We all love being in the NFL…that’s why we’re here. But many of us still choose NFL games based on our hearts or our fan instincts. As a fan, we all love to watch high scoring matches. Lots of offense, deep passes, touchdowns, it’s all a lot of fun. So it’s easy to pick a team with great offense when it comes time to place your bet online. But if anything is true in the NFL, each and every season, it’s that the defense wins championships and the defense wins games every week. The other deciding factor is always whether or not you have a top-tier quarterback running the ship.
How about we take a look at some of the best teams from the still young NFL season and see if that analysis holds up?
o The New York Giants are undefeated through the first few weeks of the season and are still led by a pressure defense. They get the quarterback out and create big plays, which puts the offense in a better position and puts less pressure on Eli Manning to try to do it all on his own, who is developing into a top quarterback.
o By moving to a team that actually plays in New York State, the Buffalo Bills are also undefeated in the first part of the season. The team has a solid and improving offense, and Trent Edwards can be a star. He has already led several big late comebacks. They are also strong on defense. They brought in a player from last season’s Giants, Kawika Mitchell, and young Paul Posluszny is becoming a tough guy, versatile and retroactive in the middle.
o The Tennessee Titans have a terrifying tower of tough guys on the defensive line. They barely give up any points and are extremely tough against the run.
o The Pittsburgh Steelers are led by Pro Bowl quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who only knows one thing: how to win football games. On defense, guys like Troy Polamalu and James Harrison always step up in big games and big moments.
Now let’s prove the point some more:
o The New England Patriots lost Tom Brady, and suddenly they’re just a good team, not a great team. Brady was protecting an old defense with his ability, but that’s a luxury they no longer have.
o The Jets and Dolphins have improved this season. No one confuses them with the best in the world, but both improved their quarterback situation because of the tangled mess of Brett Favre. Pennington can be a solid producer and Favre is an all-time great.
o Looking at the bottom rung of the league… what do we see? Usually a disaster at quarterback. 0-4 St. Louis benched Marc Bugler, 0-4 Detroit has no franchise quarterback, 0-3 Houston has seen poor performances from Matt Schaub, 1-3 Oakland has an inexperienced quarterback, 1-3 Kansas City has plenty of inexperienced quarterbacks … the list goes on.
Add a strong defense part + a strong quarterback part and you have a winning formula in the NFL, go for it. Never trust a team that gets by with weak defense or poor quarterback performances.