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NFL defenses are often ignored until it is too late for a team to salvage their season. While the offense determines the margin of your victory, NFL defenses determine who will win in the first place. Every week, we look at the best NFL defenses entering the coming week in ode to the greatness of the players who shut down runs and passes, who wreak havoc, and who act as destroyers on the field. Here's our pick of the best NFL defenses entering Week 11 of the current season.
Top NFL defenses entering Week 11 of the 2021-22 season
#5 - Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals begin our countdown of the best NFL defenses as we enter Week 11. As always, with Kyler Murray and the offense taking the plaudits for their successes, it is easy to ignore just how good the defense has been this season. They have let up a miserly 18.9 points per game and form part of the top five in this list of teams that remain the only teams to give up less than 19 points per game on average.
Their strength is further highlighted by their redzone defense. A look at the team just missing out on this list, the Carolina Panthers, shows that they have allowed fewer yards per game in both running and passing than the Arizona Cardinals, but have allowed more points. The Arizona Cardinals have allowed 116.6 yards per game in rushing and 206.4 yards per game in passing.
#4 - Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos made it to the top 5 NFL defenses by virtue of allowing only 18.3 points per game. Their total yardage allowed is very similar to that of the Arizona Cardinals, but after breaking the data down, we see the differences.
The Denver Broncos are marginally better at rushing defense, allowing only 109.9 yards per game. But their pass defense allows 218.3 yards per game, which is not great, but it is still decent.
For the purposes of this article, it obviously assumes that a general trend is a better marker of defensive capabilities than a one-off game. They limited the high-flying Dallas Cowboys to just 16 points the previous week and vanquished Washington by allowing only 10 points.
We are assuming such performances to be better markers than the 30 points allowed against the Philadelphia Eagles, which we will dismiss as an aberration.
Top 3 NFL defenses entering into Week 11 of the NFL 2021-22 season
#3 - New England Patriots
The New England Patriots have allowed the second-lowest points per game, but in our ranking of NFL defenses, they slip to third because the difference between them and the Green Bay Packers is just one field goal.
Looking at the exact production difference, we see that the Patriots have allowed 107.9 yards in rushing and 220.1 yards in passing per average per game. Those are not the best numbers, but you can see a direct relation to their improved defense and their increasing chances of making the playoffs. Bill Belichick looks to be working his magic again.
#2 - Green Bay Packers
Amid all the talk of Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love and their offensive woes, or the lack thereof, it has been completely forgotten that the Green Bay Packers have done a great job that qualifies them as one of the best NFL defenses this season. They have allowed 107.2 yards in rushing and just 202.7 yards in passing per game. It has been sufficient enough for them to overcome the opposition without having to expect Aaron Rodgers and the offense to always pull a rabbit out of their hat.
#1 - Buffalo Bills
Remaining at the top of the NFL defenses are the Buffalo Bills, who just crush their opposition across the board. They allow 83.9 yards per game in rushing, the only one among the top 5 NFL defenses ranked here that allows less than 100 yards. They are also the only ones among the top 5 NFL defenses that allow less than 200 yards per game on average in passing. They let the opposition have only 190.2 yards per game.
Taken altogether, that amounts to just 15 points per game against them on average this season. In fact, even in their bad loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars a couple of weeks back, the defense only allowed 9 points. It was the offense that let them down. With all the talk about Josh Allen and the offense, the Buffalo Bills have just gone on to build the best defense in the NFL in the shadow of the offense.
And there we have it - the best NFL defenses entering Week 11 of the season! Each of them will be hoping to improve their performance and keep their place on the list when we come back for Week 12.
