Football fans hear this saying all the time “defense wins championships”, yet most of the recent NFL rule changes benefits the offenses. We are currently in a passing era of football and the stats back this up.
That being the case, which would you rather have, a top 5 offense or a top 5 defense in the NFL? If you could only choose one, would you want the offensive juggernaut scoring at will and averaging 30 points per game? Or do you want the gritty well-respected number one ranked defense that all teams fear?
nypfstatkings.com posted a recent article outlining the winning percentages between the Top 5 run defenses versus the bottom five run defenses. They then compared the top five passing defense winning percentages versus the bottom five. What affects winning more, stopping the run or defending the pass?
The top five run stoppers in the NFL in 2024 are listed below along with their winning percentages. The top 5 have a combined winning percentage of 71.76%. Stop the run and you win almost 72% of your games based on the stats. One hundred percent of the teams in the top five made the playoffs. The Baltimore Ravens gave up the least amount of rushing yards per game in 2024 regular season.
| TOP 5 RUN DEFENSES | ||||||||||
| Rk | TM | GM | Att | Yds | TD | YrdAtt | YrdGM | Win | Lose | Win% |
| 1 | Baltimore Ravens | 17 | 383 | 1,361 | 12 | 3.6 | 80.1 | 12 | 5 | 70.59% |
| 2 | Minnesota Vikings | 17 | 392 | 1,588 | 12 | 4.1 | 93.4 | 14 | 3 | 82.35% |
| 3 | Denver Broncos | 17 | 424 | 1,639 | 10 | 3.9 | 96.4 | 10 | 7 | 58.82% |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 17 | 389 | 1,663 | 13 | 4.3 | 97.8 | 10 | 7 | 58.82% |
| 5 | Detroit Lions | 17 | 369 | 1,672 | 18 | 4.5 | 98.4 | 15 | 2 | 88.24% |
| 61 | 24 | 71.76% | ||||||||
Now let’s look at the bottom 5 run stoppers. These are the teams that are the worst at stopping the run along with their winning percentages. The bottom five have a combined winning percentage of 40%. They win only 40% of their games. Only 25% of the teams in the bottom five made the playoffs in 2024. Only the Washington Commanders made the playoffs.
| BOTTOM 5 RUN DEFENES | ||||||||||
| Rk | TM | GM | Att | Yds | TD | YrdAtt | YrdGM | Win | Lose | Win% |
| 28 | Chicago Bears | 17 | 485 | 2,317 | 20 | 4.8 | 136.3 | 5 | 12 | 29.41% |
| 29 | Dallas Cowboys | 17 | 482 | 2,331 | 25 | 4.8 | 137.1 | 7 | 10 | 41.18% |
| 30 | Washington Commanders | 17 | 490 | 2,337 | 18 | 4.8 | 137.5 | 12 | 5 | 70.59% |
| 31 | New Orleans Saints | 17 | 489 | 2,404 | 20 | 4.9 | 141.4 | 5 | 12 | 29.41% |
| 32 | Carolina Panthers | 17 | 592 | 3,057 | 24 | 5.2 | 179.8 | 5 | 12 | 29.41% |
| 34 | 51 | 40.00% |
The winning percentage difference between the top five and bottom five run stoppers is a whopping 31.76%. And in the 2024 NFL season 100% of the teams in the top five made the playoffs versus only 25% of the bottom five.
Now let’s look at the top and bottom five pass defenses in the 2024 NFL season. Below are the top five pass defenses. All of the top five pass defenses gave up less than 200 yards per game. The Philadelphia Ealges who were ranked #1only gave up 174 yards per game. The top five pass defenses had a winning percentage of only 47.06% and only 2 of the 5 made the playoffs. The Eagles and Washington Commanders made the playoffs while the Tennessee Titans, NY Jets and SF 49ers did not.
| TOP 5 PASSING DEFENSES | ||||||||||
| Rk | Tm | GM | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | Y/G | Win | Lose | Win% |
| 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | 17 | 337 | 542 | 62.2 | 2,961 | 174.2 | 14 | 3 | 82.35% |
| 2 | Tennessee Titans | 17 | 314 | 473 | 66.4 | 3,014 | 177.3 | 3 | 14 | 17.65% |
| 3 | Washington Commanders | 17 | 307 | 496 | 61.9 | 3,221 | 189.5 | 12 | 5 | 70.59% |
| 4 | New York Jets | 17 | 327 | 521 | 62.8 | 3,275 | 192.6 | 5 | 12 | 29.41% |
| 5 | San Francisco 49ers | 17 | 338 | 516 | 65.5 | 3,278 | 192.8 | 6 | 11 | 35.29% |
| 40 | 45 | 47.06% | ||||||||
The below bottom five passing defenses stat shocked me!!!! Four of the five teams in the bottom five MADE the PLAYOFFS!!! Eighty percent of the teams in the bottom five in pass defense made the playoffs!! The only team to not make the playoffs in the bottom five was the Jacksonville Jags. The Vikings, Tampa Bay Bucs, Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Ravens were all in. The bottom five all gave up more than 242 yards per game. The winning percentage of the bottom five pass defenses was a shocking 64.71%!! The bottom five had a plus 17.65 winning percentage!!! Why would throw the ball against a team that can’t stop the run? That’s how a team let the NY Jets would be in the top five defending the pass.
