Best NFL defenses of all time?

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

wow someone agrees with me....right to say they arent in the discussion of best defense of all time is absurd...their defense destroyed the Oilers that year who were on pace to break most offensive records.......and they played more games 16 than defenses of decades earlier and offensives put up bigger offensive number in the 90s versus prior decades and their division that year had 2 great teams..redskins who won the SB and Dallas who were on their way to be an elite team

Well, definitively stating what the best, greatest, most in these types of discussions is a bit like stating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. But to dismiss that 1991 Eagles defense for a reason like they didn't even make the playoffs is nonsensical when one considers what the offense was like. How many 10-win NFL teams have ever had the leading rusher gain less than 440 yards for the season? The five quarterbacks that season threw nine more interceptions than touchdowns.

The '91 Eagles defense comes up too often in these types of discussions among NFL experts to simply dismiss them with a wave of the hand because the team did not make the playoffs or Buddy Ryan was not the coach. I always thought it was universally accepted that team was at least among the all-time great defenses until I read this thread.