The loss of Terrell Suggs is so significant that it overshadows the large number of defensive accomplishments in this game.
Let’s review:
Dean Pees called an outstanding game:
–When it became obvious Manning would have great difficulty hitting any deep passes, Pees tightened coverages and showed a bunch of different blitz looks which confused both Manning and the young offensive line. To provide a metric, this game had more players (in total and per pass play) showing blitz and subsequently dropping into coverage (43 dropped to cover on 44 pass plays) than any other in Pees’ tenure.