The defense was on the field because our offense could not sustain possession of the football, or score. We got the 15 point lead by executing our offense by keeping the opposing defense from anticipating our decision to run the ball in an effort to run the clock. A desperate opposing offense needs possession to make up a 15 point deficit ……….sure, a more effective defense has a chance to stop the opponent, but any offense with 4 downs instead of 3 has a 25% better chance of getting first downs and scoring.
Our defense failed, but is it just a coincidence that our offense could not sustain possession of the football at the same time?