A historic and star-studded unit ranked as the greatest NFL defense of all-time.
In today’s NFL, most fans and pundits are more entertained by the play of an all-world quarterback than by a stingy defense. But even the greatest quarterbacks of all-time like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning and Terry Bradshaw needed a lot of help from the other side of the ball to get to the top of the mountain.
NFL Throwback, part of NFL Films, released its list Top 10 Greatest Safeties in League History.
At the top was the “Steel Curtain” defense that led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl championships in six years (1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979).
As NFL Throwback noted, the Steel Curtain defense allowed a league-low 13.6 points per game between 1972 and 1979. Defensive tackle “Mean” Joe Greene (1972 and 1974), cornerback Mel Blount (1975) and linebacker Jack Lambert (1976) combined to win four Defensive Player of the Year awards in five years.
Under the leadership of Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll, the Steelers’ tough defense put pressure on Hall of Fame quarterbacks such as Staubach, Ken Stabler (Oakland Raiders) and Fran Tarkenton (Minnesota Vikings).
Green, Lambert, Blount, safety Donnie Shell and linebacker Jack Ham are all inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
There will be no other defense like the ‘Steel Curtain’
(Photo by Clifton Boutelle/Getty Images) *
In today’s NFL, the salary cap and league-wide parity make it difficult for teams to keep all of their core players together. Just look at the Seattle Seahawks and the Legion of Boom, who only had a few healthy seasons as a unit.
No other single defensive unit in history has led a team to four Super Bowl championships. Add in the individual accolades, and it’s safe to say that Pittsburgh will never have as good an NFL defense as the one it had in the ’70s.
