The question is, which stats hold the most relevance when it comes to identifying good and bad teams? Everyone says that they want to run the ball and have a balanced offense. It would be logical to assume, then, that the teams with high rushing totals would also be among the most successful. Yet, only half of the top 10 rushing teams in the NFL made the playoffs this season (Denver, Houston, New Orleans, San Francisco and Baltimore), while the worst-ranked rushing team (the New York Giants) does not seem to have suffered from its poor ranking. Every coach in the game will tell you that you must be able to stop the run, yet only six of the top 10 rushing defenses made the playoffs (San Francisco, Baltimore, Houston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati).