If you’ve ever watched your favorite quarterback drop back and realize, with a sinking feeling in your stomach, that the opposing secondary is basically a collection of cardboard cutouts, you’ve witnessed the pain of an NFL worst pass defense. It is a special kind of misery. You see a 3rd-and-15 and instead of being hopeful for a stop, you’re just wondering if the touchdown will be 40 yards or 60.
The 2025 season gave us some truly historic defensive meltdowns. While some teams figured out how to tighten the screws, others just... didn't.
Honestly, the "worst" label usually goes to the team that gives up the most yards. But yards are kinda a liar. If your offense scores 40 points in the first half, the other team is going to throw the ball 50 times in the second half just to keep up. That pads the stats. To really find the bottom of the barrel, you have to look at things like Expected Points Added (EPA) and how often a team gets torched on explosive plays.
The Cowboys and the 2025 Yardage Nightmare
By the time the regular season wrapped up in early January 2026, the Dallas Cowboys found themselves in a place nobody in Big D wanted to be. They officially allowed the most passing yards per game in the league, surrendering an average of 251.5 yards every single time they took the field.
It wasn't just the yardage, though. It was the way it happened.
Dallas allowed 35 passing touchdowns. That was the second-worst mark in the league, trailing only the New York Jets, who somehow managed to give up 36. When you’re giving up two touchdowns through the air every Sunday, you aren't winning many games unless your quarterback is putting up MVP numbers.
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Why Dallas struggled so much
- The "Parsons" Factor: When Micah Parsons is on, the pass rush hides a lot of sins in the secondary. When he's neutralized or dealing with the double-teams he saw all through 2025, the corners are left on an island.
- Explosive Plays: Dallas was a sieve for big gains. They weren't just getting beat; they were getting beat deep.
- Lack of Turnovers: In 2024, they were opportunistic. In 2025? They only grabbed 6 interceptions all year. That is an abysmal rate for a team with that much talent on paper.
The Metrics That Actually Matter: EPA and Efficiency
If you talk to any serious analyst, they'll tell you that raw yards are for fantasy players. Pros look at EPA/play (Expected Points Added). This basically asks: "How much did this specific pass attempt help the offense score?"
In 2025, the Washington Commanders and Cincinnati Bengals were fighting for the title of least efficient secondary. Washington, specifically, finished dead last in total defense efficiency, giving up 384.3 total yards per game. Their pass defense allowed a passer rate of 104.0 to opposing quarterbacks.
Basically, every QB who played Washington turned into prime Tom Brady for four quarters.
Then you have the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens. Both teams were tied near the bottom, giving up 247.9 passing yards per game. For Baltimore, this was a shocking fall from grace. Usually, the Ravens are the ones doing the bullying. In 2025, they were the ones getting bullied. They struggled with communication in the back end, leading to wide-open receivers in the seams that left fans screaming at their TVs.
The Top 5 Worst Pass Defenses of 2025 (By Yards Allowed)
| Team | Pass Yards/Game | Pass TDs Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 251.5 | 35 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 247.9 | 24 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 247.9 | 23 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 243.9 | 30 |
| Washington Commanders | 242.5 | 33 |
It’s wild to see the Steelers on here, right? Usually, T.J. Watt is enough to keep any pass defense respectable. But the 2025 season was brutal for the Pittsburgh secondary. They gave up 30 touchdowns and simply couldn't keep track of WR2s and slot receivers. It goes to show that even a GOAT-tier pass rusher can't fix a secondary that's fundamentally broken.
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What Most People Get Wrong About Bad Pass Defense
We often blame the cornerbacks. "Oh, he got burned again!" is the common refrain.
But a bad pass defense is almost always a collaborative failure. If the defensive line isn't getting home, the secondary has to cover for five, six, seven seconds. No human being can cover an NFL wide receiver for seven seconds. It's impossible.
The New York Jets are a perfect example. They had a pass rush that ranked in the bottom half of the league in pressures, and as a result, they gave up a league-high 36 passing touchdowns. Their corners weren't necessarily "bad," they were just exhausted.
Conversely, look at the Houston Texans. They had a top-five unit because Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter were living in the opponent's backfield. They gave up only 183.5 passing yards per game. When the QB is running for his life, he doesn't have time to find the open man.
Surprising Fall: The San Francisco 49ers
One of the most shocking developments of the 2025 season was the decline of the 49ers' pass defense. Historically a powerhouse, they finished the regular season as the 8th-worst pass defense, allowing 232.4 yards per game.
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Opposing quarterbacks had a field day against them, posting a collective 100.5 passer rating. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, this was a massive red flag. They allowed 29 touchdowns through the air—a number that would have been unthinkable for a Kyle Shanahan-coached team a few years ago.
Teams figured out that if you can neutralize their front four, the middle of the field is wide open. The 49ers' linebackers, while fast, were often caught out of position in zone coverage, leading to massive gains for guys like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who averaged over 100 yards per game in 2025.
Actionable Insights for the 2026 Offseason
If your team ended up on the nfl worst pass defense list this year, there are three things they probably need to do immediately.
- Prioritize the "Slot" Corner: The days of just needing two good outside corners are over. The most efficient passing games now live in the slot. If you don't have a twitchy, smart nickel corner, you're going to give up 240+ yards every week.
- Safety Versatility: Teams like the Ravens struggled because their safeties were too specialized. You need guys who can play "robber" roles and disguise coverages until the last possible second.
- Pressure Rate over Sack Count: Coaches need to stop chasing sacks and start chasing "hurries." Consistent pressure forces bad throws and leads to interceptions. The teams with the worst pass defenses in 2025 almost all shared a common trait: they were in the bottom third for pressure percentage.
Fixing a secondary isn't just about drafting a guy in the first round. It's about building a system where the rush and the coverage actually talk to each other. Until the Cowboys, Commanders, and Bengals figure that out, they'll be right back on this list next year.
Next Steps for Fans and Analysts:
Check the 2026 Free Agency rankings specifically for interior pass rushers and nickel corners. These are the "fix-it" positions that usually take a bottom-tier pass defense and turn them into a league-average unit overnight. Also, keep an eye on coaching changes; a switch from a heavy man-coverage scheme to a disguised zone (like what we saw in Seattle this year) can drastically reduce the number of explosive plays allowed.