Does defense still win championships?

Aaron Donald, Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons, often considered as three of the best defensive players in the NFL, were complete non-factors in the wild-card round, combining for eight total tackles and no sacks. 

Per Next Gen Stats, the Packers limited Parsons — a favorite for Defensive Player of the Year — to one pressure on 19 pass rushes, marking his lowest pressure rate in a game in his entire career (5.3%).

While many of the NFL's defensive stars struggled mightily in the first round of the playoffs, multiple players on the other side of the football excelled. Four quarterbacks finished with a passer rating of 120.0 or higher (Stroud, Love, Lions' Jared Goff and Rams' Matthew Stafford), thanks in large part to a lack of pressure generated by defenses.

Against two of the top five pass defenses, Stroud and Love were pressured on just eight and four dropbacks, respectively, with neither getting sacked. The duo continued to excel even when under pressure, completing a combined 11-of-12 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown.

Though Goff was sacked three times by the Rams defense, he had all day to throw on the vast majority of his dropbacks. On passes when he wasn't pressured, the 29-year-old completed a perfect 21-of-21 for 266 yards and a touchdown.

It wasn't all poor play from defenses, however. Texans cornerback Steven Nelson and linebacker Christian Harris recorded back-to-back pick-sixes off Browns quarterback Joe Flacco. Packers safety Darnell Savage additionally intercepted Cowboys' Dak Prescott and returned it to the house. 

It's worth noting that these plays happened with their respective games already spiraling out of contention, as the Browns and Cowboys were down by multiple scores.