- The Denver Broncos excelled with the four-man rush: Denver, like Philadelphia, depends on defensive position depth to gas its strain. Including the postseason, the Broncos had 4 completely different linemen log not less than 50 pressures and eight sacks.
- Jeff Hafley managed to generate strain in Green Bay regardless of a defensive position that didn’t constantly win with a regular rush: When the Packers did blitz, they led the NFL in strain price and ranked third in pass-rush win price.
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Estimated studying time: 7 minutes
With NFL groups throwing on over 60% of performs, the necessity to disrupt quarterbacks within the pocket has by no means been higher.
Every protection within the NFL has its personal technique for producing strain, making it worthwhile to look at how the league’s prime pass-rushing groups obtained the job achieved in 2024, whether or not by way of customary rushes, blitzes or inventive stunts.
Standard Pass Rush (4 or fewer rushers)
Depending on personnel or scheme philosophy, many defensive playcallers prioritize producing strain with out blitzing, believing it is the simplest option to disrupt quarterbacks whereas maximizing protection.
A primary instance from 2024 was Vic Fangio’s Philadelphia Eagles, who overwhelmed Kansas City’s offensive line with a regular rush of their Super Bowl win. That method wasn’t distinctive to the Eagles; it was a defining pattern throughout a number of prime defenses final season.
NFL Pressure Rate Leaders: Four or Fewer Pass Rushers
| Denver Broncos | 39.3% |
| Cleveland Browns | 38.2% |
| Seattle Seahawks | 36.6% |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 35.5% |
| Detroit Lions | 35.2% |
Most of the groups listed above function not less than one premier defensive lineman, giving them the posh of pressuring quarterbacks with a regular rush. Notably, Cleveland, Seattle and Philadelphia all ranked within the backside half of the league in blitz price, relying as an alternative on expertise up entrance. On the flip facet, Denver and Detroit had been among the many NFL’s six most frequent blitzing groups.
Philadelphia’s desire for retaining two safeties deep was enabled by its wealth of expertise alongside the defensive entrance. The Eagles had eight certified linemen earn a pass-rush grade of not less than 66.0 final season, together with inside defenders Milton Williams, Jalen Carter and Moro Ojomo — all of whom ranked among the many prime six at their place in pass-rush grade.
Cleveland and Detroit are unsurprising entries right here, because of the presence of Myles Garrett and Aidan Hutchinson. Garrett’s dominance was central to the Browns ending top-three in strain price, pass-rush win price and general pass-rush grade. Detroit, in the meantime, badly wants a wholesome season from Hutchinson after rating simply twenty fifth in pass-rush grade on customary rushes from Week 7 onward.
Denver, like Philadelphia, depends on defensive position depth to gas its strain. Including the postseason, the Broncos had 4 completely different linemen log not less than 50 pressures and eight sacks. Seattle discovered its groove on the inside, the place Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed posted the perfect PFF grades of their careers.
A notable omission from the sooner desk is the Pittsburgh Steelers. With T.J. Watt anchoring the move rush, Pittsburgh led the league in pass-rush grade and ranked fourth in pass-rush win price on customary rushes. The subject? Opponents usually neutralized that benefit by getting the ball out shortly, focusing on the Steelers’ weaker protection unit.
Blitzes
Some defensive coordinators favor to remain aggressive by dialing up blitzes, aiming to maintain quarterbacks uncomfortable moderately than letting them settle within the pocket. While sacks are the best consequence, the true worth usually lies in dashing up the quarterback’s decision-making, creating strain that disrupts timing, forces errors and alters the rhythm of an offense.
NFL Pressure Rate Leaders: Blitzes
| Green Bay Packers | 48.3% |
| New York Jets | 48.2% |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 45.2% |
| Cleveland Browns | 44.8% |
| Indianapolis Colts | 44.7% |
Jeff Hafley managed to generate strain in Green Bay regardless of a defensive position that didn’t constantly win with a regular rush. When the Packers did blitz, they led the NFL in strain price and ranked third in pass-rush win price. A major a part of that success got here from rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, who earned a 90.0 move rush grade, and cornerback Keisean Nixon, who posted a 92.7 grade on his blitzes.
The New York Jets, below Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich, hardly ever blitzed however had been extremely efficient once they did. With Aaron Glenn now taking up as head coach, there’s an opportunity he capitalizes on that effectivity. His former crew, the Detroit Lions, blitzed on the sixth-highest price within the league final season.
Steve Spagnuolo is one other acquainted title on this listing, as he has lengthy been often called a grasp at producing unblocked strain by way of his unique blitz schemes. Including the postseason, Kansas City racked up 60 unblocked pressures, the third-most within the league behind solely Minnesota and Tampa Bay, the 2 most frequent blitzing groups in 2024.
The Steelers and Eagles are value highlighting once more. While they ranked seventh and 14th in strain price when blitzing, they led the league in pass-rush grade and pass-rush win price. Those metrics underscore simply how efficient they had been at forcing quarterbacks to hurry up their decision-making course of.
Stunts
Deploying stunts up entrance is a inventive and efficient option to disrupt opposing offensive strains and generate unblocked strain. When executed effectively with a regular four-man rush, stunts can function a extremely environment friendly different to blitzing. Many defensive coordinators additionally incorporate them into their blitz packages, compounding the confusion for offensive linemen and creating much more alternatives to strain the quarterback.
NFL Pressure Rate Leaders: Stunts
| Los Angeles Rams | 51.4% |
| Cleveland Browns | 48.6% |
| Minnesota Vikings | 48.6% |
| Chicago Bears | 48.6% |
| Green Bay Packers | 46.7% |
Jared Verse and the Rams make their first look right here, ending with the fifth-highest stunt price within the league. More impressively, they had been the simplest crew when utilizing stunts, main the NFL in strain price, rating second in move rush grade and inserting fourth in pass-rush win price in these conditions.
The subsequent three groups on the listing convey various ranges of intrigue. Cleveland’s repeated presence throughout strain metrics underscores simply how dominant Myles Garrett and the remainder of their defensive position had been. While Brian Flores and the Vikings are recognized extra for his or her blitz-heavy method, they had been extremely environment friendly with stunts as effectively, tying for second in strain price when utilizing them.
The Bears struggled general to generate strain, however discovered relative success when stunting below Matt Eberflus. That might be significantly fascinating to the Dallas Cowboys, who led the league in pass-rush grade and ranked second in pass-rush win price when operating stunts final season. It’s a stylistic overlap that would bode effectively for Dallas in 2025.