Matchups
Defensive ranks are from 2026 and schedules from 2026. Strength of schedule is the average defensive rank a team faces, so a HIGH number means it plays weak defenses.
How it works
Red zone defense is ranked separately from overall efficiency, because a defense can give up yards between the twenties and still hold inside the 20, and for scoring that difference is the whole point.
How much does this actually matter? Over a season, very little. The NFL schedules teams against a near-identical slate by design: shared division opponents, placement-based games, a matched seventeenth, so the entire league sits within about 1.3 points a game of average opponent quality. Measured across three seasons and 770 player-seasons, schedule softness correlates with beating expectation at r = 0.04, worth roughly eight PPR points over a full year. That is why none of this touches the season-long rankings. Week to week is a different question: one defense allowed a 40.5% red zone touchdown rate last season and another 22.3%, and which of those a player faces on Sunday is a real decision.
Softest schedules
| Team | All year | Red zone | First 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Giants | 19.8 | 18.4 | 21.3 |
 Jaguars | 19.4 | 16.6 | 16.8 |
 Titans | 18.8 | 17.7 | 20.3 |
 Chiefs | 18.6 | 17.8 | 26.0 |
 Jets | 18.6 | 15.4 | 17.3 |
 Bills | 18.2 | 15.7 | 21.0 |
 Steelers | 17.4 | 14.2 | 17.0 |
 Vikings | 17.3 | 18.5 | 12.3 |
 Texans | 17.2 | 15.8 | 22.0 |
 Seahawks | 17.1 | 17.3 | 21.5 |
 Commanders | 17.0 | 17.8 | 22.8 |
 Dolphins | 16.8 | 15.4 | 12.5 |
 Browns | 16.7 | 16.0 | 8.0 |
 Packers | 16.5 | 16.1 | 10.0 |
 49ers | 16.5 | 19.3 | 19.0 |
 Broncos | 16.4 | 16.1 | 6.0 |
 Colts | 16.3 | 13.8 | 16.0 |
 Chargers | 16.3 | 16.6 | 18.8 |
 Raiders | 16.1 | 14.0 | 20.5 |
 Eagles | 16.1 | 20.4 | 14.8 |
 Buccaneers | 16.1 | 15.8 | 9.5 |
 Cardinals | 15.8 | 18.1 | 10.3 |
 Bengals | 15.8 | 14.4 | 6.8 |
 Ravens | 15.6 | 13.0 | 26.5 |
 Patriots | 15.6 | 16.4 | 7.0 |
 Bears | 15.3 | 16.6 | 18.5 |
 Cowboys | 15.3 | 19.3 | 16.5 |
 Rams | 15.2 | 19.8 | 15.5 |
 Lions | 14.6 | 16.8 | 20.0 |
 Saints | 14.4 | 17.8 | 23.3 |
 Falcons | 13.6 | 13.5 | 14.5 |
 Panthers | 13.5 | 13.9 | 16.3 |
Defenses to attack in the red zone
Highest touchdown rate allowed inside the 20, worst first.
| Team | TD% allowed | Trips faced | EPA allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 78.9% | 19 | -0.097 |
| Panthers | 75.0% | 24 | 0.030 |
| Giants | 75.0% | 20 | -0.030 |
| Commanders | 75.0% | 28 | 0.024 |
| Raiders | 71.1% | 38 | 0.092 |
| Cardinals | 68.8% | 32 | 0.073 |
| Jets | 68.8% | 32 | 0.039 |
| Cowboys | 68.6% | 35 | 0.091 |
| Falcons | 66.7% | 33 | 0.002 |
| Lions | 65.5% | 29 | 0.080 |
| Ravens | 63.6% | 33 | 0.017 |
| Bills | 63.3% | 30 | -0.010 |
| Colts | 62.5% | 24 | 0.075 |
| Texans | 60.9% | 23 | 0.003 |
| Packers | 60.6% | 33 | -0.076 |
| Eagles | 59.4% | 32 | 0.084 |
| Dolphins | 59.4% | 32 | 0.116 |
| Titans | 58.1% | 31 | 0.069 |
| Bears | 56.0% | 25 | -0.049 |
| Chargers | 53.1% | 32 | 0.003 |
| Broncos | 51.7% | 29 | -0.008 |
| Patriots | 50.0% | 32 | 0.043 |
| Saints | 48.6% | 35 | 0.050 |
| Browns | 48.3% | 29 | -0.020 |
| 49ers | 48.0% | 25 | -0.073 |
| Buccaneers | 47.8% | 23 | -0.164 |
| Rams | 44.8% | 29 | -0.111 |
| Bengals | 41.4% | 29 | 0.005 |
| Jaguars | 40.9% | 22 | -0.128 |
| Chiefs | 38.1% | 21 | -0.067 |
| Steelers | 37.5% | 16 | -0.074 |
| Vikings | 26.3% | 19 | -0.149 |