Remember the old adage “defense wins championships?” or Brad Johnson alongside a stifling defense and win ugly en route to a Lombardi Trophy. Even the ’85 Bears http://www.ramsfootballauthentics.com/jared-goff-jersey-authentic , arguably the greatest single season defense in NFL history, had a QB in Jim McMahon that was more linebacker than gunslinger.And yeah, I used to walk ten miles to school, barefoot, in the snow, uphill, both ways.Let’s take a look at the numbers:Super Bowl QBs with dominant defensesTeamPlayerCmpAttCmp%YdsTDINTTeamPlayerCmpAttCmp%YdsTDINT1985 Chicago BearsBetween Jim McMahon and backup Will Fuller, the ‘85 Bears passed for 3,169 yards, 16 TDs and 16 INTs. Yeah, they had a guy named Walter Payton running the ball, but McMahon was like Case Keenum in cement shoes — a game manager with the ability to make a gritty play when his life depended on it.The defense? Probably the greatest of all time. Mike Singletary, Richard Dent, William Perry, Steve McMichael and Dan Hampton headlined a unit that allowed just 12.4 points per game. The Bears would go 15-1, record two consecutive playoff shutouts, and win Super Bowl XX, crushing the Patriots by a then-record 36 points.2000 Baltimore RavensThe 2000 Ravens entered the season with the fearsome tandem of (former Ram) Tony Banks and Trent Dilfer at QB. The two combined for 3,080 yards passing, 20 TDs, and 19 INTs. Remarkably similar QB stats, 15 years after the Bears defensive-oriented run. Banks, as we know, couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn unless it was streaking 60 yards downfield, and Dilfer literally defined the term “game manager.” Rookie RB Jamal Lewis gained 1364 yards, and some guy named Priest Holmes chipped in 588.The defense, led by Ray Lewis, DE Rob Burnett’s 10.5 sacks, and CB tandem Chris Mcallister and Duane Starks, allowed a staggering 10.3 points per game and surrendered only 5 rushing TDs and 970 yards rushing the entire season. On 2.7 yards per carry. Simply filthy.Baltimore would go on to destroy the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, 34-7, forcing 5 turnovers. New York’s only TD came on a kickoff return.2002 Tampa Bay BuccaneersUnder Tony Dungy, the Bucs had been knocking on the door for years, and their calling card was defense (you might remember they held the ‘99 GSOT Rams to 11 points in the NFC Championship game). In truth, it wasn’t until Jon Gruden’s arrival from Oakland that they became a Super Bowl caliber team, and much of the improvement came on the offensive side of the ball.Still, did journeyman QB Brad Johnson read “Super Bowl QB” to anyone heading into 2002? Statistically, Johnson’s numbers are a little more akin to what solid early 2000s QBs were producing, as he put up 3049 yards and 22 TDs against just 6 picks. Alas, this wasn’t a guy winning games for Tampa Bay — he did just enough to keep them hanging around.People tend to remember this defense for DT Warren Sapp Youth Robert Woods Jersey , DE Simeon Rice and MLB Derrick Brooks, but it was the secondary that was special. Led by Ronde Barber and John Lynch, the unit picked off 31 passes and another 9 in the playoffs. During the regular season, they held opposing to QBs to a ridiculously low 48.1 passer rating. They would go on to punish the Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, making Gruden the youngest head coach in history to win a championship (hello: McBae).What’s your point, Wags?Ok, stay with me. Now we’ve got evidence that, yes, definitely, defense WON championships.Enter: 2018. Quarterbacks are ringing up fantasy stats like multiball on a pinball machine. Guys named Mahomes and Trubisky have thrown for 6 TDs in a game, Goff and Ryan for 5, with Dalton, Luck, Fitzpatrick, Cousins, Bortles and Carr each chucking 4 in a contest. We’ve had 12 400-yard passers through 4 weeks (with 3 from FitzMagic!). Through week 4 last year? There was only ONE 400-yard game in the NFL courtesy of Mr. Tom Brady.Speaking of Blake Bortles, he’s thrown for 1095 yards on the season, with games of 388 yards and 376 yards, all while throwing to receivers who were last seen on milk cartons. He eclipsed 300 yards just 4 times in 16 games last year, and is on pace for career highs in everything — yet we all still think, no, we know that Bortles is a bottom-third QB in the league. Sure, it’s becoming a passing league, but this is like watching your little brother play the CPU on rookie level on Madden.Per Adam Schefter, the trends are undeniable:Is Defense Dead?I first conceived of this article when Jared Goff went berserk on the Vikings, who were ranked 9th against the pass heading into Week 4. Don’t get me wrong — he was magnificent in a truly stunning performance — but Cousins also had a huge game. And then the following Sunday, Mitchell f’ing Trubisky threw for 6 TDs and Andrew Luck went for 464/4. And Carson Wentz? Carson Wentz went for 348/2 in his second game back and it was like he’d been lapped at the go-cart track, a forgotten man. Who lapped him? 9 other QBs threw for more yards than Wentz in week 4. Since when is 348/2 a pedestrian line?!Of course, rules changes have been a contributing factor. You can’t breathe on a QB without getting a personal foul call, and God forbid you don’t lay them down like a newborn in a crib. Teams are wary of helmet to helmet contact and hitting defenseless receivers more than ever, and maybe the schemes are adjusting more for risk management than making plays.Conspiracy theorists might (somewhat correctly) suggest that “this is what the NFL wants.” Scoring! Shootouts! Fireworks! Less images of concussed WRs, with the inevitable echoes of CTE haunting blue tents. No more gruesome slo-mo Joe Theismann / Navorro Bowman broken legs, and of course eradicate that kneeling during the anthem nonsense. “Maybe they’re calling less offensive holding, and more defensive holding,” I thought. I mean, you can call offensive holding on every play, so why not tell the referees to look the other way a little bit? And defensive holding? Tighten it up. Let ‘em run. Unnecessary roughness? Zero tolerance policy. PI? Sure, enforce it to the full extent of the rulebook. That’ll increase the scoring output, right?Nope:2017 Penalties vs. 2018 PenaltiesInfractionPer Week Avg. 2017Per Week Avg. 2018Per Week Avg. YPG 2017Per Week Avg. YPG 2018InfractionPer Week Avg. 2017Per Week Avg. 2018Per Week Avg. YPG 2017Per Week Avg. YPG 2018Let’s see. More offensive holding calls. Less defensive holding calls. Less unnecessary roughness penalties, and less defensive PI calls for less yardage. Sure Womens Michael Brockers Jersey , it’s only 4 weeks, but even if we see the trends shift, there’s evidence enough to suggest this isn’t some zebra/Goodell engineered conspiracy to light up the scoreboard.These guys are goodYeah, we’ve eliminated some of the intimidation factor. You won’t see a player emulating the Deacon Jones headslap or another heat-seeking missile like Ronnie Lott. In a way, that’s sad. Still, on the whole a less violent game is a better, more sustainable product, even if offenses are running free like stampeding cattle on Heisenberg blue.Is it possible that offense has just surpassed defense? Bigger, faster, stronger? Is offensive innovation advancing at a faster rate than defenses can adapt? Who’s the equivalent of Sean McVay on the defensive side of the ball? Exactly.Sure, we have the Khalil Mack / Aaron Donald / Jalen Ramseys of the world, but for every stud defensive player, there are 6 more on offense just waiting to put up 150 yards rushing/receiving, throw for 400+ or set some new record (Goff’s perfect game, Mahomes’s TDs). Maybe this is what the NFL wanted, but is this what we, as fans, wanted? Can somebody get off the field on third and long, please?If you like defense, I’d suggest you get out and buy a Jacksonville Jaguars jersey pronto, because they’re as close to a dominant unit as we’ve got in this league. Hell, they’ve even got a game manager at QB — who just so happened to throw for — cough cough — 376 yards against a Bill Belichick Patriots team. If the Jags win it all, maybe they’ll belong with the ‘86 Bears, the ‘00 Ravens or the ‘02 Bucs. But don’t hold your breath.In 2018, and from here on out, offense wins championships.Go Rams! After five weeks, fantasy owners of Dalvin Cook and Devonta Freeman are lamenting those draft picks, while those who gambled on Austin Ekeler and Tyler Boyd feel as if their fantasy IQs went up sharply.Week 6 constitutes a make-or-break moment for a host of players who have yet to live up to their preseason projections, along with those labeled as breakouts who are still digging to see the light of the expectations placed among them.START: Jameis Winston, QB, Buccaneers: Making his first start of the season, Winston gets a plum matchup against a Falcons secondary that has been strafed for 12 touchdown passes and is 28th in fantasy points allowed per game to opposing quarterbacks. Winston was 16 of 20 for 145 yards and a touchdown after mopping up for Ryan Fitzpatrick in a loss at the Bears. He won't waste time getting the ball downfield to Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson, so plug him in and watch him make up for lost time.SIT: Jared Goff, QB, Rams: Receivers Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp both remain in concussion protocol and while it's possible both will play, the matchup at the Broncos is filled with hurdles. Goff has been just OK on the road, averaging a modest 18 fantasy points in his first two road games compared to the 33 PPG he has averaged in three games in Los Angeles. Facing the Denver pass rush is also an issue, but Mother Nature will be the biggest reason to sit Goff, as the forecast Sunday calls for snow flurries and temperatures in the mid- to upper-20s at kickoff.START: James White, RB www.losangelesramsteamonline.com , Patriots: Even with Julian Edelman back and Josh Gordon continuing to be added into the flow of the passing game, White remains a great play for the potential Sunday night slugfest against the Chiefs. In the last two games, White has 18 catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns and will maintain that type of production against a Kansas City defense that allows seven catches and 90 yards per game to opposing running backs. In PPR formats, White is a borderline RB1 this week.SIT: Adrian Peterson, RB, Redskins: The injuries (ankle, knee, shoulder) are piling up on Peterson, who had only six yards on four carries in the Monday night loss at New Orleans. The Panthers have the sixth-best run defense in the league and it's unlikely the Redskins will give him a full workload. If Peterson is limited, it will be a mild disappointment for those who've used him as a sneaky good pass catcher in PPR formats.START: Tyler Boyd, WR, Bengals: Only the Buccaneers and Saints allow more fantasy points per game to opposing receivers than the Steelers, who can no longer put the bulk of their focus solely on A.J. Green. Boyd has caught nearly 70 percent of his targets and has seven catches of better than 20 yards, making him an excellent WR2 play against a Pittsburgh pass defense that has given up 13 touchdown passes and 21 completions of better than 20 yards.SIT: Amari Cooper, WR, Raiders: He's become too inconsistent, drawing only one target in last week's loss to the Chargers. Whatever the cause of the disconnect between him and quarterback Derek Carr, Cooper's down-up-down-up-down act is already wearing thin with his fantasy owners. The Seahawks secondary is no longer the feared unit it once was, but they are still ninth in the league in passing yards allowed per game and are second with nine interceptions. Maybe Cooper continues his yo-yo trend, but there's little motivation to risk a spot in the lineup for it.START: Chester Rogers, WR, Colts: With T.Y. Hilton doubtful, Rogers again plays the role of top wideout for Indianapolis, who faces a Jets team that is 26th in fantasy points allowed per game to opposing receivers. This should play well for Rogers, who was targeted 11 times in each of the last two games. He has yet to score a touchdown this season yet the high volume of targets from Andrew Luck only increases the chances of him finally visiting the end zone.SIT: Greg Olsen, TE, Panthers: Yes, he's slated to play against the Redskins on Sunday. However, there is no indication as to how much he'll be used. Either way, Olsen will need this game to get back into form. Washington is a modest 17th in fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends, so there's no need to feel that Olsen is missing a must-start opportunity. Olsen owners will be best off using this game as a gauge to how far along he is before becoming a viable fantasy starter once again.START: Andy Dalton, QB, Bengals: After failing to throw multiple touchdown passes for the first time this year in last week's loss to the Dolphins, Dalton will make up for lost chances against the Steelers, who are 31st in fantasy points allowed per game to opposing quarterbacks. Dalton is averaging a solid 23 fantasy points per game and will exceed that number facing a defense that's allowing 320.4 passing yards and nearly three touchdown passes per contest.SIT: Dion Lewis, RB, Titans: Since scoring 16 fantasy points in Week 1, Lewis has a combined 15 FP in the last four games. The Titans have been unable to effectively utilize Lewis, who has only 60 rushing yards on 25 attempts over his last three games. Don't expect those numbers to suddenly trend upward against a Ravens defense that is seventh in the league in rushing yards allowed and has given up only two rushing touchdowns all season.