Why Defensive Teams Aren't Built to Win Championships

Look, this isn't your father's NFL anymore. But even in the "old days," a great offense always beats a great defense.

It used to be that a strong defense and a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense was thought to be  enough to win a title. But no more. In fact, advanced statistics point out that this was never the case.

And, with today's NFL being such a QB-driven league, it only further serves to illustrate the point. 

Surprisingly, the Chicago Bears are a great example of this both recently (last year), as well as the 1985 Super Bowl team. 

The 1985 Bears defense was great. But they would not have won it all without the No. 2-ranked offense in the NFL that year.

Meanwhile, last year's Bears team had a solid defense and that, plus some luck, resulted in an 11-5 record for the Bears and got them to the NFC Championship game.

But it wasn't enough to defeat a Green Bay Packers team with terrific wide receivers and a truly great QB.

Why is this?

Well, for one, rule changes have helped modern NFL offenses to thrive and flourish in the league these days.

It is more difficult for defensive backs to cover today's wideouts because they can't touch them beyond five yards and can't hit them near the head. If you don't think the fear of possibly getting beheaded by going over the middle wasn't a deterrent in the old days, then you don't understand football.

Meanwhile, QBs can throw the ball away as long as they are within certain parameters, and they can't be roughed up like the old days.

Now, this is not to say that defense isn't important. Teams with poor defenses provide poor field position, which allows their offense to gain more yards but probably fewer points scored.

But even saying that today's NFL is a QB-drive league doesn't mean that offenses haven't always beaten great defenses, at least on the average.

They have.

Recent studies help determine why a great offense usually trumps a strong defense.

This study refutes the old adage that you need to run the ball to be successful in the playoffs. In fact, even going back to the days when passing was not in vogue, great offenses have always defeated great defenses.

One of the reasons why this myth continues is that truly dominant defenses are more rare, so we tend to remember them better. The 1985 Bears are a great example, but again, a rare example.

Plus, the media tends to focus more on offense so, naturally, the league does as well. 

The awards are mostly skill-based, and the MVPs and Hall of Famers are often the QBs and other players who have racked up big offensive numbers.

In short, the NFL wants more scoring. They feel it brings more fan interest to the game.

Another possible variable is that championship games are played in good weather, usually in domed stadiums. And that helps offenses more than it assists defenses.

Let's go back to that 1985 Super Bowl Bears team to further illustrate my conclusion that defenses don't win championships. That was the only year that Jim McMahon was (relatively) healthy. As he missed more games in subsequent years, the Bears never again won a title, despite having statistically great defenses.

So, let's at least agree to question the notion that "defenses win championships" in the NFL. Statistically, it's the better offensive team that wins it all, and it has always been that way.