Top Defensive Lines In The NFL This Season

Jason Pierre-Paul Wraps Up Mark Sanchez

The NFL has quickly morphed into a passing league. Quarterbacks are routinely throwing for more than 4,000 yards in a season. A handful of them even threw for 5,000 yards or more last season. This means that getting to the quarterback is essential. Due to the advent of the spread offense, a defense must rely mostly on the front four to get a pass rush. Which teams do this the best?

New York Giants

The Giants rely so much on their front four for a pass rush. Guys like Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora have been dominating the league for years. Their efforts are the reason why they have won two championships in the last five seasons. They scare opposing quarterbacks and keep offensive coordinators up at night trying to game plan for them.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills signed defensive end Mario Williams to a contract worth $100 million in March. They also acquired defensive end Mark Anderson as well. Combined with Kyle Williams and Marcel Dareus, the Bills have one of the best front fours in all of football. They started to show some promise with five sacks against the Chiefs two weeks ago. 

Denver Broncos

Lead by Elvis Dumervil, the Broncos have a solid front four that can limit your ability to run as well as get to the quarterback. You don't want to be a quarterback dropping back to pass when that pass rush is coming at you. Throw in linebacker Von Miller and you have a nasty front seven to contend with. 

San Francisco 49ers

Justin Smith is finally getting his turn in the spotlight. He has been solid his entire career, however, people are just now starting to see him as a star. Smith can play defensive end or defensive tackle. Not too many guys can do that. The rest of the line is also solid when it comes to getting to the quarterback. If the other team wants to run it, they pretty much wish you had passed. San Francisco hasn't allowed a rushing touchdown at home in nine games. 

Houston Texans

Second-year defensive end J.J Watt has five and a half sacks so far this season. While the Texans have only played one formidable opponent in the Broncos, their play up front so far has been outstanding. The Dolphins, Jaguars and Broncos had a hard time running the ball with any consistency. 

If your team is thinking about being a contender in the NFL, then your team better have a good defensive line. There is no better way to keep a team from scoring than to disrupt their offensive rhythm. Disrupting rhythm and timing is all about getting into the backfield to meet the running back or quarterback before he has any time to make a play.

In case you missed it, check out my rankings for the NFL's top linebacking corps and secondary units.