Do NFL teams with the best defense have an advantage?

Edition: US - Today's top story: Does defense actually win championships? [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 13 January 2018 [[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair]( Editor's note Legendary football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant famously said, “Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships.” So with the divisional round of the NFL playoffs kicking off this weekend, should bettors go with the Vikings, who, of the remaining playoff teams, had the best regular season defense, allowing a mere 275 yards per game? Mark Otten’s Sports Psychology Lab recently tested Bryant’s theory, and [his findings may upend one of the sport’s most enduring maxims](. Whoever you cheer for this weekend, there’s a good chance that you’ll do it with a craft beer in hand. While a few big labels still dominate the beer market, the buzz is coming from small-scale breweries turning out a dizzying assortment of beers and ales. Holy Cross sociologists Daina Cheyenne Harvey and Ellis Jones explain [how craft brewers in New England have grown a local industry](. One word: Networks. Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor Top stories New England Patriots defensive end Bobby Hamilton sacks St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner during Super Bowl XXXVI. AP Photo/David J. Phillip [Does defense actually win championships?]( Mark Otten, California State University, Northridge Cal State Northridge's sport psychology lab ran a regression analysis to see if there's any truth to the adage. Pouring Saison, a classic Belgian farmhouse-style ale, at Allagash Brewing in Portland, Maine. Allagash Brewing [Craft beer is becoming the wine of New England by redefining 'terroir']( Daina Cheyenne Harvey, College of the Holy Cross; Ellis Jones, College of the Holy Cross Winemakers call the ecological factors that define their product terroir. 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