Defense doesn’t win championships

At least, not like it used to

Those laws of football physics all changed drastically with the 2006 Colts. They surrendered 360 points (22.5 PPG) – still the most points allowed by any Super Bowl champion. Even worse: Indy’s defense surrendered an awful 5.33 YPA to opponents on the ground.

It was not just the worst run defense of any Super Bowl contender or of the 2006 season, it was one of the worst ever: just six teams in the entire history of the NFL, almost all expansion teams, fielded run defenses worse than the 2006 Colts. Yet this team with a historically dysfunctional defense held on long enough to capture four playoff wins and hoist a Lombardi Trophy.  The most notable game was a victory over the Patriots in an AFC championship game when they surrendered 34 points.

Then along came the 2007 Giants, who surrendered 351 points – the second most by any Super Bowl champion. Yet they somehow turned it on in the playoffs and ended the year by shutting down the highest-scoring offense in history from New England.

The 2008 Cardinals lost to Pittsburgh in last year’s Super Bowl, but it was a historical miracle that they reached the big game after a season in which they surrendered 426 points – easily the most by any team that’s ever played for a championship, going all the way back to the first title tilt in 1933.