Blitzing allows defenses to play downhill and dictate to the offense instead of sitting back and being forced only to react. Blitzing is also the quickest way to increase pressure on the quarterback. The following chart illustrates this, showing that pressure rate understandably increases as more rushers are added.
* All data used is courtesy of Sports Info Solutions and from the 2016-2018 NFL regular seasons, unless otherwise noted.
The more defenders rushing the passer, the more pressure a defense gets on opposing quarterbacks. And pressure is the defense's best weapon against this era of pass-happy offenses.