Best games of the season of all-time great defenses

[Evan]

If you could only pick one game to represent each the greatest defenses of all-time, which one would it be?

Taking into account:
* Caliber of opponent (so games against the 1977 Bucs probably wouldn't be chosen)
* Something big at stake (no meaningless end of season games, you're probably thinking key playoff position games, or playoffs/championships)
* Great plays at key points (the defense actually did something, it wasn't just the offense keeping the ball and building a big lead)
* Your own "Holy Crap, that was AWESOME!" intuition (totally up to you, whatever moved you to pick this game).

I'd love to hear the Forum's thoughts on the very best game of the season from each of these all-time great defenses:

1962 Packers
1968 Colts
1969 Vikings
1970 Vikings
1972 Dolphins
1973 Dolphins
1974 Steelers
1975 Steelers
1975 Rams
1976 Steelers
1977 Cowboys
1977 Broncos
1977 Falcons
1984 49ers
1985 Bears
1986 Bears
1996 Packers
2000 Ravens
2002 Buccaneers

Feel free to throw in any others too.

[Rupert Patrick]

I'm looking at this from a "Best defensive performance of the season" perspective:

1962 Packers - Week 9 against the Eagles, Philadelphia gained 54 yards of total offense and three first downs in a 49-0 Green Bay victory.

1963 Bears - Championship game win over the Giants.

1968 Colts - The 34-0 beating of the Browns in the NFL Championship game.

1969 Vikings - Dismantling the Colts 52-14 in Week 2.

1970 Vikings - How can I not go with the 54-13 beating of the Cowboys?

1974 Steelers - How could I not go with Super Bowl IX, as it was the most devastating defensive performance in Super Bowl history?

1975 Steelers - AFC Championship, as the Steelers had to overcome the Lynn Swann attack and barely held off Stabler in the final seconds.

1975 Rams - The 10-3 victory over Pittsburgh in Week 14.

1976 Steelers - One would be tempted to say the 45-0 beating of the Chiefs. I remember watching this game and during the fourth quarter the Steelers were up 38-0, the Chiefs bring in a QB named Mike Nott for his one and only NFL experience. I remember mishearing his name as "Might Not" and said to my brother, "He probably won't". However, I would have to go with the playoff game where they shut down Bert Jones and the Colts, holding them to two touchdowns.

1977 Cowboys - Gotta go with Super Bowl XII.

1977 Broncos - The 30-7 win over Oakland in Week 5.

1977 Falcons - Might have to go with their 17-6 win over the Rams on opening day.

2000 Ravens - One would be tempted to say Super Bowl XXXV, but I will go with the Divisional Playoff against Tennessee. The 2000 Ravens and Titans are arguably the two best single-season defenses since the 1985 Bears, and were locked in a fourth quarter 10-10 stalemate until Ray Lewis broke it open with a pick six.

2002 Buccaneers - Super Bowl XXXVII over the Raiders. Despite the fact the Raiders put some points on the board, the game was over at halftime and those were garbage points. Three pick sixes by the Bucs.

[BD Sullivan]

in regard to the 1969 Vikings, their 51-3 rout of the Browns is a strong contender. The Browns had 169 yards of total offense, while their defense had no answer either. The Vikes scored the first nine times they had the ball, then finally punted on their last possession. Vikes held the Browns to 39 offensive plays, 151 total yards and eight first downs. In the latter instance, they didn't get their first FD until the second quarter.

[Gary Najman]

1985 Bears at Cowboys (44-0). Richard Dent and Mike Richardson returned interceptions for TDs in that game, plus two more interceptions for the Bears and six sacks, and held Dallas to 52 rushing yards. You could also argue the Bears three postseason games that year.

[7DnBrnc53]

2015 Broncos: Their 29-10 win over Green Bay in Week 8. They held A-Rod to 77 yards passing (and GB to 140 total yards) and a 69.7 rating.

[Rupert Patrick]

1985 Bears at Cowboys (44-0). Richard Dent and Mike Richardson returned interceptions for TDs in that game, plus two more interceptions for the Bears and six sacks, and held Dallas to 52 rushing yards. You could also argue the Bears three postseason games that year.

I was never a big Cowboys fan, and even that game was very painful to watch.

[conace21]

1962 Packers - Week 9 against the Eagles, Philadelphia gained 54 yards of total offense and three first downs in a 49-0 Green Bay victory.


2000 Ravens - One would be tempted to say Super Bowl XXXV, but I will go with the Divisional Playoff against Tennessee. The 2000 Ravens and Titans are arguably the two best single-season defenses since the 1985 Bears, and were locked in a fourth quarter 10-10 stalemate until Ray Lewis broke it open with a pick six.

The rout of the Eagles was the first thing that came to my mind for the 1962 Packers. The Eagles may have been a bad team that year, but they still had Sonny Jurgensen, Timmy Brown, Tommy McDonald.

One note about the Ravens-Titans playoff game. The 10-10 tie was actually broken by a blocked FG returned for a touchdown. Ray Lewis returned the interception for a touchdown two possessions later to clinch the 24-10 win.
I actually think that was more of a masterpiece for the Titans than the Ravens. Baltimore only managed 5 first downs and 120 yards of offense. (Half of that came on one long pass to Shannon Sharpe.) Baltimore's defense was excellent for much of the game, but I dont know if that was their defining game. Tennessee only scored 10 points, but Baltimore's defense also allowed two 50 yard drives that resulted in missed/blocked FG's. They also only got one turnover, when Eddie George bobbled a McNair pass.
I think the following week was an even better performance. The Raiders were a dangerous offense, but Baltimore shut them down... even before Rich Gannon was injured. 9 first downs, less than 200 yards, 5 turnovers.

[Rupert Patrick]

1962 Packers - Week 9 against the Eagles, Philadelphia gained 54 yards of total offense and three first downs in a 49-0 Green Bay victory.


2000 Ravens - One would be tempted to say Super Bowl XXXV, but I will go with the Divisional Playoff against Tennessee. The 2000 Ravens and Titans are arguably the two best single-season defenses since the 1985 Bears, and were locked in a fourth quarter 10-10 stalemate until Ray Lewis broke it open with a pick six.

The rout of the Eagles was the first thing that came to my mind for the 1962 Packers. The Eagles may have been a bad team that year, but they still had Sonny Jurgensen, Timmy Brown, Tommy McDonald.

One note about the Ravens-Titans playoff game. The 10-10 was actually broken by a blocked FG returned for a touchdown. Ray Lewis returned the interception for a touchdown two possessions later to clinch the 24-10 win.
I actually think that was more of a masterpiece for the Titans than the Ravens. Baltimore only managed 5 first downs and 120 yards of offense. (Half of that came on one long pass to Shannon Sharpe.) Baltimore's defemse was excellent for much of the game, but I dont know if that was their defining game. Tennessee only scored 10 points, but Baltimore's defense also allowed two 50 yard drives that resulted in missed/blocked FG's. They also only got one turnover, when Eddie George bobbled a McNair pass.
I think the following week was an even better performance. The Raiders were a dangerous offense, but Baltimore shut them down... even before Rich Gannon was injured. 9 first downs, less than 200 yards, 5 turnovers.

I forgot about the blocked field goal TD, it was 90 yards if memory serves. That was a great game; one of the three or four best defensive battles of the past 20 years.

I remember it came up before about the 62 Packers Eagles game that the Eagles may have given the worst offensive performance by any team at least since 1960.

[Saban1]

in regard to the 1969 Vikings, their 51-3 rout of the Browns is a strong contender. The Browns had 169 yards of total offense, while their defense had no answer either. The Vikes scored the first nine times they had the ball, then finally punted on their last possession. Vikes held the Browns to 39 offensive plays, 151 total yards and eight first downs. In the latter instance, they didn't get their first FD until the second quarter.

I will chalk the 51 to 3 loss to the Vikings in 1969 and the 34 to 0 loss to Baltimore in 1968 to Cleveland's let downs that they almost always suffered during the late 60's the week after their Dallas games. Dallas was their main rival in the Eastern Conference at that time and the Browns were always way up for them. Trouble is that they seemed to crash down the following week. Even after losing to the Cowboys, Cleveland seemed to always play badly, like their 31 to 14 loss to Detroit after losing the opener to Dallas in 1967.

1961 Packers - 37 to 0 over the Giants.

1954 Browns - 56 to 10 over Detroit Lions. Cleveland started slow that year with some new players replacing retired players, but after 3 games their defense was their greatest ever. They allowed 72 points in their last nine games which is an average of 8 points per game. Cleveland managed to squeeze by Washington in one game, 62 to 3.

[Evan]

Great stuff all. Some other thoughts:

1962 Packers – I’d consider the 49-0 shutout over Chicago in week 3. The Bears would go 9-3 in games that weren’t against Green Bay, and finished fourth in the NFL in points scored. Both teams came in 2-0 and the winner of this one would get the upper hand in the West Division. Although I didn’t see the game and don’t have a play-by-play so I could be completely wrong, I would guess that since the game was scoreless after the first quarter and only 14-0 at halftime, the Packers had to play honest defense for a while. The Packers made five interceptions and five sacks against a strong opponent, not a bad showing.

1972 Dolphins – I think that Super Bowl VII was one of the more under-rated defensive performances in Super Bowl history, considering how good the Redskins were all year, and the Miami D essentially shut them out in a tight game, made key turnovers, and held strong in a final-minute defensive stand to seal the victory.

1973 Dolphins – Also the Super Bowl, although maybe the first Buffalo game where they stifled O.J. could qualify. The Dolphins D played just about perfect against a really good team in Super Bowl VIII, giving them absolutely nothing while the offense built a lead.

1974 Steelers – I think I’d go with the AFC Championship over the Super Bowl, based on caliber of opponent. The Raiders had a better offense that year than Minnesota, so to me, Pittsburgh's stifling Oakland’s running game (with three Hall of Famers on the o-line) was more impressive.

1975 Steelers – I’d go with the Week 13 game against Cincy with the AFC Central title at stake. A Steelers defensive TD was huge in that game, and the defense essentially shut down a well-coached, offense that gave them a tough time in their previous meeting. But on another day I also might say Super Bowl X, given the momentum Dallas had coming in, all the sacks the Steelers made, key interceptions, a blocked punt, and a Hail-Mary thwarting end zone stand at the end.

1984 49ers – The Week 9 win at Los Angeles against the Rams was impressive for how they shut down Dickerson in his historic year, forcing five fumbles, making five sacks, and five turnovers against and L.A. team that was 10-4 in games not against San Francisco.

1985 Bears – I might go with the NFC Championship, seeing as how they totally negated Dickerson in a game that was tight at halftime, with so much at stake, obviously.

1986 Bears – The Week 5 23-0 shutout of Minnesota. The Vikings were a team on the rise for sure, and came in 3-1. The Bears had seven sacks and three turnovers to control what was a tight game at halftime.

All that being said, I think I really need to re-watch the games or highlights of all of the above to get a better sense as to how impressive the defenses were. Anyone with a fresher memory of these games, please chime in with your thoughts.