- The Cleveland Browns dominated in Week 12… Cleveland finished with 12 total sacks, led by three each from Myles Garrett and Maliek Collins, with Isaiah McGuire and Cameron Thomas adding two apiece.
- …Just like they have dominated all year: The Browns' defensive line ranks first in every major PFF metric through 12 weeks of the 2025 season. They own the league’s top overall grade, pass-rush grade and run-defense grade, and they also lead all defensive lines in PFF WAR. On the field, the dominance shows up just as clearly: they have the most sacks and the most defensive stops of any unit in the NFL.
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The defensive line is the heart of any successful defense, tasked with both disrupting the opposing quarterback with a pass rush and shutting down rushing attacks at the line of scrimmage.
Elite defensive lines can change the course of a game by applying pressure, forcing hurried throws and creating turnovers while also stifling run plays to control the tempo.
This season, we will closely monitor NFL defensive line play. Unlike our offensive line rankings, which in some cases consider previous-season rankings, these rankings will be based purely on 2025 play.
Here are the highlights for the top defensive lines after Week 12 of the 2025 season.
| Rank | Last Wk | Team | PFF Grade | Top Graded Player | Move | WAR Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Cleveland Browns | 90.6 | Myles Garrett | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | 4 | Los Angeles Rams | 83.4 | Jared Verse | +2 | 5 |
| 3 | 3 | Houston Texans | 82.4 | Will Anderson Jr. | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 81.6 | Nick Herbig | -2 | 2 |
| 5 | 5 | Detroit Lions | 79.2 | Aidan Hutchinson | 0 | 9 |
| 6 | 8 | Seattle Seahawks | 74.5 | Leonard Williams | +2 | 8 |
| 7 | 7 | Green Bay Packers | 74.2 | Micah Parsons | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | 6 | Philadelphia Eagles | 74.2 | Joshua Uche | -2 | 7 |
| 9 | 14 | Dallas Cowboys | 70.3 | Dante Fowler Jr. | +5 | 11 |
| 10 | 11 | Tennessee Titans | 68.4 | Jeffery Simmons | 1 | 19 |
| 11 | 9 | Buffalo Bills | 68.3 | Greg Rousseau | -2 | 14 |
| 12 | 12 | Denver Broncos | 67.2 | Nik Bonitto | 0 | 6 |
| 13 | 15 | Minnesota Vikings | 66.7 | Jonathan Greenard | +2 | 12 |
| 14 | 13 | New York Giants | 66.0 | Brian Burns | -1 | 10 |
| 15 | 10 | Indianapolis Colts | 65.6 | Laiatu Latu | -5 | 16 |
| 16 | 17 | Atlanta Falcons | 65.1 | Jalon Walker | +1 | 15 |
| 17 | 18 | New York Jets | 64.0 | Jowon Briggs | +1 | 26 |
| 18 | 16 | New England Patriots | 63.4 | Cory Durden | -2 | 13 |
| 19 | 19 | Washington Commanders | 63.3 | Dorance Armstrong | 0 | 20 |
| 20 | 22 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 62.7 | Josh Hines-Allen | +2 | 25 |
| 21 | 21 | Los Angeles Chargers | 61.7 | Teair Tart | 0 | 28 |
| 22 | 20 | Carolina Panthers | 61.4 | Derrick Brown | -2 | 23 |
| 23 | 23 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 60.3 | Vita Vea | 0 | 17 |
| 24 | 24 | New Orleans Saints | 59.0 | Chase Young | 0 | 27 |
| 25 | 29 | Las Vegas Raiders | 58.8 | Maxx Crosby | +4 | 18 |
| 26 | 25 | Arizona Cardinals | 58.6 | Josh Sweat | -1 | 21 |
| 27 | 26 | Kansas City Chiefs | 58.3 | George Karlaftis | -1 | 22 |
| 28 | 27 | Baltimore Ravens | 57.0 | John Jenkins | -1 | 30 |
| 29 | 28 | San Francisco 49ers | 55.5 | Bryce Huff | -1 | 24 |
| 30 | 31 | Cincinnati Bengals | 55.3 | Trey Hendrickson | +1 | 31 |
| 31 | 30 | Chicago Bears | 52.4 | Montez Sweat | -1 | 29 |
| 32 | 32 | Miami Dolphins | 49.5 | Benito Jones | 0 | 32 |
Week 12 Highlights
Best defensive line & best pass-rush unit: Cleveland Browns
While the NFL splits sacks among multiple players, PFF awards full credit for each sack earned — and the Browns defensive line piled them up against Geno Smith in Week 12.
Cleveland finished with 12 total sacks, led by three each from Myles Garrett and Maliek Collins, with Isaiah McGuire and Cameron Thomas adding two apiece.
Four Browns defenders earned overall grades of 76.1 or better, with Garrett’s 93.8 leading both the team and the NFL in Week 12. Garrett logged 12 pressures and five additional pass-rush wins, while McGuire added nine pressures and Thomas recorded two hits.
Since Week 7, rookie Mason Graham has emerged as the fourth-highest-graded rookie defensive player, giving the Browns consistent interior pressure alongside Collins.
Best Run-Defense Unit: Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks delivered a much-needed get-right performance after their Week 11 loss to the Rams. Leonard Williams led the defensive front with the top run-defense grade and added two run stops, and four Seattle defenders earned a grade of 74.1 or better against the Titans.
Williams, Derick Hall and Brandon Pili all posted clean sheets with no run-game downgrades. As a unit, Seattle produced the lowest downgrade rate and the highest positive grade rate of any defense in Week 12.
Risers and fallers
- Biggest Mover: Dallas Cowboys
- Biggest Faller: Indianapolis Colts
Season Highlights
Best defensive line, best run-defense unit & best pass-rush unit: Cleveland Browns
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find new ways to describe the same unit dominating every single week. Through 12 weeks of the 2025 season, the Browns' defensive line continues to rank among the NFL’s elite:
- 1st in overall grade
- 1st in pass-rush grade
- 1st in run-defense grade
- 1st in PFF WAR
- 1st in sacks
- 1st in defensive stops
It has been a truly dominant season for this group. Led by the presumptive Defensive Player of the Year — who is on pace to shatter the NFL’s single-season sack record — and backed by a revamped supporting cast, the Browns defensive line has been good enough to swing games on its own for a team that’s likely headed toward a top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
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