The 10 Best NFL Defenses Over the Last Decade
8. 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers
It’s hard to find a weakness on the 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers defense.
| Category | Value | 2006-15 NFL Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Points Allowed Per Game | 176.8 | 6th |
| Yards Allowed Per Play | 4.5 | 9th |
| Takeaways | 35 | T-19th |
| Sacks | 51 | T-12th |
They only allowed more than 22 points in one game all season, coming against the New England Patriots, who ranked first in the NFL in 2010 averaging 32.4 points per game.
20.5 of their 51 sacks came from James Farrior (10) and LaMarr Woodley (10) alone, while three front-seven players had at least 100 tackles each.
| Player | Tackles | 2010 NFL Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Timmons | 135 | 8th |
| James Farrior | 109 | 26th |
| James Harrson | 100 | 40th |
To put that into perspective -- five teams in the NFL didn’t have a single player reach 100 tackles in 2010.
All that talent on the front seven and we haven’t even mentioned the best player on the Steelers defense that year. Troy Polamalu's seven interceptions were the second-most in the NFL, and he was voted the AP Defensive Player of the Year.
Pittsburgh’s season ended with a 31-25 loss to Green Bay in the Super Bowl, marking only their fifth loss all year and their third game without forcing any turnovers. Even in defeat, they held the Packers to only 50 rushing yards -- their lowest total of the year.
