Seattle Defense Not Most Dominant Ever

Good morning,

The question the NFL asked in its 1st and 10 daily email to me (and thousands others) this morning: “Do the Seattle Seahawks have the best defense ever?”

Steelers fans might have a knee-jerk reaction to that question, but after stopping Peyton Manning and the NFL’s top-rated offense 43-8 in the Super Bowl, it’s a legitimate debate.

The Seahawks' defense produced four turnovers in the Super Bowl, forcing Manning to commit three – a fumble and two interceptions, one of them returned 69 yards for a touchdown. He completed 34 passes for only 280 yards with one touchdown pass. The Broncos managed just 27 yards rushing on 14 tries.

It was among the most impressive Super Bowl performances ever by a defense. The Broncos had 306 net total yards, but if you take away the 71 return yards on those two interceptions, that comes to 235 net yards (although the NFL does not count interception/fumble return yards against an offense).

But, no, that was not anywhere near as dominant as some others.

Another dominant performance by a defense in a Super Bowl was turned in by the Steelers in their first visit, Super Bowl IX. They held the Minnesota Vikings to 119 total yards – 102 passing and 17 rushing. The Steelers also recovered two fumbles, had three interceptions and scored a safety (without benefit of a bad snap) in a 16-6 victory.

Hands down, there was no comparison between what Seattle did on Sunday in metropolitan New York and what the Steelers did on Jan. 12, 1975 in New Orleans.

However, a caveat: The rules have changed dramatically in the past 40 years and most of them favor the offense. Back in 1974, Mel Blount and his fellow defensive backs could bump a receiver all over the field until the ball was thrown; L.C. Greenwood and his Steel Curtain members could slap offensive lineman upside the helmet all day without fear of being legally held. And they could tee off on Minnesota Fran Tarkenton with impunity because there were few rules to protect the quarterback as there are today.

Also, Tarkenton is not in Peyton Manning’s league as a passer, although much more mobile, a Russell Wilson of his day.

That wasn’t even the greatest Steelers defense of all time. That came in 1976, when they allowed only 138 points in a 14-game season, shut out five opponents in their final eight games and limited two others to a mere field goal.

Now, THAT, was a defense. However, the Steelers did not make it past the AFC championship in 1976 and thus have long been forgotten outside of Pittsburgh.

In more modern times under more modern rules, the Seahawks’ defense should be compared to those of the Baltimore Ravens in 2000 and the Steelers of 2008. Both those teams won Super Bowls with the most stifling defenses of this generation.

However, one thing that mars that 2008 defense is that it could not hold a fourth-quarter lead and nearly blew the Super Bowl before Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes pulled out a 27-23 victory.

In that Super Bowl, Kurt Warner, a good quarterback but not in Manning’s class, threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns – although he also threw a 100-yard interception return for a Steelers touchdown by James Harrison. The Steelers held the Cardinals to 33 yards rushing but they had 407 total yards (take away the 100-yard pick and it drops to 307).

Like the Seahawks of 2013, the Steelers were virtually No. 1 in every defensive category.

However, Seattle’s performance was more impressive in Super Bowl XLVIII than the Steelers in XLIII.

Baltimore’s 2000 Ravens were clearly dominant in both the season (four shutouts, No. 1 defense) and in the post-season, particularly the Super Bowl when they crushed the New York Giants 34-7.

The Giants managed just 86 yards passing and 66 rushing for a total of 152 yards. Baltimore forced five turnovers. It was a performance equal to that of 1974 by the Steelers in an era that favored offenses more.

One more, statistically the most dominant: The Chicago Bears drubbed the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX and held the Patriots to 116 yards passing and a mere seven rushing. The Bears forced six turnovers.

But New England had Tony Eason and Steve Grogan at quarterback and not much of a ground game, led by Tony Collins. (A footnote, Greg Hawthorne, the Steelers’ first-round draft choice in 1979, had one carry for minus-four yards in that game. He had been converted to a tight end and caught three passes during the 1985 season for New England with no carries.)

So let’s leave the debate this way: Seattle’s defense turned in one of the better seasons in modern NFL history, and their Super Bowl performance ranks right up there, considering the Seahawks opponent. But Baltimore’s defense in 2000 was better and their performance in the Super Bowl more dominant. And the Steelers of 1974 was the best performance of that generation with the 1985 Chicago Bears bridging the gap between them.

Take your pick, there is no wrong answer.