Getting Defensive: 2013 Seahawks vs 2000 Ravens
By Jeff Adcox
There is no denying that the Seattle Seahawks defense had the Denver Broncos offense on the ropes for most of the Super Bowl, holding the league’s highest scoring offense to just eight points.
However, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens defense still may be considered the best the league has seen. At least BaltimoreRavens.com staff writer Ryan Mink thinks so. Mink recently pointed out a number of categories that point toward the Ravens as the better unit.
In the 2000 regular season, the Ravens defense gave up an average of just 10.3 points per game. In 2013, the Seahawks gave up 14.4. The Ravens D also gave up around 25 fewer yards per game than did Seattle.
Mink also points out that the Ravens held a double-digit edge in turnovers.
"The Seahawks got four turnovers out of the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. They led the league with 39 takeaways during the regular season. But the 2000 Ravens defense was even more ball hungry. That unit had 49 turnovers on the season. The Ravens forced 26 fumbles and had 26 recoveries. There were 14 different players with at least one fumble recovery and eight with at least one interception."
So even if the Seahawks don’t have the best defense ever, they had the best one this season, which is all that probably really matters. Especially to Broncos fans.