# NFL EPA rankings 2026

> In the 2026 season the most efficient offense by EPA per play belongs to the San Francisco 49ers (+0.180), and the best defense to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-0.164 allowed). Among quarterbacks with at least 120 dropbacks, Brock Purdy leads in EPA per dropback (+0.306).

- Source: https://pigskinnightly.com/epa
- Publisher: Pigskin Nightly (https://pigskinnightly.com)
- Updated: 2026-11-10T14:52:10.014Z
- Method: https://pigskinnightly.com/methodology
- Please cite as: Pigskin Nightly, "NFL EPA rankings 2026", https://pigskinnightly.com/epa

## Questions and answers

### Which NFL team has the best offense in 2026?

By EPA per play (regular season): San Francisco 49ers (+0.180), Jacksonville Jaguars (+0.148) and Cincinnati Bengals (+0.142).

### Which NFL team has the best defense in 2026?

By EPA allowed per play (lower is better): Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-0.164), Minnesota Vikings (-0.149) and Jacksonville Jaguars (-0.128).

### Who is the best quarterback by EPA in 2026?

EPA per dropback, minimum 120: Brock Purdy (SF, +0.306, CPOE +4.9), Trevor Lawrence (JAX, +0.279, CPOE +2.8), Joe Burrow (CIN, +0.261, CPOE +9.7), Josh Allen (BUF, +0.253, CPOE +4.0) and Jared Goff (DET, +0.201, CPOE +1.3).

### What is EPA in football?

Expected points added: how much a play changes the number of points the offense is expected to score on the drive, given down, distance, field position and time. Positive EPA means the play helped the offense. We use the open nflverse model; full method at /methodology.