With that fourth Super Bowl title in hand, few would dispute that the Patriots have been the best team of the current era. Looking back over the past five years, they've also had the best fantasy defense.
The table below shows average fantasy points per game for each NFL team in each of the last five years. The final column shows the five-year average. In a scoring system that awards 1 point for sacks, 2 points for turnovers, and 6 points for defensive and special teams touchdowns, New England (8.8 fantasy points per game) has been No. 1. The Bears are No. 2, and then it's a step down to the next three (Arizona, Green Bay and Seattle).
Things change from year to year, and the Patriots have lost some players. They're not an elite defense right now. But don't underestimate them.
| DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS FANTASY PPG, 2010-2014 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | '10 | '11 | '12 | '13 | '14 | Avg. |
| New England | 10.4 | 8.3 | 10.2 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 8.8 |
| Chicago | 8.0 | 9.4 | 11.8 | 8.1 | 6.2 | 8.7 |
| Arizona | 9.6 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 8.8 | 7.2 | 8.0 |
| Green Bay | 8.4 | 9.2 | 7.3 | 6.6 | 8.3 | 8.0 |
| Seattle | 7.4 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 9.4 | 6.6 | 7.9 |
| Buffalo | 5.9 | 8.4 | 6.5 | 8.4 | 8.8 | 7.6 |
| San Francisco | 6.9 | 8.6 | 6.8 | 8.1 | 7.0 | 7.5 |
| Philadelphia | 7.8 | 7.8 | 3.9 | 7.2 | 10.7 | 7.5 |
| St. Louis | 6.1 | 5.7 | 7.9 | 9.3 | 7.5 | 7.3 |
| NY Giants | 7.8 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 6.9 | 6.6 | 7.3 |
| Cincinnati | 5.7 | 7.2 | 8.4 | 9.2 | 5.3 | 7.2 |
| Detroit | 8.0 | 9.6 | 4.4 | 6.6 | 6.9 | 7.1 |
| Baltimore | 6.6 | 8.1 | 7.3 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 7.1 |
| Denver | 4.4 | 6.7 | 9.5 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 7.1 |
| Dallas | 8.6 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 7.9 | 6.8 | 7.0 |
| Carolina | 6.1 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 9.0 | 6.9 | 6.8 |
| Kansas City | 6.8 | 5.8 | 3.8 | 11.6 | 5.8 | 6.8 |
| Tennessee | 7.0 | 6.1 | 8.9 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 6.8 |
| Minnesota | 6.2 | 6.5 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 6.7 |
| NY Jets | 8.4 | 7.9 | 6.8 | 5.3 | 4.6 | 6.6 |
| Pittsburgh | 8.9 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 7.4 | 6.6 |
| Atlanta | 7.7 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 6.5 |
| Houston | 4.1 | 6.9 | 8.4 | 4.3 | 9.0 | 6.5 |
| Tampa Bay | 6.6 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 7.3 | 6.1 | 6.5 |
| Cleveland | 6.4 | 4.9 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 6.5 |
| San Diego | 6.9 | 5.8 | 9.4 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 6.4 |
| Washington | 6.3 | 5.6 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 4.7 | 6.3 |
| Indianapolis | 6.4 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 6.2 |
| Miami | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 6.1 |
| Oakland | 8.8 | 6.6 | 3.9 | 6.6 | 3.9 | 6.0 |
| New Orleans | 6.1 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 5.7 |
| Jacksonville | 4.3 | 6.9 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 5.6 |
--Andy Richardson