The 10 All-World Defensive Performances So Far This Decade
Defense wins championships.
The reason this sports adage is repeated so often is because it is true. It doesn't matter if it's football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse or volleyball. Great defenses routinely defeat great offenses regardless of the sport.
The Carolina Panthers were favorites to beat the Denver Broncos at Super Bowl 50 largely because of their dynamic offense, led into battle by reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Cam Newton. Denver's defense not only survived Super Cam but dominated the action and was responsible for the key plays that decided the outcome of the game.
Winning a Super Bowl with a noteworthy defensive performance is hardly a rare occurrence. Last year, Super Bowl XLIX was decided by a late interception. In Super Bowl XLII, the New York Giants' punishing pass rush kept the New England Patriots from having a perfect record.
United States national men's soccer team goalkeeper Tim Howard set a record during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in a losing effort. The Kansas City Royals cooled off two of the hottest bats in Major League Baseball last fall. Floyd Mayweather Jr. angered casual boxing fans when he used his superior defensive skills to make light work of Manny Pacquiao in what was a rather boring encounter in May 2015.
This decade has already had its fair share of historic defensive performances. With roughly four years left until 2020 rolls around, the best could be to come. For all we know, the greatest defense in the history of team sports is one that has not yet been seen.
Malcolm Butler Interception Wins Super Bowl
1 of 10
Of course, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll should have given the ball to running back Marshawn Lynch at the 1-yard line late in Super Bowl XLIX. Lynch probably would have scored, and the Seahawks likely would have beaten the New England Patriots and repeated as Super Bowl champions.
The bad decision doesn't erase the fact that New England cornerback Malcolm Butler made an all-time great Super Bowl play in the end zone.
Wilson threw a good enough pass to complete the touchdown. The Seahawks were on the verge of executing the desired play. Seattle did not, however, expect that Butler, once an undrafted free agent, would read the play at the line of scrimmage.
From Peter King of the MMQB:
"Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, on second and goal from the New England one, saw Jermaine Kearse and Ricardo Lockette lined up in a stack formation to the right. The Seahawks spread their formation at the one, despite having an Earl Campbell type of bruising runner, Marshawn Lynch, plus one timeout, on their side. “I knew they were going to throw it," said Butler. “From preparation, I remembered the formation they were in and I knew they were doing a pick route."
Kearse was supposed to pick the corner trying to stay with Lockette. Wilson threw. Butler burst through the poor pick and made an easy catch.
"
Butler had to get the timing exactly right. A step too late, and he may not have been able to jump the route in time to get ahead of Lockette to make a play on the ball. As great of a stop as it was when then-St. Louis Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackled Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson just shy of the goal line on the last play of Super Bowl XXXIV, Butler's heroics may have been even better.
Chelsea Shocks Barcelona
2 of 10
The 2011-12 season could have been a complete disaster for Chelsea. Manager Andre Villas-Boas, hired by the club in the summer of 2011, was fired in early March. Assistant manager Roberto Di Matteo was meant to serve as a temporary boss until an adequate replacement could be hired in the offseason. Chelsea's only path to remaining in the Champions League the following season included an April trip to the Nou Camp to face off with Spanish giants Barcelona.
Chelsea appeared to be doomed after captain and defender John Terry received a red card eight minutes from the halftime break for a harsh foul on Alexis Sanchez. Per Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian, Terry had nobody to blame but himself:
"It was a staggering piece of stupidity from the Chelsea captain who, for no apparent reason, kneed Sanchez in the back just outside the area with play going on elsewhere. The referee didn't see it, but his assistant did. Terry lost his head completely. A moment of madness and while there will be talk of Barcelona getting all the decisions in these big games, what on earth was the eedjit thinking of? Chelsea have lost one centre-back, Gary Cahill, to injury and the other to a moronic red card.
"
Andres Iniesta put Barcelona up 2-1 on aggregate in the 44th minute, and the matter was, for all intents and purposes, done and dusted. Not so fast, though, as Ramires scored a shocking goal right before halftime that put Chelsea up on away goals.
The second half of the match will live on in the hearts and minds of every Chelsea supporter who watched it. Lionel Messi hit the bar from the penalty spot four minutes after halftime, and that miss coupled with Chelsea "parking the bus" seemed to take the wind from the sails of the hosts. Barcelona was unable to produce a breakthrough moment, and substitute Fernando Torres put the matter to bed for good with a stoppage time goal that sent Chelsea through to the Champions League Final, a Final the Blues won.
It may not have been pretty, but it was as fine a defensive performance as you will ever see at any level of world football.
Ohio State Defeats Oregon in National Championship Game
3 of 10
Multiple Ohio State offensive players were viewed as potential NFL prospects after the Buckeyes defeated the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 College Football Playoff championship game. OSU running back Ezekiel Elliot found the end zone four times and rushed for 246 yards in the win. Quarterback Cardale Jones, who had three college starts on his resume after the Oregon game, popped up in NFL mock drafts.
The Ohio State offense was far from flawless against Oregon. OSU lost three fumbles, and Jones threw an interception. That could have been a recipe for disaster for a side that was facing a decent opponent, let alone a team that notched blowout victories in each of its past six contests.
The Oregon offense was something out of a video game during the 2014 campaign. Oregon had scored no less than 42 points in nine straight contests leading up to the championship game. The Ducks blew Florida State out of the water to the tune of 59-20 in the Rose Bowl on January 1. Quarterback Marcus Mariota was a runaway winner among Heisman Trophy voters for the 2014 season.
Nevertheless, Mariota and Co. had few answers for Ohio State's defense, per the ESPN.com report:
"Mariota passed for 333 yards and two touchdowns, but the Ducks' warp-speed spread offense missed too many red zone opportunities and couldn't unleash its running game against linebacker Darron Lee and an Ohio State front seven stacked with future NFL draft picks.
"We fought through a lot of stuff," Mariota said. "We ended up short tonight, but that shouldn't take away from what we were able to do this year."
Even with the benefit of four Ohio State turnovers, the Ducks were held to their lowest point total of the season, four touchdowns fewer than their average coming in. They went 2-for-12 on third downs, with two dropped passes in the first half.
"
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Wisconsin Upsets Kentucky
4 of 10
Kentucky entered the 2015 NCAA tournament as the uncrowned champion of men's college basketball. The Wildcats were unbeaten at the start of March Madness, and Kentucky remained perfect up through the Elite Eight. Kentucky survived a scare against Notre Dame in the regional final, a game the Wildcats won 68-66. That victory had Kentucky at 38-0 and four halves of basketball away from a title and NCAA immortality.
Right after Wisconsin pulled off the 71-64 upset of Kentucky in the Final Four, it was the offense of the Badgers that was praised during postgame shows and by observers such as Kevin Trahan of SB Nation. While Wisconsin shooters made key and clutch buckets late in the game, the Badgers did well to keep Kentucky off the scoreboard when it mattered most.
Kentucky scored four points in the final six minutes of the contest, per ESPN.com. The loss to Wisconsin was only the third time since the start of 2015 that Kentucky was held under 65 points. The Wildcats won those other two games by double digits.
Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group offered praise for the Wisconsin defense after the game:
"On defense, Wisconsin didn’t allow easy entry passes to the Kentucky big men and then played them pretty much straight up when the ball came in, which meant the Badgers didn’t swarm to the ball that much, which meant the Wildcat guards weren’t wide open on inside-outside action, which forced the Kentucky guards to create their own offense.
"
Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky scored a game-high 20 points in the winning effort. He also finished with 10 defensive rebounds. Kentucky, as a team, had six offensive boards.
Holly Holm Stuns Ronda Rousey
5 of 10
The casual observer may believe that Holly Holm decimated then-undefeated Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 this past November because of several punishing strikes. While there is some truth to that, such a description fails to give adequate praise to Holm for the work that she put in before the fight.
Holm had a perfect game plan. The challenger invited Rousey to engage in boxing, and Holm then connected on counterpunches. Holm's footwork was perfect, and that along with her jabs prevented Rousey from closing the distance when the two were standing. As ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto wrote, Holm accomplished what no other fighter before her had done: She out-performed Rousey in every aspect of mixed martial arts:
"Holm handled Rousey's boxing pressure beautifully. She started to find a home for the straight left early and went back to it time and again. Rousey's face was reddened within the first exchanges, and her striking defense went out the window as she became obsessed with keeping a high pace on Holm. Holm calmly circled away from the pressure and avoided eating a big shot. She allowed Rousey to graze her with a few right hands, but never appeared fazed by any of them.
Midway through the round, Rousey managed to drag Holm to the ground but did not do so with the same authority she traditionally has. The two fell awkwardly to the mat, where Rousey transitioned to her go-to armbar. Holm was never in serious danger, however, as she cleared the arm and quickly got back to her feet.
"
Rousey has the name power, the finishing move (armbar) and a history of quick stoppages. Therefore, it's likely that she would be the favorite going into any rematch with Holm. That's unfair to the current champion. Holm showed that she had a blueprint for beating "the baddest woman in the world."
Why would things go any differently if the two meet in the Octagon later this year?
Royals Beat Mets in 2015 World Series
6 of 10
Destiny seemed to be on the side of the New York Mets in the fall of 2015. Infielder Daniel Murphy, largely an anonymous figure before the playoffs, set a Major League Baseball record when he hit home runs in six consecutive playoff games, per Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. Murphy's last homer before the World Series helped the Mets clinch a sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series.
A hot take that a fan could have about the 2015 World Series is that the Mets' bats went cold when it mattered most. Shouldn't we instead say that the pitching staff of the Kansas City Royals shut the New York lineup down for the majority of the series?
The numbers at Baseball-Reference.com are staggering as they pertain to New York's inability to generate much at the plate outside of Game 3. Yoenis Cespedes, acquired by the Mets before the trade deadline and a hero among the New York faithful for his contributions during the run to a division title, hit .150 in the World Series. Murphy also batted .150 against the Royals without any RBI in the five games.
The bullpen of the Royals was better than advertised. It kept the Mets off the scoreboard for six straight innings in Game 1. The Kansas City bullpen matched that feat in Game 5 en route to celebrating a World Series championship at Citi Field.
Seahawks Dominate Broncos at Super Bowl XLVIII
7 of 10
The 2013 Denver Broncos had arguably the best regular-season offense in NFL history. Denver scored a league record 606 points that year. Quarterback Peyton Manning threw 55 touchdown passes, breaking the record set by Tom Brady in 2007. The Broncos entered the playoffs and the Super Bowl sitting atop seven different offensive statistics for the season.
Those numbers make what the defense of the Seattle Seahawks did to the Denver offense at Super Bowl XLVIII all the more impressive.
Super Bowl XLVIII was essentially decided on the first play from scrimmage. Denver began the game with possession, but the opening snap went over Manning's head and into the end zone. Seattle earned the safety, and momentum never again swung in favor of the Broncos.
Manning, superb in the regular season, was downright ordinary against Seattle. He was picked off twice, and Seattle linebacker Malcolm Smith took one of those interceptions to the house for a touchdown. Manning's touchdown pass in the closing seconds of the third quarter was one of the more meaningless scores of his career.
That TD and subsequent two-point conversion made the score 36-8 with one quarter left to play.
Defenses that perform well on Super Bowl Sunday will immediately be compared with the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. Neither one of those defenses shut down a historic offense in the title game. Seattle's defense still stands alone as the best to ever play in a Super Bowl.
Tim Howard Versus Belgium at 2014 FIFA World Cup
8 of 10
The United States was always going to need a Herculean effort from somebody if it was to defeat Belgium in an elimination game of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. That Belgium squad was filled with dynamic talent at the attacking end. Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Marouane Fellaini were all in the starting XI. The likes of Romelu Lukaku, Kevin Mirallas and Mousa Dembele began the match on the bench.
Yikes.
U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard was not only up for the challenge but stopped 16 Belgium attempts on goal, a record for a World Cup match, according to MLSSoccer.com. There were times when Howard looked more like a hockey goaltender, extending his legs and using any part of his body to keep the ball from entering his net. He carried the Americans through the end of a scoreless regulation but was beaten twice in stoppage time.
Belgium won the match 2-1.
Perhaps the harshest part of the loss is that we will likely never again see Howard play in a World Cup. Howard, who turns 37 years old in March, could be out of favor at Premier League side Everton, according to Andy Hunter of the Guardian. At best, he could finish the campaign as Everton's second option behind the younger Joel Robles (25) on the team sheet.
Howard's best days, physically, are behind him.
He deserved a victory against Belgium. That he didn't earn one serves as another reminder that sports are often unfair.
Floyd Mayweather Beats Manny Pacquiao
9 of 10
The supposed "Fight of the Century" involving Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in May 2015 was never going to live up to the hype. For starters, the contest had been teased for roughly half a decade before they finally stepped inside the ring to do battle. Even more significant was that Mayweather never fought to entertain in-house crowds and customers watching via pay-per-view.
Mayweather fought to win, albeit in a boring way, and his superior defensive skills proved to be too much for Pacquiao.
It became clear, by the end of the sixth round, that Mayweather had things well in control. Any hopes some may have had that Pacquiao could land that one decisive blow were replaced with visions of the Filipino legend swinging and hitting only air. Mayweather, meanwhile, bobbed and weaved and then counterpunched when necessary, all the while avoiding danger for the majority of the 12 rounds.
The CompuBox numbers offered by Dan Rafael of ESPN display Mayweather's dominance. While he landed 148 of 435 punches, Pacquiao connected on just 81 of 429 punches. To put it another way, Rafael broke it down: "Overall, Mayweather averaged landing 12 of 36 punches per round and Pacquiao a poor six of 35 per round."
Every iconic fighter needs that one big win. It was only last year when ESPN dedicated a 30 for 30 to the fact that Evander Holyfield never beat Mike Tyson when Tyson was at his best. Neither Mayweather nor Pacquiao was in his physical prime when they fought, but it doesn't matter. Mayweather not only won in convincing fashion but left little doubt that a rematch would end the same way.
There is no longer a question which of the two was the best fighter of his era.
Denver Broncos at Super Bowl 50
10 of 10
The offense of the Carolina Panthers was, on paper, an unstoppable force in the weeks leading up to Super Bowl 50. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, named Most Valuable Player for the 2015 regular season, was looking to cap off his best year as a pro with one more solid outing. The offense of the Panthers had steamrolled over the defenses of the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals in postseason play.
A Carolina win was inevitable in the eyes of some.
Denver's defense did not just silence doubters on February 7; it produced a Super Bowl performance for the ages. The Broncos registered seven sacks and 13 QB hits. Linebacker Von Miller, the best player on the field who finished the game with 2.5 sacks and six total tackles, was named Super Bowl MVP.
Michael Rosenberg of SI.com wrote after the game that Denver's defense should now be revered as an all-time great unit in playoff history:
"They beat three of the top five scoring offenses in the league in the playoffs: Pittsburgh, New England, Carolina. They beat Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Cam Newton. That’s a heck of a threesome.
These last two wins, over New England and Carolina, were upsets if you look at the point spread. But they weren’t really upsets. If the Broncos played the Panthers 10 times, does anybody really believe Carolina would win more than five? This was a simple case of the better team winning, thanks to an all-time great defense.
"
How did Denver's defense do what was seemingly impossible and limit the Carolina offense to a single touchdown and 10 overall points? As Stephen White of SB Nation explained, Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips trusted his players and a game plan that was intended to stifle the Carolina rushing attack:
"By loading up against the run with 3-4 alignments most of the game and having the interior guys like Derek Wolfe, Sylvester Williams and Malik Jackson wrecking shop against the running game, that forced Carolina into a lot of unfavorable down and distances on second and third downs. And that's when Phillips would unleash hell.
For an offense so built around the run, not being able to do so effectively and consistently forced the Panthers to rely on guys like Ted Ginn Jr. and Jerricho Cotchery to make plays in the passing game if they wanted to move the ball down the field. Both guys were decent during the regular season -- hell, Ginn even developed into Newton's No. 1 target at wide receiver after Kelvin Benjamin went down -- but there's a reason why most analysts, myself included, thought Carolina was in trouble without Benjamin in the first place. Those guys picked a bad time to revert to the mean, I can tell you that much.
"
Nothing that happened at Super Bowl 50, including his play on the field and his well-documented antics at the postgame press conference, can take away from all that Newton achieved during the season. He and the Panthers merely ran into a defense that casual fans who predicted Carolina would win the Super Bowl by multiple scores had underestimated. That defense should never again be underappreciated, as its legacy is set in stone.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
