Defenses are holding their own and making headlines–of the winning kind.
For the better part of the 2018 NFL season, teams were putting up points like college basketball teams. And it was for a good reason. The league wanted scoreboards to light up quarter after quarter. All the new rules implemented over the past decade have favored the offense–the quarterback in particular.
After the Rams and Chiefs scored 105 points (54-51) on Monday Night Football in Week 11, many assumed offensive exaggeration would be the NFL’s new normal.
To be sure, the adage “Defense wins championships” no longer prevails as it once did, but teams like the Bears, Ravens, and Seahawks are showing the nation that defense hasn’t died. Indeed, it’s alive and well.
How so?
–Preparation is a factor. As the 16-game season progresses, more film is available to coaches as they prepare defensive gameplans.
–The weather comes into play during the last quarter of every season. There’s rain, snow, wind, and the cold. The ball becomes more challenging to handle and feels like a rock when you catch it. More clothes and padding slow down players, and it takes longer to warm up.
–Field conditions deteriorate.
–There’s the wear-and-tear factor. Players wear down, get injured, play hurt, and get tired.
What’s it all mean? Defenses have gained the advantage.
Over the past month, the Bears dismantled the Rams’ offense. The Ravens shut down the Chiefs. The Seahawks just about blanked the Vikings. The Cowboys held the Saints to 10 points.
The Road to the Super Bowl–once thought to be a superhighway designed primarily for offensive teams–doesn’t look that way today. Defenses are holding their own and making headlines–of the winning kind.
And to that, I say, HALLELUIA!
