinnati Bengals 5-2 Stream	+0.02	22.6 14th	13th	22nd	23	4	at ATL 31st-ranked offense
17	Carolina Panthers 3-4	+0.02	27.6 28th	18th	25th	11	4	vs DEN 18th-ranked offense
18	San Francisco 49ers 6-1	+0.03	19.9 7th	15th	1st	15	3	vs LV 11th-ranked offense
19	New Orleans Saints 2-5	+0.03	27.7 29th	23rd	32nd	18	4	vs CLE 26th-ranked offense
20	Washington Commanders 2-4-1	+0.05	26.0 26th	21st	16th	16	4	vs LAR 20th-ranked offense
21	Baltimore Ravens 4-4	+0.05	25.4 22nd	17th	23rd	17	4	vs JAX 3rd-ranked offense
22	Tennessee Titans 1-7	+0.05	24.9 19th	27th	15th	20	8	Bye
23	Indianapolis Colts 2-6	+0.06	27.8 30th	20th	29th	16	2	vs DAL 4th-ranked offense
24	New York Jets 2-6	+0.06	23.5 16th	28th	7th	20	1	at KC 7th-ranked offense
25	Buffalo Bills 6-1	+0.06	25.9 24th	26th	19th	15	4	at MIN 30th-ranked offense
26	Detroit Lions 5-2	+0.06	25.7 23rd	29th	17th	24	5	at MIA 27th-ranked offense
27	Las Vegas Raiders 4-4	+0.07	28.8 31st	25th	21st	18	6	at SF 2nd-ranked offense
28	Philadelphia Eagles 2-6	+0.07	25.2 21st	24th	31st	10	3	vs NYG 13th-ranked offense
29	Houston Texans 2-5	+0.08	24.3 18th	22nd	27th	21	3	at LAC 32nd-ranked offense
30	Arizona Cardinals 3-5	+0.11	29.8 32nd	31st	8th	19	3	at SEA 19th-ranked offense
31	Dallas Cowboys 3-5	+0.11	26.6 27th	30th	30th	15	3	at IND 28th-ranked offense
32	Miami Dolphins 1-6	+0.12	25.9 25th	32nd	20th	9	4	vs DET 6th-ranked offense

← Week 8 defense rankingsWeek 10 defense rankings: lands next weekAll weeks

Fantasy points allowed by position (PPR a game, 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	8.4 1st	18.7 5th	25.9 4th	7.1 1st
2	Buccaneers	11.9 3rd	17.2 1st	27.7 8th	14.8 22nd
3	Seahawks	10.9 2nd	22.2 19th	23.8 1st	10.4 6th
4	Chargers	14.0 8th	24.2 22nd	30.6 17th	10.5 7th
5	Jaguars	14.6 9th	17.3 2nd	37.2 29th	11.0 8th
6	Bears	18.3 19th	18.1 3rd	30.5 15th	12.0 9th
7	Steelers	12.8 5th	20.4 11th	28.9 9th	13.0 14th
8	Rams	15.2 10th	20.2 9th	26.3 5th	10.3 5th
9	Falcons	15.6 13th	27.9 30th	30.1 13th	14.4 20th
10	Packers	12.6 4th	25.7 25th	34.7 24th	9.0 2nd
11	Broncos	16.4 14th	25.2 24th	27.5 7th	16.9 27th
12	Browns	13.4 7th	21.3 16th	29.8 12th	15.2 23rd
13	Giants	19.0 25th	20.5 12th	31.3 18th	12.0 10th
14	Patriots	15.3 12th	19.0 6th	34.1 23rd	12.1 12th
15	Chiefs	13.1 6th	20.2 10th	24.8 2nd	17.8 28th
16	Bengals	18.4 21st	19.7 8th	33.1 20th	15.9 25th
17	Panthers	17.1 16th	28.2 31st	30.5 16th	13.9 17th
18	49ers	15.3 11th	23.1 21st	29.2 11th	12.1 11th
19	Saints	16.9 15th	30.8 32nd	30.2 14th	16.7 26th
20	Commanders	20.9 30th	20.6 13th	33.6 21st	20.7 31st
21	Ravens	17.6 17th	19.5 7th	35.2 25th	13.5 15th
22	Titans	18.4 20th	22.1 18th	40.7 32nd	12.8 13th
23	Colts	18.5 22nd	24.8 23rd	27.5 6th	14.4 21st
24	Jets	18.2 18th	21.8 17th	29.0 10th	13.9 18th
25	Bills	19.6 26th	27.2 29th	37.1 28th	14.1 19th
26	Lions	24.8 32nd	18.1 4th	37.0 27th	27.9 32nd
27	Raiders	20.3 29th	25.9 26th	34.0 22nd	18.4 29th
28	Eagles	18.7 24th	21.2 14th	39.6 31st	9.8 3rd
29	Texans	18.7 23rd	22.7 20th	39.4 30th	10.1 4th
30	Cardinals	22.0 31st	21.3 15th	32.4 19th	15.6 24th
31	Cowboys	20.1 28th	26.7 27th	35.9 26th	13.7 16th
32	Dolphins	19.7 27th	26.8 28th	25.7 3rd	18.9 30th

Defensive players of Week 7

Edge rusher of Week 7

Yaya Diaby

OLB · Buccaneers

3 pressures

Interior lineman of Week 7

Adetomiwa Adebawore

DT · Colts

3 pressures

Linebacker of Week 7

Blake Cashman

ILB · Vikings

12 tackles

Cornerback of Week 7

Nohl Williams

CB · Chiefs

10 yds allowed

Safety of Week 7

Jessie Bates

SS · Falcons

9 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 9?

The Minnesota Vikings: -0.24 EPA allowed per play and 13.3 points allowed a game through Week 8 (October 29 to November 2, 2026). The top five: Minnesota Vikings (-0.24), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-0.14), Seattle Seahawks (-0.07), Los Angeles Chargers (-0.07), Jacksonville Jaguars (-0.07).

Which defense should I stream in Week 9 fantasy?

Top-half defenses facing a bottom-ten offense this week: Chicago Bears (vs TB, the 25th-ranked offense), Cleveland Browns (at NO, the 23rd-ranked offense), New York Giants (at PHI, the 29th-ranked offense), Cincinnati Bengals (at ATL, the 31st-ranked offense).

Who has the worst defense in the NFL in 2026?

The Miami Dolphins rank 32 of 32 entering Week 9: +0.12 EPA allowed per play and 25.9 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 9?

Against the pass, the Minnesota Vikings (-0.24 overall, 1st in pass EPA allowed per dropback). Against the run, the San Francisco 49ers, 1st in rush EPA allowed per carry. The Pass D and Run D columns above rank all 32.

Other 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.

Ranked by expected points allowed per play, which counts every snap rather than the ones that ended in points. A Stream tag marks a top-half defense drawing a bottom-ten offense in Week 9, the fantasy pickup of the week. EPA from nflverse play by play, regular season only, through Week 8. 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.