30 greatest defenses in NFL history
12. ’91 Eagles
One of the most ferocious defenses on this list, headed up by an immense defensive front, Gang Green was a unit that nobody wanted to face. They were tough, violent, aggressive. The sack masters, forced turnovers routinely and hit quarterbacks time and time again. Although they didn’t statistically have the best defense that season, with four teams allowing fewer points, the Eagles’ offense was truly atrocious after rambling Randall Cunningham went down in Week 1, which seriously limited the effectiveness of the Eagles’ defense.
The Eagles’ defensive prowess is shown through yardage. They allowed the fewest total yards in the league, as well as the fewest in history in a 16 game season, the fewest passing yards and surrendered the fewest rushing yards, only the fifth club to achieve such a feat. The unit led the league in sacks, forced fumbles and tied for the lead in takeaways. This was all due to the aggressive pursuit of their defensive front.
On paper, this defense stacks up to any throughout history. Three of the four defensive linemen made the Pro Bowl (all three were All Pros) that year, including arguably the greatest defensive player of all time in Reggie White. These were joined by linebacker Seth Joyner and cornerback Eric Allen. All in all, half the defensive starters went to the Pro Bowl, and all this success was with the 26th ranked offense and facing four games against the top five scoring offenses.
This all points to the Eagles being considered as the greatest defense of all time. However, although the team struggled at quarterback, they didn’t even make the postseason. Yes, the offense was awful, and yes, on paper, this defenses matches up to any in history, but titles won has an influence on ranking defenses, and the Eagles only played 16 games that year. The potent mix of Buddy Ryan as the fired head coach and Bid Carson as the defensive coordinator created one of the most feared defenses of all time. That’s why it’s so high on this list. It doesn’t climb higher due to one simple fact: Lack of titles.
Next: 11. '90 Giants