The best defenses in NFL history

The sports adage “defense wins championships” is most appropriate in football.

While offense dominates the spotlight in the modern game, a lockdown defensive unit can carry a team to victory or even a Super Bowl.

Let’s take a look at the five best defensive teams in the history of the NFL.

5. 2013 Seattle Seahawks

Over the last decade, no defense has been able to replicate what the "Legion of Boom" produced in the Pacific Northwest. The 2013 Seahawks defense was a perfect storm.

Head coach Pete Carroll built a defense that recorded 28 interceptions — including three returned for touchdowns — and allowed only 231 points in 16 games. While that number is higher than most of the teams on this list, 14.4 points per game in this era of the NFL is nearly unthinkable.

Seattle made life miserable for opposing quarterbacks, as its pass rush registered 44 sacks in 2013. If you did manage to get the throw off, the secondary that featured Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, and Richard Sherman were waiting to hawk it. If you tried to run, you would meet linebacker Bobby Wagner, with Chancellor and Thomas not far behind.

The Seahawks' legacy was cemented in Super Bowl XLVIII, when they went up against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos were absolutely dismantled. They gave up a safety on their first drive, lost three yards and committed two turnovers in the first quarter, and trailed 22-0 at halftime of a 43-8 blowout.

It established the Legion of Boom as a truly special unit, and one of the best ever.

4. 1986 New York Giants

Bill Parcells and young defensive coordinator Bill Belichick won Super Bowl XXI with a ferocious Giants defense that gave opposing quarterbacks nightmares.

The Giants sacked opposing quarterbacks 59 times during the regular season, and had one of the best rush defenses in the history of the league. Linebacker Lawrence Taylor led the fierce unit and forced teams to change their formations just to try to neutralize him.

New York allowed fewer than 15 points per game in the regular season and intercepted 24 passes, but the Giants stepped it up in the payoffs. They allowed just three points to the 49ers in the divisional round (and knocked Joe Montana out of the game before halftime), then shut out Washington in the NFC Championship Game. In the Super Bowl, the Giants recorded a safety in the second quarter and held the John Elway-led Broncos to just 10 points in each half.

This unit terrorized teams in the NFC East. In their two wins over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Giants sacked Neil Lomax 16 times. The defense was so scary that the Eagles rotated quarterbacks both times they played the Giants. The Giants sacked them 13 times in their two meetings and held the Eagles to a total of 17 points. They even broke Danny White’s wrist early in their second matchup with the Cowboys.

3. 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers

They were simply known as the "Steel Curtain," an imposing force that terrorized offenses. This defense had four future Hall of Famers, and eight of the 11 starters were named to the Pro Bowl.

Led by "Mean" Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, and Mel Blount, the Steel Curtain dominated the NFL for a large part of the 1970s, but 1976 was the most dominant season it put together. The Steelers lost four of their first five games and allowed 22 points per game during that stretch. They then allowed just six total points over their next four games, including a trio of shutouts.

Over their final five games of the season, all victories, the Steelers’ defense allowed a combined 22 points. Pittsburgh posted five shutouts over a stretch of eight games and allowed just 3.1 points per game over their last nine. In those nine games, the Steelers allowed fewer than 184 yards per game, and forced 28 turnovers. No team before or since has put together such as stretch of dominance.

Had Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl, this defense would likely be at the top of our list. Alas, because of injuries to running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, the Steelers fell short, with a defeat to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship Game.

2. 2000 Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens defense in the 2000 season was so good that the team won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at quarterback. Baltimore won five games that season without scoring an offensive touchdown.

Most quality defenses in the modern NFL are built around stopping the pass, but the Ravens were determined to force you to throw and allowed an NFL record-low 970 yards rushing over a 16-game regular season. Baltimore allowed just 167 points over the entire season, including the playoffs.

Led by linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Rod Woodson, the hard-hitting defense forced fumbles at a rate never seen in the NFL and recovered 26. The Ravens gave up just five rushing touchdowns, thanks to a defensive line anchored by Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams. They were so nasty against the run that Bengals running back Corey Dillon once refused to re-enter a game against the Ravens.

In the playoffs, their dominance continued. They allowed just 23 points over four games, and seven came on a kick return in Super Bowl XXXV. But that would be the only points scored against the Ravens in the game, as they dominated the Giants in a 34-7 victory. They held the Giants to just 152 total yards, intercepted four passes, and took one of the picks back for a touchdown.

1. 1985 Chicago Bears

The "Monsters of the Midway" are without question the greatest defense the NFL has ever witnessed.

The Bears' unique, innovative 46 defense was the brainchild of defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, and it was powered by one of the greatest group of linebackers in league history. Mike Singletary, Wilber Marshall, and Otis Wilson dominated the run game and delivered devastating hits that knocked multiple quarterbacks out of games.

The defensive line was led by two future Hall of Famers — Richard Dent and Dan Hampton — but a rookie also played a massive role in their success. William "The Refrigerator" Perry was a physically imposing defensive tackle that could occupy two and sometimes three offensive linemen.

The 46 defense dared teams to pass, as eight players would line up in the box and bring pressure from every direction.

When teams tried to pass, it did not go well. Opposing quarterbacks completed just 46.5% of their throws, the Bears intercepted 37 passes, and Chicago allowed just 17 passing touchdowns.

The defense allowed only 198 points over 16 games (28 were scored in the first half of the season opener), then allowed just 10 more points in the postseason. In November, the Bears allowed just 13 points in four games, including a pair of wins over Dallas and Atlanta, where they outscored their opponents by a combined score of 80-0.

The Bears lost just once, when the Dolphins were able to pick apart the 46 pass defense thanks to quarterback Dan Marino. The day after that loss, the team released the hit song “The Super Bowl Shuffle.” The song would become a part of their legend, and they would dance it after the season ended, when they defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.

They allowed just seven yards rushing in the Super Bowl, and held New England’s starting quarterback without a pass completion. It was a dominant end to the most dominant defensive season we have ever seen.