Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield head into this weekend's NFL divisional playoff games as an exciting mixture of future Hall of Famers, MVPs and rising young quarterbacks peaking at the right moment.
Then there's Sean McVay's ragtag trio — struggling Jared Goff, who played last week with three pins in his passing thumb; woefully inexperienced John Wolford, whose second career start and first playoff appearance ended with a first-quarter neck injury and an ambulance ride to a Seattle hospital; and former first-round flop Blake Bortles, who might be active as a backup Saturday when the sixth-seeded Rams play the top-seeded Packers in an NFC divisional game at Lambeau Field.
But …
The Rams' QBs have something those seven other teams don't: The No. 1 scoring defense (18.5 points per game), which could come in handy when facing likely MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' No. 1 scoring offense (31.8 points per game).
Since 2002, seven No. 1 scoring defenses have reached the Super Bowl and gone 5-2. Meanwhile, six No. 1 scoring offenses have reached the Super Bowl and gone 1-5.
Eight of 54 Super Bowls have featured the No. 1 scoring defense against the No. 1 scoring offense. The top defenders hold a 7-1 advantage, including one victory by a Patriots team that also had a guy named Tom Brady on the other side of the ball.
Ask Russell Wilson how big a deal the league's best defense is.
In three games against the Rams this year, the Seahawks quarterback was sacked 16 times and threw three interceptions. In Saturday's 30-20 wild-card loss, Wilson was sacked five times, hit 10 times, completed just 11 of 27 passes and threw a pick-six.
