Hey Guys,
For sure a top-ranked defense can go a long way when it comes to winning, but to say "who cares" about the offense may be a little strong; balanced teams have a much better chance of getting to the SUPE.
Top 10 Defenses in 2020...only the #9 and the #10 ranked defense made it out of the Divisional Round of the playoffs - they both had Top 5 Offenses...and they met in Supe 55.
The #1 defense (Rams) lost to the #15 defense (Packers) - the Packers had the #2 offense while the Rams had the #14 offense.
The #2 defense (Ravens) was taken down by the Bills #3 offense. Sure, 17-3 was the final and Lamar Jackson went out with a concussion at the end of the 3rd Qtr, so it wasn't the Bills O that "won" the game (101 yd TD pick by the Bills at the end of the 3Q made it 17-3), but my point is the Ravens O couldn't get it done, and without the O working it's awful tough for the D to get the W. Ravens ran for 150 but Lamar only threw for 162 before leaving.
The #3 defense (Steelers) had the #32 rushing offense and only a #15 passing offense (#1 pass attempts). Even a home playoff game couldn't help the worn out Pitt D in a high scoring shootout that was 35-10 Cleveland at the half. Pittsburgh had 52 yds rushing for the game.
The #1 and #2 defenses (Rams, Ravens) lost 6 and 5 games last season. The #1D Rams had a sub-par QB and the #2D Ravens were one-dimensional with the #1 rushing offense but the #32 passing offense.
Three of the Top 10 Ds didn't make the playoffs (offenses ranked 18th, 25th, and 23rd). Those were the Dolphins, Pats, and Giants...and though the Bills had the #15 defense, they did have the #3 offense.
So I would make the case that in today's NFL you can't assume a Top 10 D, or even a Top 3 D, will get you to the promised land unless you can score a bunch of points to help out the D. Defenses can occasionally slap a bagel on somebody (thank you Zeebs), but this ain't our pop pop's NFL.
Can't wait !!!
TOP 10 DEFENSES 2020
Team / # 2020 Losses / 2020 O Rank
1) Rams -6 Ls -14th O 2) Ravens -5 Ls -7th O 3) Steelers -4 Ls -10th O 4) WFT -9 Ls -28th O 5) Dolphins -6 Ls -18th O
6) Saints -4 Ls -4th O 7) Patriots -9 Ls -25th O 8) Giants -10 Ls - 23rd O 9) Bucs -5 Ls - 5th O 10) Chiefs -2 Ls - 1st O
Playoff Teams Without a Top 10 Defense: Packers (#2 Offense) / Bills (#3 O) / Seahawks (#9 O), Titans (#11 O) / Colts (#12 O) / Browns (#14 O) / Bears (#30 O)