I think balance is the key.

Rarely does a championship quality team have a crappy offense or defense.

Both are typically ranked pretty high.

We're living proof that offense wins games.... It was the Patriot's and Falcon's D that really won those games yesterday. Their offenses were just there to make sure it happened. Neither packers or steelers defenses made it to the stadium.

Offense wins the games when the defense let's them have the ball on a shortened field or repeatedly gives the offense extra attempts to score. Teams with a good offense should score at least 50% of the time if they are really good. Give them a couple of extra shots at the end zone and it's a recipe for success. You don't have to be a great defense, but you have to be opportunistic on a consistent basis. Turnovers are the difference when all things are equal.

That and field presence that squeezes down with pressure inside the red zone. Dennis Allen seems to be pretty good at bending but not breaking. He just needs a few play makers.