The 10 Best NFL Defenses Over the Last Decade

2. 2008 Baltimore Ravens

In case you haven’t been keeping track, this is the third team from 2008 among the top-five defenses of the past decade.

The 2008 Ravens were the second best defense of the last decade in terms of both Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP and Adjusted Defensive Rushing NEP. They also allowed the third-fewest points per game (15.3), the second fewest yards per play (4.5), and the overall fewest first downs per game (14.3).

As was the case for 11 seasons during the early part of the 2000s, Ed Reed was the last line of defense for Baltimore. He tied his career high with nine interceptions to lead the league and set a new career best with two touchdowns. The defense as a whole forced at least one turnover in all but one game, and had five games with three or more takeaways.

Baltimore held their opponents to 13 or less points in 10 regular season games and twice in their three playoff games.

Unfortunately, they had to they had to play the eventual Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers twice, resulting in two of their five regular season losses. The other three losses came courtesy of the New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, and Tennessee Titans -- the same three teams that defeated our third-best defense on this list. They didn’t lose a single game to a team who won less than 12 games.

The Ravens received little help from their offense in those games, scoring 14 points or less in all but one loss -- a Week 3 overtime defeat to the Steelers.

Avenging their regular season loss, they bested the Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs before falling to the Steelers once again in the AFC Championship game.