Recapping the 2018/19 NFL season

#8 Defense still matters

Jared Goff gets tackled during Super Bowl LIII

Midway through the 2018 NFL season, there was this idea that defense didn’t really matter anymore because all those highly explosive offenses would put points up on anybody. While I understand that mainstream media can jump on a train like that and every show in America had a topic to talk about, I never bought into it.

Yes, the league has catered its rules towards offense and protecting their stars, but in the end, games are still won by teams who can get it done in all three phases. I love Patrick Mahomes, who I already stated was my clear-cut MVP and I said after just three weeks that he would take the league by storm, but he didn’t get to the big game because his defense could not stop anything in the AFC Championship game.

Sean McVay is one of the best offensive minds in football after just two years at the head job and he has already completely transformed the Rams organization, but his offense put up three points when it really mattered in the Super Bowl.

This idea that you have to you need to spend all your resources on the offensive side of the ball and hire one of those young head coaches, who has creative ideas is crazy to me. Guys like McVay, Kyle Shanahan and Josh McDaniels don’t just run around on the street, they are extremely rare. And to think that as long as you have a system that supports your quarterback you are in the race is just not right.

Of course, having someone you can trust at the most important position and building around him is the basis to really have success, but your defense is on the field the same amount of time and rarely do you win games solely based on putting up big numbers offensively.

While it is harder to get it done with a dominant defense nowadays than it was 20 years ago, the teams that can game-plan for their opponents and slow them down still are the ones who usually advance in the playoffs.

The Chargers put together a strategy that has Ravens fans worrying about Lamar Jackson’s ability to succeed in this league, the Rams shut down the Cowboys’ and Saints’ potent rushing attacks in consecutive weeks and the Patriots held three of the top six scoring offenses to a combined seven points in the first halves. Defense may be more about making impact plays and producing turnovers right now, but it sure does still matter.