Through nine games, the Carolina Panthers have an average overall defense. That’s certainly good enough to win games in this league, but the splits of their run defense vs pass defense is astounding. Their pass defense is currently ranked No. 3 in the NFL per DVOA, but their run defense (ranked No. 32) brings their overall defense to No. 15 overall per DVOA.
I am firmly of the belief that pass defense matters more in today’s NFL than run defense. However, these type of splits are not healthy. For example, in 2017 the Jacksonville Jaguars had the best defense per DVOA.