NFL Playoff Teams Critical Defensive Stats: Where Is Your Team?

NFL Playoff Teams: These stats are compiled through the final game of the regular season in the National Football League with each team having 16 games under its belt. The following charts show the top contenders for the Super Bowl along with their respective rankings in the NFL for each stat. Lower numbers are better meaning higher ranked in the league. We chose these particular stats because A) winning and holding down points is the name of the game, and B) the league is clearly oriented around the passing game and the quarterback.

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Scoring Defense: This is a statistic that is exactly how it sounds. It measures the total pints given up by each team. Bear in mind this does not account for scores given up by the offense or special teams or horrendous field position for the defense.

	Scoring Defense
Team	NFL Rank
Patriots	1
Dolphins	18
Steelers	10
Texans	11
Raiders	20
Chiefs	7
Cowboys	5
Giants	2
Packers	21
Lions	13
Falcons	27
Seahawks	3

Passes Defensed: This measures the total number of passes blocked, tipped, and swatted away by the defense.

	Passes Defensed
Team	NFL Rank
Patriots	18
Dolphins	12
Steelers	9
Texans	23
Raiders	17
Chiefs	1
Cowboys	27
Giants	2
Packers	3
Lions	28
Falcons	4
Seahawks	20

Sacks: This statistic simply measures the total sacks recorded.

	Sacks
Team	NFL Rank
Patriots	18
Dolphins	21
Steelers	11
Texans	24
Raiders	32
Chiefs	28
Cowboys	13
Giants	14
Packers	7
Lions	30
Falcons	16
Seahawks	4

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Team Opponent Scoring Efficiency: This statistic measures the rate at which opponents have had scoring drives as a percentage of all drives. This would include drives that result in a touchdown or a field goal. This tells you how effective your team’s defense is at keeping points off the board regardless of field position and the number of drives the opponent had for the game.

	Opp Scor Eff
Team	NFL Rank
Patriots	1
Dolphins	14
Steelers	12
Texans	7
Raiders	17
Chiefs	8
Cowboys	15
Giants	5
Packers	27
Lions	26
Falcons	23
Seahawks	3

Ever find yourself watching your team and saying “we really need a stop here”??? If so then you might want to zero in on Team Opponent Scoring Efficiency. That stat is telling you how good your team is at getting off the field defensively without giving up points. That is, after all, the primary objective of any defense.

Now let’s take a look at the average of all four categories. Remember, the lower the number the better for your team’s DEFENSIVE productivity.

	Total Rankings (Average of four Categories)
	Scoring D	Sacks	Passes D	Opp Scoring Eff	Average
Team	NFL Rank	NFL Rank	NFL Rank	NFL Rank	Raw Number
Patriots	1	18	18	1	9.5
Dolphins	18	21	12	14	16.25
Steelers	10	11	9	12	10.5
Texans	11	24	23	7	16.25
Raiders	20	32	17	17	21.5
Chiefs	7	28	1	8	11
Cowboys	5	13	27	15	15
Giants	2	14	2	5	5.75
Packers	21	7	3	27	14.5
Lions	13	30	28	26	24.25
Falcons	27	16	4	23	17.5
Seahawks	3	4	20	3	7.5