The top two scoring defenses meet in the Super Bowl on Sunday, and the list of stars is enough to make an offensive coordinator cry: Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley for Pittsburgh; Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji for Green Bay. It could be a run-stopping, quarterback-smacking clinic, and the winner could join this list of the best Super Bowl defenses of all time:
10. 1986 New York Giants, Super Bowl XXI
Big Blue got after the quarterback in a big way, piling up 59 sacks behind league MVP Lawrence Taylor. New York surrendered 31 points in a Week 1 loss to Dallas, and then allowed only four other teams to break 20, thrashing San Francisco and Washington 66-3 in the NFC playoffs before booting Denver 39-20 in Super Bowl XXI.
9. 1973 Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl VII
Miami’s “No Name” defense simply didn’t allow teams to score. The Dolphins gave up 183 total points (including playoffs) and kept teams in single-digits eight times. They had a stretch of 13 straight scoreless quarters late in the season. Bill Stanfill, Manny Fernandez, Nick Buoniconti, Dick Anderson and Jake Scott were named to the All-Pro team.
8. 1969 Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl IV
Led by Hall of Famers Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell and Willie Lanier, Kansas City allowed only three teams all season to break the 20-point mark. In the playoffs, the Chiefs were even better, surrendering 13 points combined in wins over the Jets and Raiders en route to a 23-7 pummeling of the Vikings in Super Bowl IV.
7. 1971 Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl VI
They are on this list for two reasons. One: the Cowboys entered Super Bowl VI having allowed only three touchdowns in the previous 20 quarters. Two: Dallas’ “Doomsday Defense” beat the living snot out of the Dolphins, surrendering only 80 total rushing yards to Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick, and harassing Bob Griese into a woeful 134-yard passing performance.
6. 1966 Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl I
Not as good as Vince Lombardi’s 1962 crew, which boasted five future Hall of Famers — including Ray Nitschke — but the ’66 team, with Nitschke, Herb Adderley and Willie Wood, led the NFL in points allowed (11.6) and manhandled the Chiefs in Super Bowl I, allowing only 239 total yards and sacking Len Dawson six times.
5. 1990 New York Giants, Super Bowl XXV
To combat Buffalo’s turbo-charged, no-huddle offense in Super Bowl XXV, Giants defensive coordinator Bill Belichick overloaded his unit with defensive backs, hammered the Bills receivers and dared Thurman Thomas to run wild. Thomas finished with 135 rushing yards against the NFL’s top rush defense, but New York slowed Buffalo enough to win 20-19.
4. 2002 Tampa Bay Bucs, Super Bowl XXXVII
The Bucs had a balanced pass rush, a massive anchor in Warren Sapp and a ball-hawking secondary of Ronde Barber, Brian Kelly, Dexter Jackson and John Lynch. All were on display in Super Bowl XXXVII, as Sapp (one sack), Simeon Rice (two sacks) and Jackson (two interceptions) fueled a 48-21 rout of Oakland.
3. 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl X
The 1976 squad was a touch better but lost in the AFC title game. Still, this version of the “Steel Curtain” was excellent. Mel Blount intercepted 11 passes and Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, L.C. Greenwood & Co. held 10 opponents to 10 points or fewer. The vaunted Pittsburgh pass rush sacked Roger Staubach seven times in Super Bowl X.
2. 2000 Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl XXXV
They are 1-A in many books (including ours). The Ravens held opponents to 10 points or fewer 15 times and forced 68 turnovers. In Super Bowl XXXV, they turned Giants quarterback Kerry Collins into a human piñata, sacking him four times and forcing him into throwing four interceptions. New York’s lone score came on a kickoff return for a touchdown.
1. 1985 Chicago Bears, Super Bowl XX
We mentioned this earlier in the week but it’s worth printing a second time: In three postseason games, the Bears allowed 10 points and 434 yards of offense … total. In Super Bowl XX, Chicago destroyed Tony Eason — and his career — and Steve Grogan, intercepting two passes, forcing four fumbles and registering seven sacks in a 46-10 rout of New England.
