Ranking Top 5 Defenses Capable of Carrying Team to Super Bowl Win

Defense wins championships, or so the saying goes. Does it still ring true, though? It should during the 2025 campaign.

Among the NFL's last 10 Super Bowl winners, they collectively averaged the league's ninth best defense, with five finishing among the top six overall.

However, a shift has occurred over the last two seasons, where defenses have finally caught up with the NFL's high-flying offenses. Lighter boxes, dropping more into space, heavy reliance on shell defenses to prevent big plays and so much disguising of schemes that modern-day defensive coordinators would make Mystique from X-Men fame blush.

Today's approach is about confusing high-level quarterbacks to slow them, while playing complementary football with the team's own offense.

"I think you give us 20 points, we should be able to win that game," Micah Parsons told reporters. "It's all about getting stops and getting the ball back to the offense. As y'all seen against Baltimore and Buffalo, you can have your quarterback damn near have a perfect game but still lose because guess what, the defense gave up, what, 40 points? So, defense wins championships. I think the fans like points and they like to see the big plays, but when you play great defense, it's just so beautiful to see."

Parsons is absolutely right. It should come as no surprise that his new team, the Green Bay Packers, are among the five defenses capable of not just complementing their offense but outright carrying their team team to a Super Bowl if need be.

5. San Francisco 49ers

AP Photo/John Froschauer

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner

The San Francisco 49ers have finished among the top eight in total defense during each of the last eight seasons. So, an appearance here shouldn't come as any surprise. However, the unit has undergone many changes over the year, which starts with the man calling the plays.

Robert Saleh is back after four seasons away from the organization. His previous time with the Niners led to him becoming the New York Jets' head coach. Now, he's back where he's done his best work, which is leading San Francisco's defense.

"He came back, and I've been in it [the defensive scheme] now and I've had different coaches and experienced different things. He's an incredibly important piece," defensive end Nick Bosa said of Saleh. "He's like a Kyle Shanahan on defense. Very smart and puts in the hours and makes sure he puts us in the right situations."

In San Francisco's season-opener against the rival Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers allowed only 230 yards.

Two key pieces remain in place, with the game's best off-ball linebacker Fred Warner and a perennial NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Bosa, along the defensive front. However, Bosa must stay healthy. Furthermore, some new pieces must fill big roles, specifically linebacker Dee Winters after Dre Greenlaw's free-agent departure.

"It was amazing, amazing to see," Warner said of Winters' strong performance against the Seahawks. "I'm not surprised at all. He earned that moment to go out there and make a lot of plays for us. And we are going to need him in a big way going forward."

As long as San Francisco's secondary holds together, the Niners defense can be the driving force behind the team's success, especially while quarterback Brock Purdy recovers from turf toe.

4. Los Angeles Rams

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Los Angeles Rams edge-rusher Jared Verse

Staying in the NFC West, a new-look Los Angeles Rams can shift from being viewed as Sean McVay's brainchild on offense to a defensive tone-setting squad.

The previous statement isn't to say the Rams will take a major step backward on offense. McVay remains one of the game's best play-callers. Matthew Stafford is still believe center. The team has weapons at running back, wide receiver and even tight end.

However, the team's really big draft hits during recent NFL draft classes came on the other side of the ball, where general manager Les Snead has built a ferocious defensive front to provide significant upside even after finishing among the league's bottom seven in total defense a season ago.

The Rams defense is young, particularly along its front seven, with a chance to grow into something special under the supervision of defensive coordinator Chris Shula. The upward trend among the group is quantifiable.

Since surrendering 42 points to the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 8 of last season, the Rams defense has allowed 14 points per game on average, while surrendering fewer than 10 points in five of those seven contests.

Los Angeles' strength is built around the ability to attack opposing quarterbacks form multiple different angles. Jared Verse is the reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Byron Young is another explosive edge-rusher. Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske are more than capable of collapsing the pocket on a regular basis.

"They do their job at the highest level," linebacker Nate Landman said of his defensive line, "better than anyone I've been around."

The team then added two key pieces this offseason in nose tackle Poona Ford to help bolster a weak run defense and Landman, who entered the lineup and tied for the team lead with 10 tackles in his debut, while contributing a critical forced fumble.

In turn, the strong defensive front helps make what may be considered a weaker secondary better than it really is.

"Our defensive line putting pressure on the quarterback allowed us to play sticky," cornerback Cobie Durant said.

3. Cleveland Browns

AP Photo/Kirk Irwin

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett

Among the five teams included, the Cleveland Browns have the most uncertainty at quarterback requiring the team's defense to carry its share of the load during the 2025 campaign.

Two seasons ago, Joe Flacco helped lead the Browns to the postseason. At the same time, Cleveland's defense was the league's top-ranked unit. Flacco is back with the Browns for a second go-round, though he's now 40 years old. Once again, the veteran signal-caller is good enough to orchestrate Kevin Stefanski's quarterback-friendly offensive scheme, while the Browns' defense should be viewed as the primary driving force behind any success the team experiences this fall.

Myles Garrett is arguably the game's best defender and a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year. His presence affects every game, and the four-time first-team All-Pro understands his impact.

"I want to be the best on the field and I plan to lead the league in sacks," Garrett told reporters.

The Browns do have legitimate top-end ability at all three levels, though the defensive front is the unit's calling card.

"[Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz] wants the D-line to be the engine of the team," rookie Mason Graham, whom the team drafted with this year's fifth overall pick, told reporters last week. "Set the tone for running to the ball because the hardest thing to do is strain against another O-lineman and then run to the ball right after. So if we're doing it, then everyone else is going to do it and it's just going to feel like we have 14 guys playing on the field."

Cleveland has a nice mix up front with veterans while also sprinkling in younger options. They make life easier on the linebackers, which is critical this year since Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah won't play due to a neck injury and Jordan Hicks abruptly retired, which placed second-round rookie Carson Schwesinger into the starting lineup. Though Schwesinger already looks the part of an active and productive defender.

The Browns also feature a strong secondary led by four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward. This group did take a hit when Ward's bookend, Martin Emerson Jr., suffered a torn Achilles tendon during training camp. But Greg Newsome II is a former first-round pick.

This entire group came to play in Week 1 by allowing minus-18 yards in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals loaded offense.

2. Denver Broncos

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Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II

The Denver Broncos already field an elite defense and the NFL's best defensive player, according to last year's awards. The unit is expected to be among the league's best, especially after multiple key additions this offseason.

Three new defenders were added with the potential to elevate Denver's defense, with the upside to become the NFL's top-ranked unit.

At linebacker, Dre Greenlaw gives the group a legitimate sideline-to-sideline playmaker. He's now a year-and-a-half removed from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered during Super Bowl LVIII. Greenlaw did not play in the season-opener against the Tennessee Titans. His eventual addition should give the Broncos a boost.

In the secondary, Denver signed veteran safety Talanoa Hufanga, then drafted Texas' Jahdae Barron in this year's first round. When healthy, Hufanga is a heat-seeking missile capable of blowing up any play. In fact, he led the team with 11 total tackles in Week 1. Barron, meanwhile, is a chess piece that can be moved all over the Broncos' defensive scheme. Though the coaching staff plans to bring him along slowly as to not put too much on his plate.

"Sometimes you can play guys too soon," defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said, "and you can have too many public failures. And they can't recover from those. So it's been a luxury to kind of, bring him along slow."

Patrick Surtain II is the rock of this defense. The 25-year-old cornerback is already the game's best and just entering his prime years. He didn't allow a single reception and forced an incompletion during this season's debut against the Tennessee Titans, per Pro Football Focus. His status is already known, though.

Riley Moss has a chance to give the Broncos a pair of shutdown bookends. The third-year defensive back broke up a pair of passes during Sunday's contest.

"He's a technician," nickel Ja'Quan McMillian said, per the Denver Post's Luca Evans. "He just does the same thing over and over again."

The Broncos can attack up front, clean up a lot of plays at linebacker and make an opponent pay whenever the ball is in the air. It's a complete unit to make up for any deficiencies found on offense if quarterback Bo Nix falters in Year 2.

1. Green Bay Packers

AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps

Green Bay Packers edge-rusher Rashan Gary

The chance to see this year's Green Bay Packers' defense fly about the field has been a sight to behold. Micah Parsons proved to be the final piece of the puzzle to give Green Bay a game-plan demolisher and the confidence for everyone else to fly toward the football and make plays.

"Relentless. Just physical, aggressive, attacking," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said of his defense. "The play style is exactly what we want from these guys, and it always starts with the energy and effort. That's gonna get you through and can overcome for some of the mistakes. I think our front is extremely disruptive getting after the quarterback. It didn't seem like they ran the ball very effectively at all either."

Through two weeks of play—which, admittedly, isn't a large sample size, but these contests came against two good offensive squads in the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders—the Packers' defense allowed three touchdowns compared to eight sacks. The two opponents averaged a measly 2.3 yards per carry between them. Green Bay is swarming.

Parsons may be the catalyst, but the group features significant talent beyond the team's recent trade acquisition.

Rashan Gary is coming off a Pro Bowl season. He already registered 2.5 sacks through two games. Lukas Van Ness has looked far more disruptive to start the campaign after the 2023 first-round draft pick struggled during his first two seasons. Karl Brooks, Devonte Wyatt and Colby Wooden are holding the point of attack along the defensive interior. Edgerrin Cooper and Quay Walker are just reacting and flying to the football from their linebacker spots. Javon Bullard is a physical defender playing the alley from the secondary. Keisean Nixon is developing into a legitimate CB1. Xavier McKinny and Evan Williams are a talented safety duo.

Legitimately, the Packers defense doesn't have a hole among the roster as it's currently built. Obviously, an injury here or there could change the math. But this group is young, hungry and playing at the highest level.

"When I'm watching film, when I hit the pause button at the end of the play, and you see 11 guys all in the clip, that's the greatest thing in the world for a coach," defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. "One, it shows they're bought in. Two, it shows they love each other and play hard for each other and give everything they have for each other."

When Green Bay's offense is clicking and the defense can pin its ears back, every opponent will face its nightmare scenario.