What Super Bowl-winning defenses have in common

Does every Super Bowl winner share a common denominator? History indicates a combination of both efficient offense and a potent defense are often necessary for a team to reach the NFL's ultimate achievement.

Since defense is most often identified as the key to success (hence the old adage, "defense wins championships"), we dissected the data on a multitude of defensive statistics — from opponent yards per game to average time of possession, turnovers, and much more — to determine if any trends emerged among Super Bowl winners.

Not all Super Bowl defenses are made the same

Looking back over the last decade, several patterns surfaced among the champions, but most included an outlier or two. Still, three main defensive categories demonstrated a strong trend.

Below we break down each statistic and look ahead to 2019 to uncover which teams are most likely to claim Super Bowl LIV.

Opponent completion percentage

Takeaways per game

Scoring defense

Who should win in 2019 based on the trends?

Carolina (+3000) fits every trend but scoring defense (15th), while a defense you may be surprised is performing well (Kansas City, +1050) nearly fit every trend but is right outside the top 12 in takeaways and top 10 in scoring defense. The Chiefs, however, rank poorly in rushing defense (29th), as does Carolina (29th) and Green Bay (23rd).

Another interesting fact to note—the team that allowed the fewest points during the regular season has reached the Super Bowl just 18 times and is 13-5 in the championship game. The average NFL defensive rank for an eventual Super Bowl champion is seventh, according to NFL.com.

It's still early in the season, but according to the numbers, the Patriots, 49ers, Packers or Bills have the best chance to secure the Lombardi Trophy. There's plenty of football left to be played, though, but it's never too early to get in on a futures bet now that you've discovered the key to the last 10 Super Bowl-winning defenses.