By Thomas Overmiller

Legendary football coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant famously preached that “defense wins championships.” To this day, coaches, players, commentators, and fans replay this sentiment as though it’s true, but is it? Or is it just a ruse to excuse poor offense?

Football history and statistics do show that stellar defense has steered some notorious NFL teams to championships, but not always. That’s why Domonique Foxworth (a writer for The Undefeated and a former NFL cornerback), after analyzing key metrics in his article “It’s time we modify old adage, ‘Defense wins championships,’” concluded that “offense or defense wins championships. Oh, yeah, and don’t forget about special teams.”

I appreciate Foxworth’s astute, nuanced observation because it not only expands and improves my perspective on football, but it also helps me recognize the need for a more balanced and refined perspective on ministry and theology.