In 1991 the Dallas Cowboys had the league’s 17th-ranked defense. They went 11-5 and won a playoff game. In 1992, the Cowboys had the league’s top-ranked defense and won the Super Bowl. No one really saw that coming at the time.
No one sees it coming this year either, but there are similarities. The Cowboys went 12-4 and won a playoff game last year with the league’s 19th-ranked defense. This offseason the team invested heavily in the defensive side of the ball and appears poised to have a devastating rotation of rushmen to pressure opposing quarterbacks.
The 1991 Cowboys got 22 sacks from their defensive line.