In the latest of our NFL power ranking articles, we take a look at who we believe are going to be the top defences heading into the 2022 season.

The old saying in the game is that offence wins games, but defence wins championships. Across the history of the NFL, there have always been those teams that have won a title off the back of a strong defence. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s had the Steel Curtain, the Seattle Seahawks became a force in the league off the back of the Legion of Boom, and arguably the greatest of all time were the 1985 Chicago Bears, simply called ‘The 85 Bears’. 

And whilst the NFL is predominantly an offence-orientated league based off the back of some incredible quarterbacks, there are still some top-notch defences that have the power to disrupt anyone and anything that tries to get in their way.

But just who are the best of the best heading into the 2022 NFL season? We at GiveMeSport have gone through the stats from last year, looked at who the teams have added and got rid of, and come up with who we think are the top 10 defences heading into this upcoming season:

10 - Kansas City Chiefs

This might be a bit of a surprise as they are starting from a pretty low standard compared to where they were last year, where they gave up 6,272 yards in total, which ranked 27th in the league overall, but there has been a lot of turnover in terms of personnel that we think are for the better.

The addition of youngsters like edge rusher George Karlaftis and cornerback Trent McDuffie as well as veteran Carlos Dunlap have the potential to give the defensive unit a big boost and as a result take some of the pressure off of Patrick Mahomes so that he doesn’t have to always be the hero and have to win in a shootout every week. 

9 - Indianapolis Colts

Did lose a key piece of their secondary in the form of Xavier Rhodes to free agency, but were able to make what we think is a big upgrade by bringing in Stephon Gilmore from the Carolina Panthers, whilst also adding a big pass-rushing presence in the form of Yannick Ngakoue.

And when you add them to a defence marshalled by All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard, you have a team that has the potential to be a real force in the NFL and can really provide a boost to the team as a whole.

8 - Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles come into the season from a pretty decent starting position having ranked 10th in terms of total yards last season and have managed to keep the vast majority of the core together, although did lose Hassan Ridgeway to the San Francisco 49ers.

Luckily though they managed to pick up the idea replacement in the NFL Draft, as they snagged the mammoth Jordan Davis to plug the middle of the line alongside Fletcher Cox to provide a really solid foundation in which to dominate the trenches. 

7 - Green Bay Packers

Another team who come into the season from a pretty good starting point as they rank 9th in terms of yards given up, and managed to keep a lot of the key players from that side of the ball over the summer, but crucially were able to bring in two highly-rated members of the Georgia Bulldogs defence in defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt and linebacker Quay Walker. 

If they can recreate what they did in the college game on the professional level, then they have the ability to be a real force in the league for a decade.

6 - Los Angeles Rams

If you constructed a defence that had Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey and nine pieces of wood on it, you could probably still make your way into the playoffs with that personnel alone, such is their ability when it comes to dominating their area of the field.

Whilst they did lose Von Miller having picked him up in a trade last season, they did find a pretty decent replacement to the linebacking room in the form of Bobby Wagner and we don’t expect them to miss a beat in their attempts to try and become the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the 2003-04 New England Patriots.

5 - Dallas Cowboys

The league leaders in turnovers last year with 34, and having found a real star of the future in the draft in the form of Defensive Rookie of the Year Micah Parsons who had 13 sacks last year and doesn’t look as if he’s going to slow down anytime soon. 

And with an incredible pass rush that includes the likes of veteran Demarcus Lawrence and offseason signing Dante Fowler, and lockdown corner Trevon Diggs who made his debut 1st-team All-Pro appearance last season, and this team could make a run at being the best in the league when all is said and done. 

4 - Los Angeles Chargers

Much like the Kansas City Chiefs, this is a team that starts from a very low position having ranked 23rd in terms of yards given up last year, but they made two additions to the defensive side of the ball that we think could be game changers for them over the course of the season in the form of linebacking duo Kyle Van Noy and Khalil Mack.

With their presence, they should be able to make some plays and give Justin Herbert on the other side of the ball a few more opportunities to make some big plays and hopefully see them take that next step forward as a franchise.

3 - Pittsburgh Steelers

Whilst they did give up a lot of yards on the ground last year, in fact the most in the league with 2,483, having led the league in sacks for the past five years, you simply can’t ignore a side that has the reigning Defensive Player of the Year on it in the form of T.J. Watt.

With the return of Tyson Alualu to the defensive line after being injured for the vast majority of last year, and the addition of Myles Jack at linebacker, they could provide crucial support in the run game to then allow the likes of Watt and Cam Heyward to do their thing in terms of rushing the passer and get them back to their glory days once again.

2 - San Francisco 49ers

Now we go back to teams that start off from a good starting point overall, as the 49ers ranked 3rd in terms of yards given up last year and who have managed to keep a lagre part of the team together, and any team that has Nick Bosa on their line is always going to be causing teams trouble.

Add to that Hasan Ridgeway coming over from the Eagles to strengthen the middle of the defensive line, and you have a team who shouldn’t have any trouble in repeating that sort of success in the 2022 season.

1 - Buffalo Bills

The cream of the crop last season, as they ranked #1 in terms of yards allowed, the only team to keep their opponents to under 5,000 across the campaign whilst also adding 30 turnovers, and whilst they did rank 11th in sacks, the addition of Von Miller in free agency should see those numbers increase.

Having lost the final game of the season last year in a shootout with the Kansas City Chiefs, adding someone like Miller to make the odd stop here and there could be the crucial difference that sees them take that next step and live up to the hype that is surrounding them this year.