The Chicago Bears have the best pass defense in the NFL this year. The Bears held (i) Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to 4.04 ANY/A in week 15, the worst performance by Green Bay this year, (ii) Jared Goff and the Rams to an ANY/A average of -0.38, the worst performance by Los Angeles all season, and (iii) the high-powered Tampa Bay offense to 3.24 ANY/A, the worst game by the Bucs all year. Chicago also held Kirk Cousins and the Vikings to their 2nd-worst game of the year.
On the other hand, Brock Osweiler — yes, that’s right — had the best performance by any quarterback this year against the Bears, averaging 7.95 ANY/A. I went ahead and calculated how each team fared in ANY/A in each game this year, and then ranked each team’s performance in each game. Then, I looked to see how each defense did relative to those numbers: did they hold the opponent to their worst game of the year, second worst, third worst, and so on.
Here’s how to read the table below: on average, Bears opponents had their 5th worst game of the season against Chicago. That gives the Bears the top pass defense in the league. The individual ranks and games are listed: Green Bay, the Rams, and Tampa Bay had their worst games against Chicago, Minnesota their second worst, Buffalo, Detroit, and Seattle their third worst, and so on.
This is a fun table to examine: for example, the Jaguars are having a down year, but you can easily see that they had outstanding performances against three of the top QBs in the AFC. The Colts, Steelers, and Chiefs all had their worst passing games of the year against Jacksonville.
| Opp | Avg | Games |
|---|---|---|
| CHI | 4.7 | 1-GNB; 1-LAR; 1-TAM; 2-MIN; 3-BUF; 3-DET; 3-SEA; 4-ARI; 4-DET; 6-NYG; 8-NYJ; 9-NWE; 10-GNB; 11-MIA |
| BAL | 5.5 | 1-BUF; 1-TEN; 2-ATL; 2-DEN; 2-KAN; 3-TAM; 4-PIT; 5-OAK; 6-PIT; 7-NOR; 8-CLE; 10-CIN; 13-CAR; 13-CIN |
| MIN | 6.0 | 1-MIA; 1-SEA; 2-CHI; 2-DET; 2-SFO; 3-NYJ; 4-NOR; 5-GNB; 6-GNB; 9-ARI; 11-BUF; 11-NWE; 13-PHI; 14-LAR |
| CLE | 6.1 | 1-DEN; 2-PIT; 4-BAL; 4-NYJ; 4-TAM; 6-ATL; 6-CAR; 6-CIN; 6-HOU; 6-NOR; 8-PIT; 10-LAC; 10-OAK; 12-KAN |
| LAR | 6.4 | 1-CHI; 1-SFO; 2-ARI; 2-OAK; 5-LAC; 6-DET; 6-KAN; 6-PHI; 6-SEA; 11-DEN; 11-GNB; 11-MIN; 11-NOR; 11-SEA |
| JAX | 6.6 | 1-IND; 1-KAN; 1-PIT; 3-NYG; 5-HOU; 5-TEN; 6-NYJ; 7-NWE; 7-TEN; 9-WAS; 10-DAL; 11-PHI; 13-BUF; 13-IND |
| BUF | 6.6 | 1-HOU; 2-JAX; 2-NYJ; 3-MIN; 3-NWE; 3-TEN; 6-MIA; 7-CHI; 7-GNB; 10-NYJ; 12-DET; 12-IND; 12-LAC; 13-BAL |
| ARI | 6.8 | 2-GNB; 4-CHI; 4-MIN; 4-SFO; 5-DET; 5-KAN; 5-SEA; 6-SFO; 7-LAC; 8-ATL; 8-OAK; 11-LAR; 13-DEN; 13-WAS |
| WAS | 6.9 | 1-JAX; 2-NYG; 3-HOU; 3-IND; 4-GNB; 5-ARI; 7-CAR; 9-DAL; 9-NYG; 9-PHI; 9-TAM; 10-ATL; 13-DAL; 13-NOR |
| DEN | 7.0 | 1-ARI; 2-LAR; 3-KAN; 4-CIN; 4-LAC; 4-SEA; 5-CLE; 7-KAN; 7-PIT; 11-BAL; 11-SFO; 12-HOU; 13-OAK; 14-NYJ |
| LAC | 7.1 | 2-CLE; 2-SEA; 4-KAN; 4-OAK; 5-PIT; 7-ARI; 8-BUF; 8-CIN; 8-SFO; 8-TEN; 9-DEN; 9-OAK; 12-LAR; 13-KAN |
| PIT | 7.1 | 1-CLE; 3-ATL; 3-CAR; 3-CLE; 3-JAX; 4-NWE; 5-BAL; 7-CIN; 8-TAM; 9-LAC; 12-OAK; 14-BAL; 14-DEN; 14-KAN |
| TEN | 7.1 | 1-NYG; 2-NWE; 4-PHI; 5-BUF; 5-NYJ; 6-DAL; 6-JAX; 8-BAL; 8-MIA; 9-HOU; 9-JAX; 10-HOU; 13-LAC; 14-IND |
| NWE | 7.4 | 1-MIN; 2-HOU; 3-PIT; 4-IND; 4-MIA; 7-NYJ; 8-CHI; 8-DET; 8-GNB; 10-BUF; 10-KAN; 12-JAX; 13-MIA; 13-TEN |
| PHI | 7.4 | 1-ATL; 2-IND; 3-LAR; 3-WAS; 4-NYG; 7-DAL; 8-CAR; 8-NYG; 9-TEN; 10-MIN; 11-DAL; 11-JAX; 13-TAM; 14-NOR |
| NOR | 7.4 | 1-PHI; 2-CAR; 2-CIN; 2-TAM; 5-ATL; 5-WAS; 7-NYG; 8-DAL; 9-MIN; 10-CLE; 12-BAL; 13-LAR; 14-ATL; 14-TAM |
| KAN | 7.5 | 1-LAC; 3-ARI; 5-CIN; 5-DEN; 5-JAX; 6-DEN; 8-LAC; 9-CLE; 9-LAR; 10-BAL; 10-PIT; 10-SFO; 11-OAK; 13-NWE |
| DAL | 7.6 | 1-NOR; 4-CAR; 4-WAS; 5-NYG; 7-ATL; 7-IND; 7-JAX; 7-PHI; 8-HOU; 9-SEA; 11-TEN; 12-PHI; 12-WAS; 13-DET |
| CAR | 7.7 | 1-BAL; 2-NOR; 3-CIN; 3-DAL; 5-TAM; 6-WAS; 7-DET; 10-PHI; 10-TAM; 11-ATL; 12-CLE; 12-NYG; 12-SEA; 14-PIT |
| NYG | 7.8 | 2-WAS; 5-CAR; 5-NOR; 5-SFO; 6-CHI; 6-TAM; 6-TEN; 8-JAX; 8-PHI; 9-ATL; 10-WAS; 12-DAL; 13-HOU; 14-PHI |
| SEA | 7.9 | 1-DAL; 1-OAK; 3-CHI; 5-LAR; 6-MIN; 8-DEN; 8-LAR; 9-DET; 9-SFO; 11-CAR; 11-LAC; 12-SFO; 13-ARI; 14-GNB |
| CIN | 8.1 | 2-MIA; 3-BAL; 3-LAC; 5-IND; 6-BAL; 6-OAK; 7-TAM; 9-KAN; 10-CAR; 11-PIT; 12-DEN; 12-NOR; 13-ATL; 14-CLE |
| HOU | 8.1 | 1-WAS; 4-DAL; 4-JAX; 5-NWE; 6-BUF; 7-MIA; 8-IND; 10-DEN; 10-IND; 11-CLE; 11-NYG; 11-NYJ; 12-TEN; 14-TEN |
| IND | 8.2 | 2-DAL; 3-PHI; 4-BUF; 4-HOU; 4-TEN; 7-HOU; 8-NWE; 8-WAS; 10-JAX; 12-CIN; 12-MIA; 13-NYJ; 14-JAX; 14-OAK |
| ATL | 8.4 | 2-PHI; 3-GNB; 5-DAL; 6-ARI; 7-BAL; 7-WAS; 8-NOR; 9-CAR; 9-NOR; 11-CIN; 11-TAM; 13-CLE; 13-NYG; 13-PIT |
| OAK | 8.4 | 1-CIN; 2-BAL; 4-DEN; 6-CLE; 6-LAC; 6-LAR; 9-PIT; 10-ARI; 10-SEA; 11-IND; 11-KAN; 14-LAC; 14-MIA; 14-SFO |
| NYJ | 8.4 | 1-DET; 4-CLE; 5-MIA; 6-IND; 7-BUF; 7-DEN; 7-MIN; 9-MIA; 10-CHI; 10-TEN; 11-HOU; 13-JAX; 14-BUF; 14-NWE |
| GNB | 8.9 | 2-BUF; 3-MIA; 4-ATL; 5-CHI; 7-LAR; 7-SEA; 10-NWE; 11-ARI; 11-CHI; 11-DET; 13-MIN; 13-SFO; 14-MIN; 14-WAS |
| MIA | 8.9 | 1-NYJ; 2-TEN; 6-NWE; 7-OAK; 9-BUF; 9-CIN; 9-GNB; 9-IND; 9-NYJ; 12-CHI; 12-MIN; 12-NWE; 14-DET; 14-HOU |
| SFO | 9.0 | 2-LAC; 3-DEN; 3-OAK; 8-KAN; 8-MIN; 8-SEA; 10-DET; 10-LAR; 10-NYG; 12-ARI; 12-TAM; 13-GNB; 13-SEA; 14-ARI |
| TAM | 9.2 | 1-CAR; 3-NOR; 3-SFO; 5-PHI; 7-CLE; 9-BAL; 10-NOR; 11-WAS; 12-ATL; 12-PIT; 14-CAR; 14-CHI; 14-CIN; 14-NYG |
| DET | 9.5 | 1-NWE; 4-LAR; 5-MIN; 7-SFO; 8-ARI; 9-CHI; 10-MIA; 12-BUF; 12-CAR; 12-GNB; 12-NYJ; 13-CHI; 14-DAL; 14-SEA |
This operates in many ways as a strength of schedule adjustment. Perhaps the most interesting teams to analyze here are the Jets and the Rams. New York has allowed 6.22 ANY/A this season, 14th-best, while Los Angeles is allowing 6.41 ANY/A, 18th-best. And yet the Rams have the 5th-best pass defense by this method, while the Jets have the 6th-worst. What gives?
The Jets have faced 0 top-5 passing offenses, 2 top-10 (Patriots, Texans), and only three others in the top 18 (Colts, Vikings, Bears). The Jets have also played 5 games against bottom 7 passing attacks (Detroit, Denver, Jacksonville, and Buffalo x2). The median rank in ANY/A of Jets opponents is 21st.
Meanwhile, the Rams have three games against the top-3 passing offenses (KC, NO, LAC), and two more against Seattle, who ranks 7th. The median rank in ANY/A for Rams opponents is 13.5, and all but 3 of Los Angeles’s 14 opponents have been in the top 18 in ANY/A.
Other defenses with brutal pass schedules this year: the Browns, Bengals, Cardinals, and Broncos. Other defenses with easy pass schedules: the Bills, Titans, Dolphins, Colts, and Texans (so, the AFC East and AFC South).
The table below shows the average ANY/A of the opposing quarterbacks that each team has faced this year. Read the Ravens line like this: Baltimore has the second best pass defense, allowing 5.82 ANY/A against opponents who, on average, have a 6.49 ANY/A average this year (which ranks as the 9th best in the league). That makes the Ravens 1.13 ANY/A above average.
| Rk | Defense | ANY/A Allowed | Opp Avg ANY/A | Opp Avg Rk | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHI | 4.13 | 6.04 | 27 | 1.91 |
| 2 | BAL | 5.36 | 6.49 | 9 | 1.13 |
| 3 | CLE | 5.64 | 6.67 | 6 | 1.04 |
| 4 | BUF | 5.33 | 6.22 | 22 | 0.89 |
| 5 | JAX | 5.65 | 6.37 | 16 | 0.73 |
| 6 | MIN | 5.41 | 6.1 | 25 | 0.69 |
| 7 | ARI | 6.12 | 6.75 | 3 | 0.63 |
| 8 | LAC | 5.93 | 6.35 | 18 | 0.42 |
| 9 | DEN | 6.34 | 6.69 | 5 | 0.35 |
| 10 | LAR | 6.41 | 6.75 | 2 | 0.35 |
| 11 | NYG | 6.09 | 6.4 | 14 | 0.31 |
| 12 | WAS | 6.18 | 6.36 | 17 | 0.18 |
| 13 | TEN | 5.95 | 6.11 | 24 | 0.16 |
| 14 | PIT | 6.42 | 6.53 | 8 | 0.11 |
| 15 | KAN | 6.35 | 6.35 | 19 | 0 |
| 16 | NWE | 6.1 | 6.07 | 26 | -0.03 |
| 17 | DAL | 6.47 | 6.38 | 15 | -0.09 |
| 18 | PHI | 6.61 | 6.41 | 13 | -0.13 |
| 19 | IND | 6.12 | 5.85 | 30 | -0.28 |
| 20 | NOR | 6.76 | 6.46 | 10 | -0.29 |
| 21 | SEA | 6.62 | 6.32 | 20 | -0.31 |
| 22 | CIN | 7.22 | 6.84 | 1 | -0.38 |
| 23 | CAR | 6.87 | 6.43 | 11 | -0.44 |
| 24 | GNB | 6.64 | 6.2 | 23 | -0.45 |
| 25 | NYJ | 6.22 | 5.76 | 32 | -0.46 |
| 26 | ATL | 6.8 | 6.29 | 21 | -0.51 |
| 27 | HOU | 6.33 | 5.79 | 31 | -0.54 |
| 28 | MIA | 6.76 | 5.93 | 29 | -0.84 |
| 29 | SFO | 7.29 | 6.42 | 12 | -0.87 |
| 30 | TAM | 7.72 | 6.64 | 7 | -1.08 |
| 31 | OAK | 8.15 | 6.7 | 4 | -1.45 |
| 32 | DET | 7.47 | 6 | 28 | -1.47 |
The Lions have faced the 28th-best slate of opponents this year, which makes their weak results even more remarkable.