NFL Defense vs Position Rankings 2020-21

Fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks by every NFL defense • Final season

Completed 2020-21 season: every column is that season's real per-game average, with no blending or projection.
QB RB WR TE
●Elite Matchup (Target)
●Good Matchup
●Average
●Tough
●Avoid

Best QB Matchups (Most Points Allowed)

#1 Atlanta Falcons 26.1 FPA
#2 Detroit Lions 25.4 FPA
#3 New York Jets 24.0 FPA

Toughest QB Matchups (Fewest Points Allowed)

#32 Los Angeles Rams 14.8 FPA
#31 Pittsburgh Steelers 15.6 FPA
#30 Green Bay Packers 17.2 FPA
Rank Team DK FPA FD FPA vs Avg 2019-20/G 2020-21/G L4 Pass Yds Pass TD INT Sacks QB Rush Yds Trend
1
Atlanta Falcons
26.1
 24.0
+5.8
21.9 26.1 24.4 307.4 2.12 0.69 1.8 21.6
2
Detroit Lions
25.4
 24.2
+5.1
22.3 25.4 38.3 297.1 2.38 0.44 1.5 10.0
3
New York Jets
24.0
 22.5
+3.7
18.5 24.0 22.0 283.1 2.06 0.62 1.9 18.0
4
Jacksonville Jaguars
23.6
 22.4
+3.3
19.3 23.6 21.7 270.1 2.12 0.75 1.1 19.4
5
Tennessee Titans
23.4
 22.1
+3.1
19.5 23.4 22.4 286.7 2.25 0.94 1.2 14.1
6
Seattle Seahawks
22.2
 20.6
+1.9
19.0 22.2 11.9 300.7 1.44 0.88 2.9 20.8
7
Las Vegas Raiders
22.1
 20.7
+1.8
— 22.1 24.0 270.8 1.75 0.62 1.3 13.4
8
Cleveland Browns
22.0
 20.6
+1.7
19.2 22.0 22.4 260.4 1.88 0.69 2.4 23.8
9
Kansas City Chiefs
21.8
 20.5
+1.5
17.6 21.8 29.1 246.4 1.81 1.00 2.0 17.4
10
Houston Texans
21.4
 20.4
+1.1
23.3 21.4 24.2 270.2 1.88 0.19 2.1 10.0
11
Denver Broncos
21.2
 20.4
+0.9
16.1 21.2 25.9 253.2 1.31 0.62 2.6 23.6
12
Carolina Panthers
21.0
 19.7
+0.7
18.9 21.0 22.8 251.5 1.75 0.44 1.8 15.6
13
Los Angeles Chargers
21.0
 20.3
+0.7
15.1 21.0 18.0 228.5 1.69 0.75 1.7 21.4
14
Buffalo Bills
20.9
 19.3
+0.6
13.8 20.9 15.1 244.6 1.44 0.94 2.4 20.4
15
Dallas Cowboys
20.7
 19.6
+0.4
17.6 20.7 19.5 234.7 2.06 0.62 1.9 22.9
16
Philadelphia Eagles
20.5
 19.3
+0.2
18.4 20.5 25.5 256.0 1.69 0.50 3.1 25.5
17
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
20.3
 19.2
0.0
21.8 20.3 19.9 268.3 1.81 0.94 2.9 16.4
18
Arizona Cardinals
20.2
 19.3
-0.1
25.2 20.2 19.6 246.1 1.56 0.69 2.9 28.3
19
Minnesota Vikings
20.0
 18.8
-0.3
16.4 20.0 19.5 266.7 1.88 0.94 1.4 11.2
20
Cincinnati Bengals
19.9
 19.0
-0.4
21.5 19.9 20.2 245.2 2.00 0.69 1.1 17.4
21
Miami Dolphins
19.7
 18.3
-0.6
23.1 19.7 23.1 273.4 1.31 1.12 2.6 19.8
22
Indianapolis Colts
19.5
 17.9
-0.8
20.6 19.5 25.6 255.1 1.50 0.94 2.5 13.8
23
Baltimore Ravens
18.3
 17.5
-2.0
13.7 18.3 16.4 235.8 1.31 0.62 2.4 14.1
24
Chicago Bears
18.3
 18.0
-2.0
15.3 18.3 19.3 246.1 1.75 0.62 2.2 13.0
25
San Francisco 49ers
18.3
 17.4
-2.0
17.1 18.3 13.5 219.6 1.56 0.75 1.9 27.9
26
New England Patriots
17.9
 17.4
-2.4
12.8 17.9 20.9 231.8 1.38 1.12 1.5 18.6
27
New York Giants
17.8
 16.9
-2.5
22.6 17.8 18.8 257.4 1.31 0.69 2.5 18.3
28
New Orleans Saints
17.4
 16.9
-2.9
19.6 17.4 20.7 234.8 1.75 1.12 2.8 15.6
29
Washington Commanders
17.4
 16.7
-2.9
21.3 17.4 13.9 210.2 1.31 1.00 2.9 23.3
30
Green Bay Packers
17.2
 16.8
-3.1
15.2 17.2 15.8 237.1 1.44 0.69 2.6 16.8
31
Pittsburgh Steelers
15.6
 15.3
-4.7
15.3 15.6 16.7 218.4 1.38 1.12 3.5 21.9
32
Los Angeles Rams
14.8
 14.4
-5.5
17.4 14.8 13.2 212.6 1.06 0.88 3.3 15.1

How These Ratings Work

FPA (Fantasy Points Allowed)

Every player game is scored with official DraftKings and FanDuel scoring (including DK yardage bonuses), then the position group is totaled per game. Higher FPA means a softer defense to target.

Season Blend

This is the completed 2020-21 season: every column is that season's real per-game average, with no blending or projection.

Moving Averages

The 2019-20/G, 2020-21/G, and L4 columns show the raw windows feeding the rating, so you can see exactly why a defense ranks where it does.

vs Average and Trend

vs Avg compares a defense to the league mean for the position (20.3 FPA for QBs). The trend arrow flags defenses drifting softer or tougher over their last four games.

Defense vs Position FAQ

What is NFL Defense vs Position (DvP)?

Defense vs Position measures how many fantasy points and raw stats each NFL defense allows to a specific position (QB, RB, WR, TE). It is built from real box scores: every player at that position who faced the defense, summed per game and averaged.

How are fantasy points allowed calculated?

We score every player game with official DraftKings and FanDuel scoring, including DraftKings 100-yard and 300-yard bonuses, then total the position group per game. FPA is the per-game average of those totals.

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to quarterbacks?

Softest 2020-21 matchups for QBs: Atlanta Falcons (26.1 FPA), Detroit Lions (25.4 FPA), New York Jets (24.0 FPA).

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to running backs?

Softest 2020-21 matchups for RBs: Houston Texans (33.6 FPA), Detroit Lions (32.5 FPA), Jacksonville Jaguars (30.8 FPA).

Which defenses allow the most fantasy points to wide receivers?

Softest 2020-21 matchups for WRs: Atlanta Falcons (47.5 FPA), Tennessee Titans (45.8 FPA), Detroit Lions (45.7 FPA).

How is this different early in the season?

This is the completed 2020-21 season: every column is that season's real per-game average, with no blending or projection.

Put These Matchups to Work

Pair the softest defenses with our NFL weekly projections, attack them in the DFS lineup optimizer, or shop the numbers on the player props board. Check the weekly schedule to see who draws each matchup next.