The Bears spent most of the season struggling to score points, run the football or convert on third down. Previous rankings: 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Preseason, Jump to: --Rob Demovsky, Defensive efficiency:46.2 On Sunday, it was a killer end-zone pick with less than three minutes to play in a 30-28 defeat to the Chargers. There was more good news for the rookie class on the other side of the ball: Dameon Pierce rushed for 99 yards and his third touchdown of the season. Watch on ESPN+, The Jaguars have started three quarterbacks at least three games each, which contributes to their having five games with fewer than 300 yards of offense. The biggest issue on defense is third-down conversions. Kupp's score represents the team's only touchdown in the past nine quarters. Mampt. They have to throw down the field more. In five seasons, Mahomes now has five division titles, two regular-season MVPs, two Super Bowl MVPs and the two rings. NFL 2020 defensive rankings. Beyond individual development, there isn't anything to point to. Josh McDaniels' team was once again on the wrong side of a coin-flip game, this time an excruciating 30-29 defeat to the Chiefs at Arrowhead that dropped Vegas into the AFC West cellar. They don't have an edge rusher with more than one sack and have called the third-most blitzes (57) so far this season. Now they have to grow the offense around him as they push to be a playoff team. How many teams are hotter than Dan Campbell's Lions? The Eagles keep answering the bell in different ways. The Packers survived a scare from Bailey Zappe and the Patriots in Week 4, but Brian Daboll's Giants made them pay with a humbling loss in London. With an Eagles team that runs the ball effectively in their division, the Cowboys have to get better. We try not to look at what happened the last couple of games and what's ahead. Vikings opponents are catching 75% of their targeted passes, the second-highest rate in the NFL. In this edition of the NFL Power Rankings, the Giants and Jets soar to new heights, while the Buccaneers and Panthers tumble down the board. Week 4. Could the Raiders turn the backfield over to RB Zamir White? "To be a championship team and a playoff team," waxed Raiders coach Jon Gruden, "you have to be a good football team in all phases." They will sign one -- likely Jones -- and tag the other. Opponent Fourth Down Conversion Percentage. At season's start, coach Ron Rivera said it might not be until 2021 that the offense really starts humming. Thestellar Cowboys defense has produced one of my favorite, most straightforward stats of the 2022 NFL season: Dallas has allowed exactly one touchdown in each of its five games this season. Special teams: 30, You don't need analytics to tell you that this season has been bad for the Cowboys. This team is better with quarterback Alex Smith but still inconsistent. The Dolphins have been stout against the run, and the numbers they've given up are a bit skewed considering Josh Allen's 63 pass attempts in Week 3 and Lamar Jackson's prolific first half in Week 2. 2021 NFL defense rankings espn. With five weeks remaining in the regular season, one division owns the top two spots in Dan Hanzus' NFL Power Rankings. Maybe Browns too. The Giants are 19th in the NFL with a pass rush win rate of 41.2%. At 1-4, Washington finds itself buried in last place of a division with two 4-1 teams and one 5-0 team. The prime-time star was Stephon Gilmore, the veteran cover man who intercepted Russell Wilsonto thwart one red-zone drive and broke up an end-zone pass in the final seconds to ice the game. Defensively, the Bucs have given up some chunk plays, but their backbone has been their stout run defense and making plays behind the line of scrimmage. --Michael Rothstein, Defensive efficiency: 42.4 But there's little to pick apart. Discover NFL team overall stats and rankings throughout the season. However, in the Week 4 loss to the Raiders, the Broncos were pushed off the ball far too often in run defense. The problem is the AFC is loaded with those guys. The Jets closed out Sundays 40-17 win over the Dolphins like a young team thats starting to believe in itself. Level Up Your Fantasy & Betting With FO +. Joe Burrow and the Bengals' offense seemed well set up to shred a Ravens defense that entered Sunday Night Football allowing more passing yardage than any team in football. With explosive offenses coming up, the D-line better healthy fast. On the offensive side of the ball, the Chiefs have been a top-five unit in terms of third-down efficiency, ranking second-best in the NFL by putting up a 48.7% third-down percentage. "I love Matthew Stafford. Seattle's special teams have been strong the whole time, led by Jason Myers going 18-for-18 on field goal tries. --Turron Davenport, Defensive efficiency: 65.8 They improved in a big way this past season. Mix in a special-teams unit that features the league's most efficient returner in Andre Roberts, and you've got a team ready to make a deep playoff run. KEY: Gms = Games Played, Tot Pts = Total Points Scored, Pts/G = Points Per Game, RushYds = Rushing Yards, RYds/G = Rushing Yards Per Game . Sam Darnold was a bust in 2021, and Baker Mayfield has beenjust as bad (if not worse) as QB1 this year. Tackles per Game. An established power rises to the top spot for the first time this season in Dan Hanzus' Power Rankings. With Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack rushing the passer and J.C. Jackson . 5. The concern now is they will be losing offensive coordinator Shane Steichen. The Rams rank second in efficiency and takeaways and have allowed an average of 18.9 points per game, which ranks third and has covered for some inconsistencies on offense and special teams. Rhule didnt fail alone: The Panthers have had dreadful instincts in addressing the quarterback position since cutting ties with former MVP Cam Newton. NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated. -- Todd Archer, Offense: 12 The Packers don't get stops on defense. Connelly's numbers indicate that while bringing a high number of transfers on offense wasn't exactly a winning proposition in 2022 (programs that brought in nine or more newcomers finished 3.2 . Opponent Punts per Offensive Score. Check out the full order, 1-32. But when the players say they still need to get better, slowing the run is their biggest must. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. Speaking ofMcCarthy, we loved his line from last Thursday when alerted by a reporter that the Rams were favored in Sundays game. Visit ESPN to view 2022 NFL stat leaders. --David Newton, Defensive efficiency: 47.6 Cornerbacks D.J. Pittsburghs defense -- lost without T.J. Watt -- surrendered a 98-yard touchdown strike from JoshAllen on the third play from scrimmage and rarely looked competitive after that. Week 14 ranking: 3 Offense: 5 Defense: 8 Special teams: 11 It would have been much easier to identify the Saints' strengths if they hadn't just snapped a nine-game . Cleveland has played five games, won two and allowed victory to slip away in brutal fashion in three defeats. The defense needs some upgrading, and they could use another receiver, but this is a team built for the long run. They can't ask Josh Allen to do it all. Oh, sure, they're ranked highly in special teams, but that rings hollow after a game in which Sergio Castillo missed three field goals in one quarter. Presumably, they'll return to form once Byron Jones returns from the physically unable to perform list -- which he's eligible to do this week. Lawrence should have beenfar better than his two-interception, zero-touchdown showing in a disappointing 13-6 loss. Bengals coach Zac Taylor needs to pop the hood on his offense and figure out why that's no longer the case. But it was the way he did it that impressed. The running back has played only three games, so when you look at what has happened offensively, it begins with being without the best multipurpose player in the NFL. Washington's defense ranks in the top 10 in both yards and points allowed; it hasn't finished a season that way since 2008. "Satisfied with the effort? the coach replied to a reporters query. 1 overall nationally ahead of Georgia . Daniel Jones hasn't made the leap as expected in Year 2, and the Giants are struggling to score points. Check out the full pecking order, 1-32. So why is Baltimore battling for its playoff life? 8. Here's everything we know, Richardson sets QB mark for vertical, broad jump, QB Young 5-10 1/8, 204 pounds at NFL combine, Sources: Patriots tell QB Hoyer he's being cut, Horns' Robinson: Versatility worthy of early pick, Jones: Not fixated on Cowboys' drought, just '23, Sources: Raiders plan franchise tag for Jacobs, WR Addison to Steelers' Pickett: 'Come get me', Wolverines' Turner wows with 4.26 40 at combine, Everything you need to know about Geno Smith's contract negotiations. The biggest issue on defense is the run defense. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: nfl | pageType: stories | Rankings are refreshed every Friday to take out players from Thursday's game(s). Less than 24 hours later, the ax came down on Matt Rhule. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. Rally from multiple scores down? They had a pile of big gains against the nickel, including a 43-yard run by Josh Jacobs in the third quarter. With Joe Burrow and that passing game, they will be in the Super Bowl mix again next year. Embattled first-year coach Nathaniel Hackett deserves his share of the blame for the struggles, but its Wilson who was supposed to elevate the Broncos to title contenders. Oh, and a fair bit of tragedy, like the goal-line interception thrown by the quarterback in the final seconds of a 21-17 loss to the Titans. --Todd Archer, Defensive efficiency:74.5 ET. "Five games in, and we've got a lot of work to do," Brady said. Walker is set to start Sunday against the Rams. Welcome to Week 5 of the NFL regular season. With Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas sidelined, Hill got help from Alvin Kamara, who piled up 194 yards of total offense and looked -- for the first time in quite a while -- like, well, Alvin Kamara. The biggest issue on defense is the fourth quarter. -- Mike Reiss, This is what everyone anticipated entering the season: The defense would have to lead this franchise, and it has. To say the Raiders have struggled on the defensive side of the ball in the previous decade is a bit of an understatement. The problem is the coverage, specifically the safeties and linebackers. League rank: 18th, The Chargers' defense appeared dominant -- on paper -- entering the season. The focus is solely on Guenther, whose defenses are responsible for two of the eight worst single-season defensive efficiency seasons of the past decade. The Aaron Rodgers saga hangs over this team's offseason. We did it to ourselves.". -- Sarah Barshop, Nothing is going extremely well for the Bengals. I think he needs more help.". But instead it was Mahomes lighting up the Eagles' vaunted defense -- the top-ranked pass defense in the league -- in the second half. -- Courtney Cronin, The passing offense has been a disappointment, which highlights myriad issues: Cam Newton's inaccuracy on short passes, a major void at tight end (the Patriots rank last in the NFL in production from that spot) and a receiving corps that hasn't been respected by opposing defenses and thus allows foes to load up against the run. The Titans have had rotten injury luck all season, and you could see the cracks along the offensive line in a 21-17 win over the Commanders. Dallas' struggling offense managed three pass plays of at least that length. What will the Buffalo Bills do without defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier? Kelce remains at the center of everything, a prodigious producer who always seems to deliver his best moments when the lights are brightest. A scrambling Kyler Murray went into a protection slide just short of the first-down marker, setting in motion a chain of events that ended with fill-in kicker Matt Ammendola badly pushing a 43-yard field goal attempt wide right. "I'm not where I was at the end of last season in that old system," Cousins said, "but we're developing it and we're getting there and I'm excited about that continued growth.". Its never a comfortable watch with Carson Wentz. Although defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's unit has improved in recent weeks, there are questions about its long-term outlook. Special teams: 22, The Browns' offense has been spearheaded by arguably the top rushing attack in the league, powered by the running back duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and one of the NFL's most improved offensive lines. All Rights Reserved. "I'm not going to say dynasty yet, we're not done," Mahomes said. "The NFL is crazy. The script is beyond tired for the Raiders. Jalen Hurts showed on the biggest stage that he is their franchise quarterback. JAX | KC | LV | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN Blow a team off the field? -- Mike Wells, What will define Eric Bieniemy's success? Not only are the Packers allowing nearly 5 yards per rush, but they're having troubling bringing runners down. The Cardinals have been able to get to the quarterback and get their hands on him at times, as was the case against Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes, but getting opposing quarterbacks down has been a struggle. Calijah Kancey had a 4.67 official time in the 40-yard dash, the fastest time by a defensive tackle at the combine since 2006, when ESPN Stats . New York used a dominant rushing attack and big-play defense to reel off 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, snapping a 12-game losing streak versus AFC East opponents. Whenit was over, the Colts were celebrating in Denver on Thursday night -- even if the result didnt quite make sense. How far do the 49ers fall in the wake of Jimmy Garoppolo's season-ending injury? Defense: 23 After Baltimore totaled 126 yards in the second half in Week 3, and Green Bay totaled 199 yards on 35 carries overall in Week 4, it has exposed a vulnerability for the Patriots. The question is the same one as in most years: Will the defense and/or special teams cost the Packers when it matters most? One of the hottest teams in football continues to ascend Dan Hanzus' NFL Power Rankings.