There are a lot of ways to measure how good a team’s defense is — points per game, yards per game, turnovers, sacks, advanced analytics — but there’s no denying that the Denver defense is one of the best units we’ve seen in a long time. The question, though, is do they have a chance to lay claim to the best defense in NFL history?
According to Gil Brandt, maybe.
Broncos lead NFL in scoring def (17.3 PPG), total def (272.5 YPG) & sacks (44). No team has ever led NFL in all 3 categories for a season
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) December 18, 2015
Now, there are still three games to go, but there’s a solid chance they do, in fact, finish the season as the leader in all three of those categories; the Broncos have a .3-point lead over the Bengals for points per game, a 35.3-yard lead over the Seahawks for yards per game and a two-sack lead over the Patriots for total sacks.
And if they do manage to maintain their lead over the rest of the league, I think there’s no question that this Broncos defense will have to be considered as one of the best in league history.
But let’s look at where some of the other all-time greats finished in these categories:
’85 Bears: 12.4 points per game (1st); 258 yards per game (1st); 64 sacks (3rd)
’00 Ravens: 10.3 points per game (1st); 248 yards per game (2nd); 35 sacks (22nd)
’13 Seahawks: 14.4 points per game (1st); 273 yards per game (1st); 44 sacks (8th)
Obviously, those were all great defenses, but the reason they’re talked about as the greatest defenses of all time is because they all finished the season with the most important stat of them all: A Super Bowl championship.
If the Denver Broncos defense can continue to carry their offense through the final three games of the season, on into the playoffs and to a Super Bowl championship, then there should be no question that they belong in the discussion for the greatest defense in NFL history.
Taking down the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday will be a good start.