The Denver Broncos hoisted the Lombardi Trophy Sunday night after besting Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, ending one of the most impressive postseason runs in recent memory and sparking linebacker Danny Trevathan to claim his unit performed better than even the historic 1985 Chicago Bears unit.
“You’re going to ask me? No. 1. No. 1 in my opinion, over ’85 Bears,” Trevathan said, according to NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus . “If not No. 1, No. 2. I feel like we did a good job playing our games. It wasn’t ever pretty, but when you put it in our defense’s hand we always come up with that win.”
Let the debate begin.
What the Broncos accomplished was impressive, of course. The unit shut down Newton, the league MVP, sacking him six times and forcing him into one interception on an 18-of-41 line while the Panthers mustered a 3-of-15 mark on third down.
Trevathan himself made plenty of big plays and surely put himself in a position for a massive new contract, including a key fumble recovery:
Mike Tolbert fumbles and Danny Trevathan recovers. Tolbert’s second fumble of the game. pic.twitter.com/q18KkzBIQ7
— The Sports Daily (@SportsDailyBlog) February 8, 2016
Denver’s performance came after a postseason in which the unit took care of business against Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady before handling the MVP, with Trevathan a big winner and Von Miller taking home the game’s MVP award. For context’s sake, the Denver Post‘s Nicki Jhabvala provided a closer look at what the Broncos did to opponents in the playoffs:
What the Broncos’ defense did to Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady & Cam Newton in the playoffs: 36 QB hits 14 sacks 25 passes defensed — Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) February 8, 2016
Impressive, but ’85 Bears impressive? The Buddy Ryan 46 defense might have been the best blitzing unit of all time, besting opposing offenses not just with scheme, but with athleticism—a feat well ahead of its time.
That one would be up to fans to decide. Difference in level of competition, the star players, the evolution of the game all play a massive part in the discussion. If there is one surefire takeaway, though, it’s that Trevathan’s unit certainly belongs in the conversation.
Debate on.
