Tampa Bay Buccaneers

One statistic proves championships are still built around defense

Published Jan. 10, 2016 10:41 p.m. ET

foxsports

Maybe defenses really do win championships. Or, they are at least massively important when it comes to getting into the NFL playoffs.

With the 2016 Wild Card round officially in the books, an interesting stat came out about the number of top 10 offenses that fell short of their postseason goals this year.

For the record, it's obvious from looking at this list that having a stellar defense is a bit more important than just having a strong offense.

Via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN:

#Saints, #Buccaneers, #Falcons, #NYGiants, #Chargers, #NYJets all Top 10 offenses this yr. None made playoffs, FWIW. https://t.co/wGGulCfaF4
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) January 11, 2016

While the New York Jets did have a solid defense, the rest of the teams on that list were basically just filled with mixed results. Even the Jets, at times, came up a bit short on the defensive side of the ball.

With all that being said, the Jets were the team on that list who, in all honesty, should have been in the postseason if not for that Week 17 meltdown. For the rest of the teams on that list, it's obvious that a few things are going to need to change heading into the 2016 offseason.

Jeff Smith writes about the NFL for FOX Sports. You can find him on Twitter @JSM8ith.