The old adage "defense wins championships" was defined in the NFL by the legendary Steel Curtain in Pittsburgh, No-Name Defense in Miami and the Monsters of the Midway in Chicago.

But the most recent trend began with a record-breaking defense that didn't inspire a nickname. The 2000 Baltimore Ravens ended an era dominated by high-powered offenses and ushered in the return of suffocating defenses.

The Ravens limited the Giants to just 152 yards of total offense in Super Bowl XXXV. Allen Kee/Getty Images

Since Ray Lewis and the Ravens hoisted up their first Lombardi Trophy, 11 of the next 16 Super Bowl champions had defenses that ranked in the top 10 in fewest points allowed, including nine that were in the top five. This defensive championship run saw the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers return three Rich Gannon interceptions for touchdowns, James Harrison's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown for the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers and Von Miller force two fumbles for the 2015 Denver Broncos.

Compare that to the nine years preceding the Ravens' first Super Bowl, when all nine champions featured scoring offenses that ranked in the top three in the league. This was the age of the Hall of Fame quarterbacks as Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Brett Favre and John Elway won every Lombardi Trophy from the 1992 to 1998 seasons. Kurt Warner, who won the Super Bowl in 1999, could extend that streak if he reaches the Hall of Fame.

Then, from 1999 to 2000, the NFL's top team went from being the Greatest Show on Turf to the stingiest defense in league history. The 2000 Ravens brought the NFL back to its old school roots when they set the 16-game mark for fewest points allowed. Baltimore remains the last team not to give up an offensive point in the Super Bowl, which was quite a culture change for a league that watched Jerry Rice catch passes all over the field, Emmitt Smith power his way into the end zone and Marshall Faulk drive defenders crazy in the open space.

Following Baltimore's lead, the 2002 Buccaneers and 2003 New England Patriots both reached the top of the football world with the top-ranked scoring defenses. The 2004 Patriots won the Super Bowl with the No. 2 defense in points allowed, and the 2005 Steelers did the same with the No. 3 scoring defense.

After a two-year lull, defenses got back on the championship track with the 2008 Steelers (No. 1 in scoring defense), 2010 Packers (No. 2), 2013 Seahawks (No. 1) and 2015 Broncos (No. 4).

Defenses have really stepped up their game the last four Super Bowls. The Seahawks roughed up Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl two years ago and limited him to eight points. The Broncos hammered Cam Newton in the same fashion, nearly producing as many sacks (seven) as points allowed (10). Even those defenses that didn't have the flashy ranking -- the 2012 Ravens and the 2014 Patriots -- sealed their latest Super Bowl victories with a fourth-quarter stand while backed up against their own end zones.

Based on this, if the Ravens want to rebound from a 5-11 team to a championship one, they must focus on getting their defense to the standard they established 15 seasons ago.