Dan Patrick Show misses the obvious choice in greatest defense poll

[ASFN Admin]

Determining the greatest of all time in anything sports related is tough. There's no quantitative measure, especially across eras and sports so any sort of list is open for tremendous debate. But when the Dan Patrick Show put up a poll asking who the greatest defense in professional sports is, it sparked a significant number of Pittsburgh Steelers and rightfully so.

The poll included the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, 1985 Chicago Bears and the 2026 Spain Soccer team. The poll also included an "other" option which immediately brought the 1976 Steelers defense into the conversation.

Here are some of the numbers that back up the Steelers being that greatest defensive unit in any sports.

The Legendary 9-Game Stretch​

To close out the regular season, the Steelers went on a 9-game winning streak driven entirely by the defense. During those 9 games, the unit allowed:

• 28 total points: That is an average of just 3.1 points per game over more than half a season.
• 0 touchdowns in 8 of the 9 games: Opponents simply could not cross the goal line.
• 5 total shutouts: This remains the most shutouts thrown by a single team in a season during the Super Bowl era.

Streaks Within the Streak​

The consistency of their dominance during the mid-season stretch is almost unbelievable by modern football standards:

• 3 Consecutive Shutouts: In weeks 7, 8, and 9, the Steelers blanked the Giants (27-0), Chargers (23-0), and Chiefs (45-0).
• 15 Straight Quarters: The defense kept opponents off the scoreboard for 15 consecutive quarters of football.
• 5 Straight Games Without a TD: From weeks 6 through 10, the Steel Curtain didn't allow a single touchdown, outscoring their opponents 112-9 in that window.

Season-Long Dominance & Accolades​

• 9.9 Points Allowed Per Game: They finished the year allowing under double digits per game, a franchise record that still stands today.
• 46 Forced Turnovers: They absolutely terrorized opposing quarterbacks and ball-carriers, averaging more than 3 takeaways per game.
• 8 Pro Bowlers: Out of the 11 defensive starters, 8 made the Pro Bowl. This included the entire starting secondary (Mel Blount, Glen Edwards, Mike Wagner, and J.T. Thomas), linebackers Jack Lambert and Jack Ham, and defensive linemen Mean Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood.
• Defensive Player of the Year: Middle linebacker Jack Lambert took home the DPOY hardware as the ferocious heart of the unit

This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Dan Patrick Show misses the obvious choice in greatest defense poll

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