Written by Gil Brandt at NFL.com
As the old saying goes, offense sells tickets but defense wins championships.
This truism is illustrated by the fact that, though we’re in the midst of an increasingly pass-happy era, two of the past three Super Bowl championships were won by defensive juggernauts (the 2013 Seattle Seahawks and 2015 Denver Broncos).
Of course, it’s easy to get swept up in the moment and celebrate the most recent champions. So I wanted to take a step back and assess where the Broncos’ astoundingly dominant defense ranks among the all-time best. Below, you’ll find my top five defenses of all time.
A note before we begin: I also considered the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers and 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but those units did not make the cut.
1) 1985 Chicago Bears
Yards allowed: 258.4 per game (first in the NFL). Points allowed: 12.4 per game (first).
Bill Parcells told me this is the best defense he’s ever faced. The Bears trampled offenses in the regular season before going on an astonishing playoff run in which they shut out the Giants (21-0) and Rams (24-0), then beat the Patriots by 36 points in Super Bowl XX — during which they held New England to 7rushing yards. Between coordinator Buddy Ryan and a unit that included some really good players — defensive ends Dan Hampton and Richard Dent, linebackers Mike Singletary and Otis Wilson and safeties Dave Duerson and Gary Fencik — Chicago’s defense won with both superior scheming and superior talent, collecting 34 interceptions and 64 sacks. Not for nothing, Chicago’s point differential of 258 remains the fifth-best mark since 1970.
I was with the Cowboys when we played this team, and the Bears just manhandled us, romping to a 44-0 win. Chicago did benefit from having the No. 1 rushing attack that season, which helped limit the amount of time the defense spent on the field. But the bottom line is, the Bears shut people down by relying on man coverage, blitzing a lot and taking away the run. People really couldn’t do anything against them.
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