Shutdown! The greatest pass defenses in history

The Jets defense ruled the airwaves during the 2009 season, with an NFL-best 58.84 Defensive Passer Rating.

 

But even the stingy J-Men of 2009 were softer than the rotund midsection of the average CHFF Troll when compared with the greatest pass defense of the Super Bowl Era.

 

That honor falls, appropriately enough, upon the Steel Curtain Steelers of 1973, with an amazing 33.1 Defensive Passer Rating.

 

The numbers are spine-tingling for those among us that still pine for the lockdownn days of the Dead Ball Era, when defensive ends head-slapped tackles, blitizing linebackers roughed the passer with flag-flee glee, and cornerbacks did everything but prison-shank wide receivers.

 

Pittsburgh's pass-defense numbers that year were stunning. Opposing passers compiled the following stat-line :

The figure that leaps screaming off the sheet is the amazing 37 picks in 14 games. The 2009 Jets, by comparison, allowed a puny 8 TDs in 16 games, but hauled in just 17 picks.

 

Pittsburgh's all-time best pass defense was an equal-opportunity unit: Mike Wagner (pictured) led the team with 8 INT, but 10 other guys recorded at least one pick. Amazing. Eleven defenders boasted at least one INT for Pittsburgh that season. The entire starting secondary recorded 24 picks alone, and Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount was last on the list: Wagner (8), safety Glen Edwards (6), cornerback John Rowser (6) and Blount (4).

 

Needless to say, Steel Curtain stalwart Jack Lambert joined a fairly good defense when he was drafted by Pittsburgh the following spring. Steel Curtain defenses are well represented on our list of the greatest pass defenses of the Super Bowl Era.

 

The following list represents the statistical utility of Defensive Passer Rating: almost every team on the list was very good, and five of the top 25 pass defenses went on to win the Super Bowl. That's a pretty good rate of success for a single Quality Stat.