Ranking top 5 NFL defenses heading into Week 7 | NFL 2021-22 season

Seattle Seahawks v Pittsburgh Steelers

The Top 3 NFL defenses

#3 - Pittsburgh Steelers

The best NFL defenses can boost morale in camp and the fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers enter their bye week with a win has a lot to do with their defense. They make the top 3 of our NFL defenses this week after they limited DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to less than 100 yards, not a mean feat at all.

In fact, with their offense misfiring, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had to depend a lot on their defense.

Personnel including T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith recorded 3.5 sacks in total, while the latter also had 4 quarterback hits. Their presence makes the Steelers one of the leading NFL defenses.

#2 - Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills have blown teams out of the water because of their offense. But that ignores just how good their defense has been. They did have a stinker against the Tennessee Titans, and if we had to look at that game in isolation, there's no way they would make it to the Top 3 defenses in the league. But heading into Week 7, their overall record still stands out.

Barring the Tennessee game, the Bills were the top NFL defense heading into Week 6 in terms of points allowed. We will consider the Titans game an aberration and keep them this high.

#1 - Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals remain unbeaten and the offense is turbocharged, but the defense must also be considered as a vital cog in their success so far. In their last game against the Cleveland Browns, they allowed just 14 points, one of which was a Hail Mary.

They had 5 sacks and 6 quarterback hits and, despite the Hail Mary, limited the Browns to less than 300 yards of passing and rushing. Considering that their rushing defense was poor coming into this game, their solid performance against a team that has a good running rhythm is a serious cause of optimism.