The Worst Run Defenses in History

Yeah, the 2006 Champs are right up there.

Praise for the exceptional 2006 Colts

The 2006 Colts fielded the seventh worst rush defense in NFL history. As we noted that season, most of the teams at the top of the list of worst run defenses had deep institutional reasons for their inability to stop the run (see more below).

In the case of the Colts, they were something of a miracle. They won the Super Bowl! Just five of the 19 teams on our list of worst run defenses in history produced a winning record, and none beside the 2006 Colts came close to a championship, let alone won it. (The 2003 Chiefs went 13-3 but failed to win a single playoff game – they were bounced by the Colts in the division round.)

As you know, Faithful Peyton Papists in Indianapolis insist on the infallibility of their quarterback and assign no blame to him for any failure, no matter how egregrious it was to normal people. But the fact that the Colts won a Super Bowl with one of the worst run defenses in history is certainly a sign to them that their pigskin prophet does in fact walk on water.

The Indy defense certainly improved dramatically in the 2006 playoffs. But that’s splitting hairs. Let’s give the Peyton Worshipping Colts fans their due. In this case, they have a statistical reason to gloat.