Film Room: How Austin Built the Best Defense in the League

Through four games, the Austin Comets have allowed 11 points per game, forced nine turnovers and given up just two touchdowns of more than 20 yards. We watched every defensive snap to find out how. What we found was not a secret scheme or a clever new formation. It was a defense built on a few simple ideas, executed with unusual discipline, by a group of players who seem to have fully bought in. Two new pass rushers, one rule for the secondary and a coordinator who would rather not blitz explain most of it.

For this film study, our analysts charted all 247 of Austin’s defensive snaps this season, tracking how many players rushed the passer, where the safeties lined up, how quickly pressure arrived and what happened after the catch. The patterns were remarkably consistent from game to game.

Pressure without the blitz

Austin sends extra rushers on only 14 percent of plays, the lowest rate in the league. Its two new edge rushers win one-on-one often enough that it doesn’t need to. That is the foundation of everything else the Comets do. When four rushers can reach the quarterback, the other seven players are free to drop into coverage, which makes passing windows small and throws difficult.