It's time for Eagles' defense to step up

If this is the year the Eagles finally win a Super Bowl, the defense will have to make history.

That's because no team has won the title after allowing as many points in the regular season as these Eagles, who gave up an average of 23.6 per game.

In fact, only one team has even reached the Super Bowl while surrendering as many; the 2008 Cardinals yielded an average of 26.6 per game and made it to the show but lost when they couldn't stop a late Steelers drive.

The 2006 Colts gave up an average of 22.5 points per game in the regular season and still took home the title. It was the most a team has allowed before becoming the champion.

Eagles players and coaches argue that whatever their flaws, the defense was good enough to get into the playoffs and win a division.

"I'm extremely proud of what this defense has accomplished," defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said Thursday. "There are a lot of defenses out there that are sitting at home right now."

It's a fair point, although critics could argue that the Eagles are in the playoffs thanks to their prolific offense - averaging 27.4 points per game - rather than a defense that tied for 21st in the NFL in scoring.

They also could note the 31 passing touchdowns the Eagles have given up. No team has won the Super Bowl while allowing so many. Skeptics might finally, and most emphatically, point to opponents' 76.7 percent touchdown rate when they get inside the Eagles' 20. That's the worst red-zone performance by a defense since the 1988 Oilers.

All those numbers are ancient history now, said safety Quintin Mikell.

"There's obviously things that we want to get better at, but we're making big plays. We're getting turnovers. Red zone's not there, but we're getting there," Mikell said.

Could the Eagles' defense turn it around now? Others have. And middling regular-season defenses have reached the Super Bowl far more often in recent years.

Before the '06 Colts, only six of 80 Super Bowl entrants gave up an average of 20 or more points per game in the regular season.

With the NFL's growing emphasis on offense, though, each of the last four Super Bowls has included a team that allowed an average of more than 20 points per game in the regular season. Three of those teams - the '06 Colts, '07 Giants, and '09 Saints - won the championship.

Those winners had the first-, second- and third-worst regular-season scoring totals posted by championship defenses.

How did they do it? Each produced big plays in the postseason.

The Saints created eight turnovers in three postseason games last year, including a championship-sealing interception for a touchdown. The Giants notched seven turnovers in four games, and the Colts produced 13 in four games.

Eagles defensive end Darryl Tapp pointed to that Colts team. It struggled in the regular season, he said, but "played lights-out in the playoffs."

The Eagles might be positioned to do that. They had 34 takeaways, fifth most in the NFL.

And while the offense has carried much of the load, the defense has delivered big plays at times. It had five takeaways in the first game against the Giants and came up with key stops to aid the Eagles' rally in the rematch. Asante Samuel sealed a two-point win over the Colts with a late interception.

"That's our main goal: Stop them when it's most important," cornerback Dimitri Patterson said.

It doesn't get more important than the playoffs.