Offence sells tickets; Defence wins championships

Defence still matters.

It might seem strange in the modern National Football League (NFL) where both quarterbacks and wide receivers are protected like precious Fabergé eggs, and box scores resemble video game stats, but it's true.

The fact that defence still matters is comforting after seemingly every quarterback in the league threatened passing records in 2011-12.

There were 10 quarterbacks who threw for over 4,000 yards and three of those surpassed 5,000. Before this season, there were only two quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to throw more than 5,000 yards, Dan Marino and Drew Brees, who joined the 5K club for the second time this season by setting the single season record of 5,476 yards.

Three quarterbacks threw at least 40 touchdowns, a feat only five quarterbacks had done before this season. There was almost a fourth too, as Tom Brady threw 39 touchdowns through the air, narrowly missing out on his second 40-plus TD season.

Yet, as the 2012 NFL playoffs have demonstrated, defence still matters.

The Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints lost a combined four games during the regular season, and had the league's two highest scoring offences, but neither will be fighting for the Lombardi Trophy on Feb 5.

The Packers defense allowed the most total yards during the regular season, averaging over 400 yards against per game, and were pretty mediocre in run prevention. This was in stark comparison to the previous year when they owned a defence near the top of the league, which helped them win the Super Bowl.

Shockingly, the Packers were defeated by the New York Giants, who allowed the most points of any playoff team during the regular season, but transformed themselves in the postseason, thanks in large part to finally being healthy.

The Giants held Aaron Rodgers to less than 300 yards passing and pressured him all game, sacking him four times and forcing four turnovers.

As the Giants pressured the Packers offence, Green Bay saw their defence collapse, allowing close to 40 points, including a back breaking Hail Mary pass at the end of the second quarter.

The Saints fared no better, losing in what turned out to be a shootout against the San Francisco 49ers. But, the 36-32 score in favour of the 49ers is misleading. San Francisco actually hammered the Saints on defence. The 49ers, owners of one of the league's top defences, recorded three sacks and forced five turnovers against the Saints.

The playoffs have also taught us that teams that have trouble scoring will find their path to the Super Bowl exceedingly difficult, as Denver, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati showed.

So, relying almost solely on defence to win isn't going to fly. With the new rules implemented to pump the game full of passing, the days of Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer managing the clock and relying on the defence to win a championship are long gone. But, as the 2012 playoffs are proving, there is still room in the game for a strong defence.

If the New England Patriots walk away on Feb. 5 with a fourth Lombardi Trophy, maybe the Divisional round of the playoffs was just a minor blip. Maybe we really can start planning the eulogy for defence.