Ray Lewis led the NFL's best Super Bowl defense in 2000 when his Ravens won it all
Surely you’ve heard the adage “Defense Wins Championships” haven’t you? Personally, I agree that in fact defense can win it for you. However, to steal a quote from Warren Sapp, a more accurate description would be “Defense gives you a chance”.
Last month, we released an article on the best Super Bowl Quarterbacks. This time, we take a look at the best Super Bowl defenses.
Now what do we think we know about Super Bowl defenses?
The 2000 Ravens and 1985 Bears are the best defenses ever. Additionally, every football fan worth his salt knows of the glory days of the Steel Curtain and how it carried Pittsburgh to 4 titles. The Patriots are often cited as riding their defense to 3 rings.
We know the Packers, 49ers, and Cowboys are known more for their marquee offensive talent but also had great defenses during their Super Bowl years as well.
Teams like the Rams and Colts are thought to have the worst defenses to ever win a Super Bowl.
So how much of this is fact? Were the ’00 Ravens really that good? Were the ’99 Rams really that bad?
It’s time to put these defenses to the test. But what kind of test?
Anyone can look up the defensive ranks of any Super Bowl winner. However, those rankings are based solely on the regular season only. Wrong, wrong, wrong!! Who cares about the regular season? If I recall correctly, nobody ever won a Super Bowl in the regular season. A Super Bowl worthy Defense can only be measured by the post-season. Does anyone truly want a defense that is ranked #1 in the regular season but then proceeds to allow 30 points a game in the playoffs?
For each defense, I calculated ONLY the points surrendered by the DEFENSE. So when the Giants returned a kickoff on the 2000 Ravens, that doesn’t count. When the Cowboys stripped Bradshaw and returned the fumble for a TD, that also doesn’t count. It only counts if the defense was actually on the field. To do otherwise would be like counting empty net goals against your starting goalie in hockey. It just makes no sense. Besides, it took me 47 hours of hard work to calculate points scored only on the defense so just deal with it (actually, it was like 2 hours and it was unbelievably easy and fun).
I divided the rankings into 2 lists. First, we have points allowed per game and second, we have points allowed in the 4th quarter. I think any defense that is truly great should be able to put the clamps on in crunch time and shut down the opponent. So the 4th quarter list adds a nice twist to this whole thing.
Ok, enough of my rambling, here are the results:
THE 25 BEST SUPER BOWL DEFENSES – Ranked by Points Per Game Allowed
| # | Year | Team | Avg. Points/Game |
| 1 | ’85 | Bears | 3.33 |
| 2 | ’00 | Ravens | 4.00 |
| 3 | ’71 | Cowboys | 5.33 |
| 4 | ’84 | 49ers | 6.33 |
| 5 | ’69 | Chiefs | 6.66 |
| ’70 | Colts | 6.66 | |
| 7 | ’88 | 49ers | 7.00 |
| 8 | ’77 | Cowboys | 7.66 |
| ’86 | Giants | 7.66 | |
| 10 | ’98 | Broncos | 8.33 |
| 11 | ’73 | Dolphins | 8.66 |
| ’89 | 49ers | 8.66 | |
| 13 | ’74 | Steelers | 9.00 |
| 14 | ’72 | Dolphins | 10.33 |
| ’02 | Buccaneers | 10.33 | |
| 16 | ’83 | Raiders | 11.00 |
| ’90 | Giants | 11.00 | |
| 18 | ’75 | Steelers | 12.33 |
| ’78 | Steelers | 12.33 | |
| ’87 | Redskins | 12.33 | |
| 21 | ’80 | Raiders | 12.50 |
| 22 | ’67 | Packers | 12.66 |
| 23 | ’06 | Colts | 12.75 |
| 24 | ’79 | Steelers | 13.00 |
| 25 | ’91 | Redskins | 13.66 |
| ’82 | Redskins | 13.66 |
Certainly no surprises at #1 or #2. Those defenses absolutely lived up to their billings. It’s odd that none of the Steel Curtain defenses found their way into the top 10 although all 4 are on this list. Even more shocking is that not even one Patriots defense cracked the top 25. The ’72 Dolphins checked in at a respectable 14th. The ’83 Raiders, ’01 Patriots, and ’07 Giants all faced the #1 scoring offenses of their time in the Super Bowl. Each one played admirably but only the ’83 Raiders made this list.
THE 10 WORST SUPER BOWL DEFENSES – Ranked by Points Per Game Allowed
| # | Year | Team | Avg. Points/Game |
| 1 | ’81 | 49ers | 24.00 |
| 2 | ’94 | 49ers | 20.30 |
| 3 | ’08 | Steelers | 19.66 |
| 4 | ’09 | Saints | 19.66 |
| 5 | ’99 | Rams | 19.60 |
| 6 | ’03 | Patriots | 19.00 |
| 7 | ’66 | Packers | 18.50 |
| 8 | ’95 | Cowboys | 18.33 |
| 9 | ’04 | Patriots | 17.00 |
| 10 | ’93 | Cowboys | 17.00 |
“Worst” is a relative term. Clearly all these defenses are at least above average. The results are revealing though. Montana and Young each carried their teams in 1981 and 1994. Amazing. The 1999 Rams indeed lived up to their billing as being a poor unit at the #5 spot. I was shocked to find the ’93 and ’95 Cowboys here. Didn’t Troy Aikman only win because he rode Emmitt and 3 great defenses??
THE 5 BEST 4TH QUARTER DEFENSES – Ranked by Points Allowed Per 4th Quarter
| # | Year | Team | Avg. Points/4th Q |
| 1 | ’00 | Ravens | 0.00 |
| ’82 | Redskins | 0.00 | |
| ’96 | Packers | 0.00 | |
| ’84 | 49ers | 0.00 | |
| 2 | ’69 | Chiefs | 1.00 |
| ’74 | Steelers | 1.00 | |
| ’87 | Redskins | 1.00 | |
| ’88 | 49ers | 1.00 | |
| 3 | ’02 | Buccaneers | 2.00 |
| ’98 | Broncos | 2.00 | |
| 4 | ’06 | Colts | 2.25 |
| 5 | - | Waay too many tied with 2.33 | |
Only 4 teams in NFL history have truly put the clamps on in the 4th quarter. There aren’t too many surprises here except one. The 2006 Colts again sitting on a list for doing something productive. Maybe Bob Sanders is pretty good after all? By the way, give me the 2000 Ravens defense in the 4th quarter. 4 shut outs in 4 games. Only the ’82 Redskins were able to match that. Oddly enough though, the ’82 Redskins barely cracked the top 25 list for overall defense.
THE 10 WORST 4TH QUARTER DEFENSES – Ranked by Points Allowed Per 4th Quarter
| # | Year | Team | Avg. Points/4th Q |
| 1 | ’08 | Steelers | 11.66 |
| 2 | ’99 | Rams | 11.00 |
| 3 | ’81 | 49ers | 10.33 |
| 4 | ’94 | 49ers | 9.00 |
| 5 | ’03 | Patriots | 8.66 |
| 6 | ’68 | Jets | 8.50 |
| 7 | ’95 | Cowboys | 6.00 |
| 8 | ’04 | Patriots | 5.66 |
| 9 | ’75 | Steelers | 5.66 |
| 10 | ’05 | Steelers | 5.50 |
This list is very revealing. 7 of the 10 teams on here are also part of the 10 WORST OVERALL DEFENSES list. Coincidence? I think not. If you’re giving up points in the other quarters, it stands to reason that you’ll be giving up points in the 4th quarter too.
Not to dump on the Steel City’s mantra of defense but good lord. 3 of their famous defenses made this list. And the 2008 Steelers earned the award for the biggest bed shitters giving up 11.66 points per game in JUST THE 4TH QUARTER!
Remember, the ’85 Bears and ’00 Ravens allowed 3.3 and 4 points per GAME respectively! All 10 of these defenses allowed more 4th quarter points than those 2 defenses did for the ENTIRE GAME! Wow.
THE 3 WORST SINGLE GAME PERFORMANCES BY A SB WINNING DEFENSE IN ANY PLAYOFF GAME EVER
I found this interesting. Only 1 Super Bowl winner in NFL history has given up more than 30 points on defense during their entire championship run and only 4 have given up 28 or more. All 4 of these defenses made the 10 Worst Super Bowl defenses list.
1. 1999 Rams vs. Vikings – 37
2. 2003 Patriots vs. Panthers – 29
3. 1994 49ers vs. Cowboys – 28
2009 Saints vs. Vikings – 28
Final Analysis
So what questions did we answer? What myths did we debunk? The 70′s Steelers and 00′s Patriots did NOT, I repeat did NOT ride great defenses to Super Bowl glory. I would give a tremendous amount of credit to the ’74 Steelers and the ’01 Patriots but not any of the others. One thing I noticed is that ’74 and ’01 were respectively both teams 1st Super Bowls. I think they both developed reputations that stayed with them regardless of statistics.
The 1999 Rams were indeed one of the worst defenses to ever win a Super Bowl. I would have to say that the 2008 Steelers were worse though and that the 1981 49ers were far worse than that. Let’s tip our hats one more time to Joe Montana, he is the QB who won a Super Bowl with the worst defense ever. As if he needs any more accolades right?
The 70′s Dolphins defenses were downright stingy in the Super Bowl allowing 0* and 7 points respectively in back to back years.
One of the unsung defenses is the 1969 Chiefs. 6.66 ppg allowed, 1.0 per game in the 4th quarter, and just 7 points allowed in Super Bowl IV.
39 of 44 defenses were ranked 8th or better in the regular season. Ironically, of the 5 defenses who ranked worse than 8th, 3 made the top 25 list.
Pound for pound, give me the 2000 Ravens defense any day of the week even over the 1985 Bears. 4.0 ppg allowed, 0 4th quarter points allowed, and 0* points allowed in the Super Bowl. That’s just nuts.
P.S. In case you wanted to look up a certain defense, here they all are.
ALL SUPER BOWL DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCES RANKED FROM TOP TO BOTTOM
This list is based soley on how the defense performed in the Super Bowl. 3 defenses pitched shut outs in the Super Bowl, although in each instance, their special teams allowed a single touchdown. Interesting. An * next to the point total indicates that additional points were given up by either the offense or special teams and thus were not counted as I explained above.
SB 7: Dolphins 0*
SB 9: Steelers 0*
SB 35: Ravens 0*
SB 6: Dallas 3
SB 4: Chiefs 7
SB 8: Dolphins 7
SB 18: Raiders 9
SB 23: 49ers 9*
SB 1: Packers 10
SB 12: Cowboys 10
SB 15: Raiders 10
SB 17: Redskins 10*
SB 20: Bears 10
SB 22: Redskins 10
SB 24: 49ers 10
SB 40: Steelers 10
SB 41: Colts 10*
SB 5: Colts 13
SB 28: Cowboys 13
SB 2: Packers 14
SB 11: Raiders 14
SB 42: Giants 14
SB 37: Buccaneers 15*
SB 19: 49ers 16
SB 34: Rams 16
SB 10: Steelers 17
SB 25: Giants 17*
SB 27: Cowboys 17
SB 30: Cowboys 17
SB 36: Patriots 17
SB 44: Saints 17
SB 29: 49ers 18
SB 14: Steelers 19
SB 21: Giants 20
SB 16: 49ers 21
SB 31: Packers 21
SB 39: Patriots 21
SB 43: Steelers 21*
SB 13: Steelers 24*
SB 26: Redskins 24
SB 31: Broncos 24
SB 38: Patriots 29
ALL DEFENSES INDEXED CHRONOLOGICALLY FOR REFERENCE
1966 Packers
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 18.5 (27, 10)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 3.5 (7, 0)
1967 Packers
Regular season rank: 3rd
Points allowed per game: 12.66 (7, 17, 14)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 4.66 (0, 7, 7)
1968 Jets
Regular season rank: 4th
Points allowed per game: 15.0 (23, 7)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 8.5 (7, 10)
1969 Chiefs
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 6.66 (6, 7, 7)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 1.0 (3, 0, 0)
1970 Colts
Regular season rank: 7th
Points allowed per game: 6.66 (0, 17, 13)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.33 (0, 7, 0)
1971 Cowboys
Regular season rank: 7th
Points allowed per game: 5.33 (10*, 3, 3)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.33 (7*, 0, 0)
1972 Dolphins
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 10.33 (14, 17, 0*)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 4.66 (7, 7, 0*)
1973 Dolpins
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 8.66 (9*, 10, 7)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.33 (0, 0, 7)
1974 Steelers
Regular season rank: 2nd
Points allowed per game: 9.0 (14, 13, 0*)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 1.0 (0, 3, 0*)
1975 Steelers
Regular season rank: 2nd
Points allowed per game: 12.33 (10, 10, 17)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 5.66 (0, 10, 7)
1976 Raiders
Regular season rank: 8th
Points allowed per game: 14.00 (21, 7, 14)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.33 (0, 0, 7)
1977 Cowboys
Regular season rank: 8th
Points allowed per game: 7.66 (7, 6, 10)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.33 (7, 0, 0)
1978 Steelers
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 12.33 (10, 3*, 24*)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 4.66 (0, 0, 14)
1979 Steelers
Regular season rank: 5th
Points allowed per game: 13.0 (14, 6*, 19)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 3.33 (7, 3, 0)
1980 Raiders
Regular season rank: 10th
Points allowed per game: 12.5 (7, 6*, 27, 10)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.5 (0, 0, 3, 7)
1981 49ers
Regular season rank: 2nd
Points allowed per game: 24.00 (24, 27, 21)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 10.33 (7, 10, 14)
1982 Redskins
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 13.66 (7, 7, 17, 10*)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 0.0 (0, 0, 0, 0)
1983 Raiders
Regular season rank: 13th
Points allowed per game: 11.00 (10, 14, 9)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.33 (0, 7, 0)
1984 49ers
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 6.33 (3*, 0, 16)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 0.00 (0, 0, 0)
1985 Bears
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 3.33 (0, 0, 10)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.33 (0, 0, 7)
1986 Giants
Regular season rank: 2nd
Points allowed per game: 7.66 (3, 0, 20)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 3.33 (0, 0, 10)
1987 Redskins
Regular season rank: 6th
Points allowed per game: 12.33 (17, 10, 10)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 1.00 (0, 3, 0)
1988 49ers
Regular season rank: 8th
Points allowed per game: 7.0 (9, 3, 9*)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 1.0 (0, 0, 3)
1989 49ers
Regular season rank: 3rd
Points allowed per game: 8.66 (13, 3, 10)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.33 (7, 0, 0)
1990 Giants
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 11.0 (3, 13, 17*)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.33 (0, 0, 7)
1991 Redskins
Regular season rank: 2nd
Points allowed per game: 13.66 (7, 10, 24)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 4.66 (0, 0, 14)
1992 Cowboys
Regular season rank: 5th
Points allowed per game: 15.66 (10, 20, 17)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 4.66 (7, 7, 0)
1993 Cowboys
Regular season rank: 2nd
Points allowed per game: 17.0 (17, 21, 13)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 4.66 (7, 7, 0)
1994 49ers
Regular season rank: 6th
Points allowed per game: 20.3 (15, 28, 18* )
4th Quarter allowed/game: 9.0 (12, 7, 8 )
1995 Cowboys
Regular season rank: 3rd
Points allowed per game: 18.33 (11, 27, 17)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 6.0 (8, 0, 10)
1996 Packers
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 16.0 (14, 13, 21)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 0.0 (0, 0, 0)
1997 Broncos
Regular season rank: 6th
Points allowed per game: 16.25 (10, 10, 21, 24)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 3.5 (0, 0, 7, 7)
1998 Broncos
Regular season rank: 8th
Points allowed per game: 8.33 (3, 10, 12)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.0 (0, 0, 6)
1999 Rams
Regular season rank: 4th
Points allowed per game: 19.6 (37, 6, 16)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 11.0 (20, 3, 10)
2000 Ravens
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 4.0 (3, 10, 3, 0*)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 0.0 (0, 0, 0, 0)
2001 Patriots
Regular season rank: 6th
Points allowed per game: 15.66 (13, 17, 17)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 4.66 (0, 0, 14)
2002 Bucs
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 10.33 (6, 10, 15*)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.0 (0, 0, 6*)
2003 Patriots
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 19.00 (14, 14, 29)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 8.66 (0, 7, 19)
2004 Patriots
Regular season rank: 2nd
Points allowed per game: 17.00 (3, 27, 21)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 5.66 (0, 10, 7)
2005 Steelers
Regular season rank: 3rd
Points allowed per game: 15.5 (17, 18, 17, 10)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 5.5 (0, 15, 7, 0)
2006 Colts
Regular season rank: 23rd
Points allowed per game: 12.75 (8, 6, 27*, 10*)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.25 (0, 3, 6, 0)
2007 Giants
Regular season rank: 17th
Points allowed per game: 16.25 (14, 17, 20, 14)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 4.25 (7, 0, 3, 7)
2008 Steelers
Regular season rank: 1st
Points allowed per game: 19.66 (24, 14, 21*)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 11.66 (14, 7, 14*)
2009 Saints
Regular season rank: 20th
Points allowed per game: 19.66 (14, 28, 17)
4th Quarter allowed/game: 2.33 (0, 7, 0)
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