Defence doesn’t win championships. Not this year. Not in the NFL.
None of the four remaining teams have a top-rated defence. In yards surrendered per game their defences rank eighth, 12th, 22nd and 25th. In order, that’s the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. On offence, however, they’re all ranked among the top eight in yards produced per game.
Hmmm. Why is that? Look at the quarterbacks.
Arguable the NFL’s four best quarterbacks are leading their teams into the Conference finals.
Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan. Any discussion about the league’s most outstanding player has to include those guys. They share common traits: They’re able to extend plays, to keep themselves from being sacked long enough to produce a good play. That leads to points. You need points to win. The team with the best offence is going to win Super Bowl LI.