NFL defenses are lagging behind offenses early

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills kicked off Week 2 in the NFL with another spectacular performance on offense.

Allen had five touchdowns total and the Bills beat the Detroit Lions 41-31 on Thursday night.

Cardinals will test-drive newfound confidence vs defending champ Seahawks

After the league tied a record for points in an opening week — an average of 49.4 per game — the Bills and Lions put up 72.

Why are scores soaring?

“I can’t (explain it) because typically it’s like the other way — offenses are trying to get going and defenses can be ahead,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said. “I watched some around-the-league stuff, and it felt like guys just were making plays. There (were) a ton of plays being made after the catch, but you bring it up — defenses are so limited with what they can do based on the rules (before) you get to live tackling, and it’s a different ballgame.”

Poor tackling contributes to more scoring. Tackling is poor because teams don’t practice it as often.

Contact is prohibited throughout offseason workouts per the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union.

There’s a five-day acclimation period at the beginning of training camp. Teams are limited to 16 padded practice days during training camp, down from 28 under the previous CBA. Even during padded practices, there isn’t live tackling every play. Teams can have no more than three consecutive days of padded practices during three of the five camp weeks and no more than two consecutive days during the other two weeks.

Long gone are the days when teams used to hold two-a-day full-contact practices in camp.

“We don’t bring players to the ground. I mean, we’re pros at the end of the day. But we’ve all played football before. We all should be able to know how to tackle,” Texans All-Pro edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. said.

Houston’s defense, which was No. 1 last year in fewest yards allowed, was shredded by Allen and the Bills last week.

“Coaches put us in a lot of positions to be able to get guys down on the ground and finish the right way. There’s really no excuse. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t play in preseason or not. When the ball is snapped and you’re in front of the TV and you’re a professional football player, you have to go out there and perform the way you need to perform,” Anderson said.

Denver, which allowed the third-fewest points in 2025, couldn’t stop Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a 31-10 loss on Monday night.

“I think it just all goes in toward effort,” Broncos two-time All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II said. “Tackling is one of those things where you have to be intentional with it. You have to bring pads, feet and you have to wrap your arms. I just feel like we were assuming that the ball carrier was going to go down at the moment rather than finishing at the end of the day.”

The Texans have another tough challenge this week facing Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Coach DeMeco Ryans won’t stand for another terrible effort.

“The expectation for us defensively is for everybody to improve. Last Sunday wasn’t good enough, not from any one position,” Ryans said. “We play collectively as a defense and when we play together and everybody’s doing their job, being where they’re supposed to be, doing what they’re supposed to do, we play really good defensive football.”

With so many teams holding players out of preseason games, joint practices have become the best way to get ready for the regular season. Still, it’s a controlled environment, quarterbacks aren’t getting hit and nobody wants to risk injury.

The first couple weeks of the season are an extension of training camp. Players on offense and defense are still acclimating to the physical nature of the game.

It used to be an advantage for the defense because offenses didn’t get enough reps to get in sync. Seventeen games in, it’s the other way around.

Of course, Allen and the Bills and Jared Goff and the Lions run two of the league’s most dynamic offenses. They make even the best defenses seem pedestrian.

NFC West Check-In: 49ers lose rookie WR and a TE to injury

Related

A look at the past 5 backup QBs to start for the SeahawksStacy Rost: 3 numbers that matter for Seahawks vs CardinalsSeahawks-Cardinals Info: TV, radio, uniforms and moreWhat Big Ray liked about Seahawks’ O-line in debutInjury Report: Little change for Seahawks, while Cardinals trend downCardinals will test-drive newfound confidence vs defending champ Seahawks