Four of the five teams that gave up the fewest points during the regular season are the last four left with a shot at the Super Bowl JK Scott Jersey Elite , something that had never happened since the NFL-AFL merger nearly a half-century ago.

And three of the four toughest to gain yards against are still around, too.

Still think that all a team needs to succeed in the modern game is an elite QB? Go ahead and take a close look at Sunday’s matchups for the conference championship games.

Sure, Tom Brady (assuming his injured right hand is good to go) and the New England Patriots will be playing for the AFC title, just like they always do, but they’ll be going up against Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Over in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles will send Nick Foles out to face the Minnesota Vikings and Case Keenum, hardly a marquee matchup between quarterbacks, and one set up by injuries to other signal-callers.

What this quartet of teams does have in common is solid defense, showing once again that while everyone is paying so much attention to one side of the ball, it’s the other that might truly matter the most. The more league rules and officiating tend to favor offenses, the more figuring out ways to slow that down is imperative.

”When you have a defense that can shut that type of firepower down,” said Brian Robison, a linebacker on the Vikings defense that ranked No. 1 in yards and points allowed, ”it allows you to win ballgames.”

Minnesota gave up 15.8 points per game. Jacksonville was No. 2 at 16.8, followed by No. 4 Philadelphia’s 18.4 and No. 5 New England’s 18.5.

”There’s teams that have really good defenses that aren’t talked about,” Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy said. ”We’re one of them.”

It’s the first time since the 1970 merger there has been that sort of defensive dominance among the NFL’s final four. The closest was at the end of the 2010 season Youth Lorenzo Carter Jersey , when teams that ranked No. 1 (Steelers), No. 2 (Packers), No. 4 (Bears) and No. 6 (Jets) in points allowed reached the conference title games.

”The most heralded guys on the field are the quarterbacks. So I would say, nine times out of 10, your detail goes into your offensive planning and things like that,” said Jacksonville’s leading tackler, Telvin Smith, who returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown last weekend. ”Offense sells tickets, and defense wins championships. I’m happy I’m on the defensive side.”

He is part of a young, talented and speedy D that rose to prominence quickly via a combination of shrewd drafting (linebackers Smith and Myles Jack, defensive ends Yannick Ngakoue and Dante Fowler Jr., cornerback Jalen Ramsey) and free-agent signings that panned out (defensive lineman Calais Campbell, cornerback A.J. Bouye, safeties Barry Church and Tashaun Gipson).

Take a look at the rankings in various regular-season categories related to defense, and you can’t miss the Jaguars. That helps explain how they made it this far with Bortles, whose 84.7 rating ranked 22nd among QBs with at least 100 pass attempts and whose 13 interceptions were exceeded by only six players.

Campbell tied for second in NFL with 14.5 sacks Redskins Pernell McPhee Jersey , while Ngakoue added 12 and led the league by forcing six fumbles. Bouye tied for third with six interceptions, while Ramsey, Gipson and Church each had four. As a unit, the Jaguars were No. 2 in yards allowed at 286.1, trailing the No. 1 Vikings (275.9), with the Eagles (306.5) at No. 4. The Jaguars were also second in sacks and total takeaways, while they topped the NFL with seven defensive TDs.

Exceptional defense can carry a team far: In nine of the last 10 seasons, the No. 1 or No. 2 team in points allowed participated in a conference championship game. The exception was 2015, when the Seahawks led the league in that category but lost in the divisional round, and the Bengals ranked second but lost in the wild-card round.

”Now it’s down to, `May the best defense win,”’ Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham said. ”We each get to showcase what we can do.”

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AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell in Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Kyle Hightower in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida; and Rob Maaddi in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

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Veteran receivers Brandon Tate and Michael Floyd joined practice at New Orleans Saints training camp on Wednesday, bolstering a receiver corps thinned by injuries and adding to the mix of players competing in the return game.

New Orleans also has activated veteran tight end Michael Hoomanawanui Authentic Brandon Parker Jersey , who began training camp on the physically unable to perform list.

The 30-year-old Tate played in 13 games for Buffalo last season, when his most significant contributions came in the return game. He returned 28 kickoffs for 548 yards and 20 punts for 193 yards.

”He had a good workout. We’re familiar with the player, just with his experience,” coach Sean Payton said of Tate, who also has played for New England and Cincinnati during his nine-year career. ”We’ll have a chance to take a look at him both in the punt and kick return game, and then also at receiver.”

Payton has described competition for return roles as ”wide open.”

”Our return game is kind of like `The Bachelor’ right now,” Payton said recently, referring to the popular reality TV series. ”We have about 12 contestants all with roses. We don’t know who our returner is going to be. And if she doesn’t like any of them, we will bring in more.

”They have to do anything they can to become the returner. … Limousine, whatever. Paris.”

Payton has been emphasizing kickoff coverage and return games this training camp because of NFL rules changes for such plays affecting how teams can line up – and block- in an effort to reduce injurious, higher-speed collisions.

Payton said the return game is not necessarily causing him more anxiety than usual, but stressed, ”We just want to be better in that area.”

Meanwhile, Payton said he wants to see how a receiver with Floyd’s skill set and 6-foot-3 frame fits New Orleans’ offense, which has thrived in the past with big receiving targets such as the 6-4 Marques Colston, who retired after the 2015 season as the club’s career leader in receiving.

Floyd is ”someone that’s big and we think we’ve got a good vision for what his strengths are http://www.steelersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-mason-rudolph-jersey ,” Payton said.

The 28-year-old Floyd played for Minnesota last season, but caught only 10 passes for 78 yards in 11 games after serving a four-game suspension by the NFL for using a banned substance.

Floyd was among Arizona’s premier receivers earlier in his career, but was released by the club following a 2016 drunken driving arrest. Payton indicated Floyd would not have much room for error off the field.

”Obviously, when we bring players in, they understand the expectations,” Payton said. ”He’s someone that I’m sure understands it.”

The decisions to bring in new receivers this week came in part because three who were on the active roster to open camp are injured.

Travin Dural, a second-year pro out of LSU, is going on injured reserve. Payton says injured undrafted rookies Josh Smith and Eldridge Massington have been waived.

”It’s a hard position group to be in camp with, with a lot of guys not practicing,” Payton said. ”That’s just how it is.”

The Saints also have added veteran offensive guard Don Barclay, who played in three games for Detroit last season and started 24 games with Green Bay over five seasons.

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