Does defense still win championships?
We've all often heard it, in all sports we've heard it. The go-to phrase by many diehard sports fans. Can you guess it? It's three words. "Defense wins championships." It's often overused, but should it be disappearing? I mean after all, football has been transforming year after year into high octane passing offenses. Meanwhile, two of the past three Super Bowl champions won their titles on defensive stands late in the game, three of the past four if you count the late interception that sealed the game for New Orleans in Super Bowl 44.
The arguments and counterarguments are endless, but what do the trends have to say? Here now is a breakdown of the offensive ranking, defensive ranking, points for and against, and turnover margin since the 2002 season/Super Bowl 37.
The arguments and counterarguments are endless, but what do the trends have to say? Here now is a breakdown of the offensive ranking, defensive ranking, points for and against, and turnover margin since the 2002 season/Super Bowl 37.
SB
Champion
|
Total
Offense
|
Total
Defense
|
Points
For
|
Points
Against
|
Turnover
+/-
|
Bucs 02
|
24th
|
1st
|
18th
|
1st
|
+17
|
Patriots 03
|
17th
|
7th
|
12th
|
1st
|
+17
|
Patriots 04
|
7th
|
9th
|
4th
|
2nd
|
+9
|
Steelers 05
|
15th
|
4th
|
9th
|
3rd
|
+7
|
Colts 06
|
3rd
|
21st
|
2nd
|
23rd
|
+7
|
Giants 07
|
16th
|
7th
|
14th
|
17th
|
-9
|
Steelers 08
|
22nd
|
1st
|
20th
|
1st
|
+4
|
Saints 09
|
1st
|
25th
|
1st
|
20th
|
+11
|
Packers 10
|
9th
|
5th
|
10th
|
2nd
|
+10
|
Giants 11
|
8th
|
27th
|
9th
|
25th
|
+7
|
Ravens 12
|
16th
|
17th
|
10th
|
12th
|
+9
|
If we take an average of these numbers of ranking: Total offense would be 12.5, total defense 11.2, points for 9.9, points against 9.7. As you can see, one thing that is consistent is that teams that are good or bad on one side of the ball, are totally opposite on the other side. Excluding a few teams. 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011. Almost half of the teams played well or dominated one side of the football. But does any of this mean that defense still wins championships? After all, you can't win if you can't score. You need an offense to score points right? Well the lowest ranked of these 11 teams is the 2008 Steelers with points for being ranked 20th. And since the NFL doesn't keep track of points scored by defense, we will never really know how that ranking would be adjusted if you subtract non-offensive scoring. Nevertheless, you still need an offense to score points. But as for the "defense wins championships" argument. I think it's safe to say that in this ever so evolving, quarterback friendly league. Defenses still win you championships.
