As the old mantra goes, "Defense wins championships." If you're Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes, that message should be ringing loudly after the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams, the Seattle Seahawks, the Denver Broncos, and the New England Patriots all boast some of the best defenses in the NFL. In fact, three of them find themselves in the top four in fewest points allowed per game.
The Seahawks top that list, averaging 17.2 points allowed. Their fellow #1 seed Broncos finished third at 18.3, with the Patriots following them at 18.8.
The only team in that top four to not make the conference championship was the Houston Texans, who finished second with 17.4 points allowed per game before losing to the Patriots in the Divisional round. The Rams aren't far behind that group at tenth, with 20.4. The Lions? 22nd, with 24.3.
It's not luck, either. The Broncos, Seahawks, and Patriots also find themselves in the top ten in both passing and rushing yards allowed per game as well. Lions finished in the bottom half in passing yards per game (331.9) and barely in the top half in rushing yards allowed (114.5).
Just having a great defense guarantees nothing. Just ask the Minnesota Vikings, whose Brian Flores-led defense finished second in passing yards allowed (158.5) and seventh in points allowed per game (19.6). However, scoring the 26th fewest points per game wasted that elite defensive performance.
Yet the Lions do have a great offense, play-calling issues aside. You can thank Captain Obvious for forwarding this message along, but the Lions need an elite defense if they want to keep their Super Bowl window open. Not average.
Yes, injuries again hurt the Lions' defense this season, but when your defense is dependent on guys like Marcus Davenport to stay healthy or Alim McNeill to pick up where he left off, it shouldn't come as a shock this season turned out the way it did. Holmes needs to be aggressive.
Cap space-wise, he may not have a choice but to trust that safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch will return at 100%, but that doesn't mean he should ignore All-Pro Chicago Bears safety Kevin Byard in the free agency pool.
And it's not just defense that built these conference championship teams, either. Another element of their success shines a light on another issue Holmes needs to aggressively address.
Strong offensive lines also lead the way for remaining teams
It's kind of a miracle that quarterback Jared Goff wound up with the stat line he did, given how poorly the offensive line played. He hardly missed a beat, and it makes you wonder how much better he would've been with a stronger OL. Hopefully, we'll see that next season with a revamped OL.
In their end-of-season OL rankings, Pro Football Focus ranked the Broncos (1st) and the Rams (4th) in their top four best OL units. The Patriots finished 11th, one spot ahead of the Lions, which goes to show how great a season tackle Penei Sewell had. The Seahawks (15th) did finish behind the Lions, for what it's worth.
Notably, the Bears ranked third in this year's final rankings, emphasizing how important OL play was in this season's NFC North title race.
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Offensive line is expected to be one of Holmes' top points of emphasis this offseason, and it'll be interesting to see how Holmes approaches it alongside other team needs. These NFL playoffs have done well to establish a blueprint for how a championship team is built, so Holmes better be studying it carefully as he plots his upcoming moves.