Factoid
Here's an odd one. In making projections for fantasy defenses, we typically associate high sack and fumble numbers with defensive touchdowns.
It makes sense, and tends to hold up. In 2010, seven of the top 10 teams in terms of defensive scoring (touchdowns and safeties) also finished in the top half of the league in sacks, while five of them finished among the league's 10 best in forcing fumbles.
Then there's the Giants. New York not only finished 5th in sacks (46), but they forced a league-best 23 fumbles -- 5 more than any other team. That impressive production, however, resulted in them scoring zero defensive points: no touchdowns, no safeties. The only other team shutout in that area is far less surprising: Houston, which ranked dead last in fumbles (5) and only 23rd in sacks (30).
The 2010 defensive numbers, sorted in terms of points scored, are presented below. Note that the Rams, who also didn't score any defensive touchdowns, are the only team in the bottom 10 in scoring that ranked even average in both sacks and fumbles.
Pts Fum Sck
60 13 33 Arizona
54 13 36 New England
46 12 47 Oakland
42 10 35 Dallas
38 10 37 Seattle
34 18 40 NY Jets
30 11 30 Indianapolis
30 9 31 Atlanta
30 7 36 San Francisco
26 15 44 Detroit
24 14 48 Pittsburgh
24 14 34 Chicago
24 11 27 Buffalo
24 9 39 Kansas City
24 9 26 Tampa Bay
24 8 47 Green Bay
24 8 27 Baltimore
22 8 40 Tennessee
20 6 47 San Diego
18 13 29 Washington
18 11 39 Philadelphia
18 10 31 Minnesota
18 9 29 Cleveland
14 16 33 New Orleans
12 10 27 Cincinnati
12 8 23 Denver
8 12 31 Carolina
8 8 39 Miami
6 5 26 Jacksonville
2 12 43 St. Louis
0 5 30 Houston
0 23 46 NY Giants
--Andy Richardson
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