Kubiak is an offensive-minded head coach who, like the rest of us, realizes the Denver Broncos are winning because of defense. To that point, he gave Wade Phillips some high praise on Monday after the defensive coordinator came up with a game plan that stymied one of the greatest field generals in league history, Tom Brady, in the team’s 20-18 win Sunday.
The New England Patriots quarterback failed to complete half his passes (27-of-56) for 310 yards (much of it in the second half) with one touchdown and two interceptions, and Broncos prevailed when he was picked off again on a failed two-point conversion that could have tied the game.
Furthermore, as has been talked about plenty, Brady was hit 20 times (more than any quarterback all year). Referencing this, Kubiak praised the defensive line for their work in the trenches:
Kubiak on Broncos' 20 QB hits on Brady: "We got off on the ball probably as well as we got off all year, & when we got there we were smart."
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) January 25, 2016
He then pointed the finger at Phillips, who was retired before this year:
I asked Gary Kubiak where Wade Phillips', who he's been with for a long time, game plan ranks in his mind. "It was special"
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 25, 2016
Kubiak had Phillips as his defensive coordinator for three years when they were both with the Houston Texans. After taking over for his friend on an interim basis in Houston when Kubiak was fired, Phillips took the 2014 season off while Kubiak coordinated John Harbaugh’s offense with the Baltimore Ravens.
Then when the Broncos hired Kubiak, it was an easy call to make to bring Phillips — a 3-4 defense master — to come run his defense in Denver.
The move clearly paid off. In addition to finishing the regular season with the No. 1 defense in football, Phillips’ group has now held two of the most potent offenses in the NFL — the Pittsburgh Steelers and Patriots — to 16 and 18 points during the playoffs.
Now Von Miller, Chris Harris, Malik Jackson and Co. will have a chance to test themselves against the No. 1 offense in the NFL when they take on the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 two weeks from now.