We saw several great defenses stake their claim Sunday to be considered as the NFL's best in a number of different ways. The Ravens got ahead of the Lions early and delivered one of the most comprehensive victories of the season. The Chiefs shut out the Chargers after halftime to win their sixth straight game and put a stranglehold on the AFC West. And while the Browns allowed 38 points to the Colts, a defense that was on a historic pace through five games came up with multiple key plays to help swing another close victory for one of the league's most surprising teams.
After seven weeks, which of those teams has the best defense? Is it one of those three winners from Sunday? Could it be a team that spent the week on bye or one that suited up Thursday? Should we be talking about the 49ers, who line up against the Vikings on "Monday Night Football"? They've held five of their first six opponents under 20 points.
Let's sort through the data and what I've seen this season to choose the best defense in football through seven weeks. There are seven plausible candidates, with a gap between the top three and the other four. I'll list those as honorable mentions before ranking the top three. The NFL's best defense is an easy pick to me, but that team is stuck in the most impossible situation of the bunch in terms of translating its defense into competing for a Super Bowl.
I'll start with the runners-up before hitting the top three. Let's begin with a team whose defense helped it pull out a stunning upset when we saw it last:
Jump to a contender:
49ers | Browns
Chiefs | Cowboys
Jets | Ravens | Saints
Honorable mentions
New York Jets (3-3)
There's no denying that the Jets made it through the most brutal part of their schedule by winning games with their defense. Robert Saleh's group forced four turnovers in the dramatic Week 1 victory over the Bills and four more in last Sunday's comeback win over the Eagles. A New York team that forced 16 turnovers across the entire 2022 season has 13 through six games, and it has needed those takeaways to stay afloat with Zach Wilson at quarterback.
Even with those turnovers, this defense isn't playing as well as its reputation would suggest. The Jets have a good defense, but this isn't the dominant group we saw from a year ago, at least on a play-by-play basis.
Let's consider three metrics that do a good job of encapsulating team defense. In terms of points allowed per possession, the Jets rank 11th, just behind the Bucs and Falcons. A year ago, they were second in the same category, trailing only the 49ers. It would be fair to assume they have faced a ton of drives starting with terrible starting field position given their offense, but they actually have inherited the league's sixth-best average starting field position this season, up from 30th a year ago.