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 | 21.2 | 18.8 | 21.8 |
 Titans | 19.4 | 16.9 | 19.5 |
 Jaguars | 19.1 | 16.6 | 11.8 |
 Jets | 18.8 | 16.2 | 19.0 |
 Vikings | 18.6 | 19.6 | 13.5 |
 Eagles | 18.6 | 21.2 | 17.3 |
 Texans | 18.4 | 15.6 | 23.3 |
 Packers | 18.2 | 17.3 | 8.3 |
 Commanders | 17.8 | 17.4 | 21.0 |
 Colts | 17.8 | 14.2 | 17.3 |
 Cowboys | 17.0 | 19.2 | 20.3 |
 Seahawks | 16.8 | 17.3 | 20.8 |
 Bengals | 16.2 | 14.9 | 11.3 |
 Ravens | 16.1 | 13.6 | 26.0 |
 Bears | 16.1 | 16.6 | 16.0 |
 Steelers | 16.1 | 13.2 | 13.5 |
 Patriots | 16.0 | 16.4 | 13.0 |
 Bills | 15.9 | 14.6 | 20.8 |
 Browns | 15.8 | 15.4 | 11.0 |
 Lions | 15.8 | 17.7 | 22.5 |
 Dolphins | 15.8 | 14.2 | 9.8 |
 Buccaneers | 15.7 | 16.1 | 6.8 |
 Chiefs | 15.6 | 16.4 | 20.5 |
 Rams | 15.5 | 20.0 | 15.5 |
 49ers | 15.4 | 18.9 | 17.0 |
 Broncos | 15.2 | 15.8 | 8.0 |
 Cardinals | 14.9 | 17.2 | 10.3 |
 Chargers | 14.6 | 15.8 | 20.3 |
 Raiders | 14.5 | 12.7 | 18.5 |
 Saints | 14.2 | 18.4 | 21.3 |
 Falcons | 13.9 | 14.9 | 14.8 |
 Panthers | 13.1 | 14.8 | 18.0 |
Defenses to attack in the red zone
Highest touchdown rate allowed inside the 20, worst first.
| Team | TD% allowed | Trips faced | EPA allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 84.6% | 13 | -0.131 |
| Commanders | 81.8% | 22 | 0.067 |
| Raiders | 78.6% | 28 | 0.054 |
| Panthers | 76.5% | 17 | 0.024 |
| Giants | 73.7% | 19 | 0.011 |
| Cowboys | 71.4% | 28 | 0.138 |
| Cardinals | 70.8% | 24 | 0.095 |
| Bills | 69.2% | 26 | 0.128 |
| Bears | 68.8% | 16 | -0.002 |
| Lions | 68.0% | 25 | 0.134 |
| Falcons | 66.7% | 27 | -0.018 |
| Dolphins | 65.4% | 26 | 0.133 |
| Texans | 65.0% | 20 | 0.031 |
| Ravens | 64.0% | 25 | 0.011 |
| Packers | 60.7% | 28 | -0.057 |
| Colts | 60.0% | 20 | 0.048 |
| Eagles | 59.3% | 27 | 0.112 |
| Titans | 58.3% | 24 | 0.057 |
| Jets | 58.3% | 24 | -0.002 |
| Saints | 53.1% | 32 | 0.075 |
| Buccaneers | 52.6% | 19 | -0.111 |
| Chargers | 50.0% | 24 | -0.036 |
| Patriots | 50.0% | 22 | 0.019 |
| 49ers | 47.8% | 23 | -0.043 |
| Browns | 47.4% | 19 | -0.037 |
| Steelers | 46.2% | 13 | -0.044 |
| Broncos | 45.5% | 22 | -0.049 |
| Rams | 44.4% | 27 | -0.057 |
| Jaguars | 40.0% | 20 | -0.036 |
| Bengals | 33.3% | 21 | -0.041 |
| Chiefs | 31.2% | 16 | -0.056 |
| Vikings | 23.1% | 13 | -0.193 |