With Super Bowl 50 quickly approaching, ESPN’s Vincent Verhei broke down the five-best defenses to appear in a Super Bowl since 1989. The rating was based on a DVOA obtained from Football Outsiders. Leading off the list at No. 1 is the Buccaneers’ 2002 defense.
That season, the Buccaneers finished No. 1 in the NFL in both yards and points allowed. The team boasted Hall of Famers Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp, along with Hall of Fame nominee John Lynch. In the team’s Super Bowl victory over the Raiders, the Buccaneers held the Raiders to just 21 points in a lop-sided victory.