Super Bowl Contenders Critical Defensive Stats: Where Is Your Team?

Super Bowl Contenders: These stats are compiled through Week 15 in the National Football League with each team having 14 games under its belt. The following charts show the top contenders for the Super Bowl (through Week 15 and according to our top analysts) 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.

TICKETS: http://www.seatsforeveryone.com/

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
Chiefs	10
Raiders	26
Ravens	6
Steelers	8
Texans	12
Titans	9
Dolphins	19
Cowboys	7
Giants	4
Lions	11
Packers	25
Falcons	28
Seahawks	2

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

	Passes Defensed
Team	NFL Rank
Patriots	20
Chiefs	2
Raiders	9
Ravens	14
Steelers	7
Texans	22
Titans	13
Dolphins	10
Cowboys	29
Giants	1
Lions	25
Packers	5
Falcons	11
Seahawks	17

Sacks: This statistic simply measures the total sacks recorded.

	Sacks
Team	NFL Rank
Patriots	12
Chiefs	21
Raiders	28
Ravens	19
Steelers	13
Texans	30
Titans	10
Dolphins	15
Cowboys	18
Giants	14
Lions	29
Packers	9
Falcons	17
Seahawks	5

SUPER BOWL TICKETS: http://www.seatsforeveryone.com/Super-Bowl

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	5
Chiefs	7
Raiders	16
Ravens	1
Steelers	12
Texans	8
Titans	11
Dolphins	10
Cowboys	15
Giants	6
Lions	24
Packers	27
Falcons	23
Seahawks	2

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	12	20	5	9.5
Chiefs	10	21	2	7	10
Raiders	26	28	9	16	19.75
Ravens	6	19	14	1	10
Steelers	8	13	7	12	10
Texans	12	30	22	8	18
Titans	9	10	13	11	10.75
Dolphins	19	15	10	10	13.5
Cowboys	7	18	29	15	17.25
Giants	4	14	1	6	6.25
Lions	11	29	25	24	22.25
Packers	25	9	5	27	16.5
Falcons	28	17	11	23	19.75
Seahawks	2	5	17	2	6.5