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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Jaguars | 21.9 | 17.8 | 20.0 |
 Eagles | 20.8 | 17.4 | 24.0 |
 Giants | 19.8 | 18.0 | 21.3 |
 Texans | 19.1 | 17.6 | 22.0 |
 Packers | 18.5 | 17.7 | 10.0 |
 Ravens | 18.3 | 14.8 | 25.3 |
 Commanders | 18.2 | 16.2 | 22.5 |
 Titans | 18.1 | 16.9 | 15.5 |
 Steelers | 18.0 | 17.5 | 15.0 |
 Cowboys | 17.9 | 17.6 | 20.5 |
 Vikings | 17.4 | 19.6 | 17.5 |
 Seahawks | 17.4 | 16.2 | 16.8 |
 Buccaneers | 17.2 | 19.1 | 15.8 |
 Lions | 17.0 | 18.5 | 20.0 |
 Colts | 17.0 | 14.8 | 14.0 |
 Jets | 16.5 | 15.9 | 19.8 |
 Cardinals | 16.1 | 16.8 | 16.3 |
 Raiders | 16.0 | 14.8 | 13.3 |
 Bengals | 15.8 | 16.9 | 13.8 |
 Falcons | 15.7 | 18.2 | 16.5 |
 Bills | 15.5 | 16.2 | 20.8 |
 49ers | 15.3 | 15.4 | 16.5 |
 Dolphins | 15.2 | 15.5 | 5.5 |
 Chiefs | 14.9 | 13.4 | 18.0 |
 Saints | 14.8 | 17.8 | 7.5 |
 Bears | 14.6 | 16.3 | 17.8 |
 Rams | 14.3 | 15.2 | 18.0 |
 Panthers | 13.9 | 17.1 | 18.3 |
 Browns | 13.8 | 16.0 | 14.8 |
 Patriots | 13.5 | 16.3 | 10.8 |
 Chargers | 13.0 | 13.9 | 11.0 |
 Broncos | 12.5 | 12.4 | 9.8 |
Defenses to attack in the red zone
Highest touchdown rate allowed inside the 20, worst first.
| Team | TD% allowed | Trips faced | EPA allowed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 100.0% | 4 | 0.369 |
| Panthers | 100.0% | 4 | 0.409 |
| Giants | 100.0% | 3 | 0.221 |
| Bears | 100.0% | 4 | 0.181 |
| Ravens | 100.0% | 3 | -0.241 |
| Eagles | 100.0% | 3 | 0.060 |
| Jets | 100.0% | 1 | -0.119 |
| Browns | 100.0% | 2 | 0.338 |
| Lions | 80.0% | 5 | -0.031 |
| Saints | 80.0% | 5 | 0.000 |
| Bills | 80.0% | 5 | 0.069 |
| Packers | 80.0% | 5 | -0.020 |
| Colts | 75.0% | 4 | 0.322 |
| Dolphins | 75.0% | 4 | -0.039 |
| Titans | 66.7% | 3 | 0.168 |
| Commanders | 66.7% | 3 | 0.071 |
| Cardinals | 66.7% | 3 | -0.244 |
| Rams | 66.7% | 3 | 0.179 |
| Broncos | 60.0% | 5 | 0.164 |
| Raiders | 50.0% | 2 | -0.236 |
| Chiefs | 50.0% | 2 | -0.344 |
| Bengals | 50.0% | 4 | -0.185 |
| Falcons | 50.0% | 2 | -0.303 |
| Seahawks | 50.0% | 2 | -0.110 |
| Chargers | 40.0% | 5 | 0.144 |
| Buccaneers | 40.0% | 5 | -0.002 |
| 49ers | 33.3% | 3 | -0.265 |
| Texans | 25.0% | 4 | 0.229 |
| Vikings | 25.0% | 4 | -0.175 |
| Jaguars | 0.0% | 2 | -0.184 |
| Patriots | 0.0% | 2 | 0.066 |
| Steelers | 0.0% | 0 | -0.321 |