A truly great defense must stand the test of time, but for one single season, where do the 2013 Seahawks stack up? They overwhelmed the Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII with as ferocious a defensive performance as a title game has ever contained. So, do they rank among the best ever?
“Just so my guys hear this: I don’t want to take any shots at our guys that we’re this or we’re that or whatever, or we’re not this or that,’’ coach Pete Carroll said on Monday, the day after capturing the first Super Bowl victory in Seahawks’ franchise history. “I think you look back years down the road, and you assess what you accomplished with a group. You can take account of it then. I think when you’re in the middle of it, it’s not time to talk that way. We don’t know.
“We put together a couple of good seasons, back-to-back really big-time seasons in scoring and playing good, solid defense in a similar fashion. That’s pretty cool. When the names of the teams and the years of (the all-time best defenses) come up, you have many big-time defenses that have played. We’ll see. You have to look back, I think, and evaluate rather than call it right now. You won’t get me doing that.”
That doesn’t mean we can’t do it. Here’s one view of the top 10 single-season defenses in the Super Bowl era:
1. 1976 Steelers: The “Steel Curtain’’ of Hall of Famers Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Mel Blount did not win the Super Bowl but allowed a total of 28 points in its last nine games.
2. 1985 Bears: Buddy Ryan’s blitz-happy ‘46’ defense had 11 regular-season games allowing 10 or fewer points, shutouts in divisional and conference playoff games and gave up 7 rushing yards to the Patriots in a Super Bowl rout.
3. 1971 Vikings: The “Purple People Eaters’’ — the best nickname ever — featured the “Meet at the quarterback’’ mantra, and was headed by Alan Page, the first defensive player to be named NFL MVP. The unit allowed 9.9 points per game.
4. 2000 Ravens: The Ray Lewis-inspired defense completely carried a lukewarm offense, giving up an NFL record-low 165 points and the fewest rushing yards (970) in a 16-game schedule. The unit allowed 23 points in its four-game playoff run and didn’t allow any points in a 34-7 Super Bowl wipeout of the Giants (The lone points were scored on a kickoff return).
5. 1969 Chiefs: Hank Stram’s “Triple Stack’’ defense highlighted linebackers Willie Lanier and Bobby Bell and defensive tackle Buck Buchanan. The team obliterated Joe Namath’ Jets in the playoffs and allowed 20 points in three playoff games, including the Chiefs’ 23-7 Super Bowl victory over the Vikings.
6. 1975 Rams: Any defensive line that is called the “Fearsome Foursome’’ has to make the cut. Jack Youngblood, Merlin Olsen and Fred Dryer sparked a group that surged to a 6-0 finish to the season, allowing only 32 points. At 9.64 points a game, the unit was the sixth-stingiest defense ever.
7. 2013 Seahawks: The unit gave up the fewest points in the league, and in an era when the pass is king, the “Legion of Boom’’ secondary was suffocating. It’s in the top 10 for completely dominating the Super Bowl, bruising Peyton Manning and the record-breaking Broncos, statistically one of the NFL’s best-ever offenses.
8. 1990 Giants: The linebacker-dominated group led by Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor held the mighty 49ers, looking for a three-peat, without a touchdown in the NFC title game, and then held the Bills’ prolific “K-Gun’’ attack in check in a tremendous upset in the Super Bowl.
9. 2002 Buccaneers: The Bucs were the second team in NFL history to lead the league in total defense, points allowed and interceptions. Led by Hall of Famers Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp, Tampa Bay obliterated the Raiders in the Super Bowl, 48-21.
10. 1973 Dolphins: The fabled 53 “No-Name Defense” held 11 regular-season opponents to 14 points or fewer and gave up just 150 points that season, an NFL record for a 14-game schedule.