RADIO
The 2024 season continues to be a struggle for offensive football. We did get some good performances in Week 9, but once again quarterback play was down. A lot of those issues start in the trenches.
Plenty of teams are navigating an array of offensive line injuries halfway through the 2024 season. Nineteen of the 30 offensive lines that played in 2024 were missing at least one starter, and 11 teams lost an additional starter during their game in Week 9.
There will be four teams on bye in Week 10, so attacking the waiver wire is as important as ever. Check out the offensive line matchups to target and avoid in Week 10 below.
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Week 9 Champ
Buffalo Bills
The Bills got a dominant performance from their offensive line in their Week 9 win against the Miami Dolphins.
Buffalo finished with an average PFF pass-blocking grade of 80.8, an average run-blocking grade of 70.4, and an average overall PFF grade of 76.1 in the victory. Buffalo’s offensive line gave up just one sack and three pressures on the day.
Josh Allen sees and operates so fast now. Knows he can beat MIA's creeper pressure by throwing at the dropper because the weak safety gains depth before the snap and Jordyn Brooks (20) spot drops on the hash at the snap. pic.twitter.com/0I0iyjEueG
— Derrik Klassen (@QBKlass) November 5, 2024
The group was led by stellar performances on the edges. Both left tackle Dion Dawkins and right tackle Spencer Brown had pass-blocking grades above 82.0 and PFF grades above 75.0. Josh Allen threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns from a clean pocket (34 of 39 attempts) despite being blitzed 15 times.
Buffalo was also able to average 4.9 yards per attempt on the ground. There is still room for improvement with this group, but for at least one week, it was the top-performing unit in the NFL.
Week 9 Chump
Houston Texans
Houston’s offense has struggled to gain any momentum in 2024 thanks largely to the offensive line. Week 9 was no exception.
Quinnen Williams has put up the following stats in 2024 according to PFF (DT rank):
6 sacks (2nd)
32 pressures (3rd)
22 hurries (3rd)Just another elite season.pic.twitter.com/SR1fdJXjmB
— Luke Grant (@LukeGrant7) November 1, 2024
The Texans surrendered four sacks and 22 pressures against the Jets. Houston’s biggest issue came at the guard position. The “best” guard during the game (Shaq Mason) finished with a 22.0 pass protection grade and a 40.8 PFF grade. Starting left guard Kenyon Green posted a 9.2 pass protection grade in the first half before getting injured. His backup (Kendrick Green) followed that up with a 0.4 pass-blocking grade.
C.J. Stroud was pressured on 50% of his dropbacks in the game. He completed just 33% of his passes while under pressure for 4.5 yards per attempt. Unfortunately, that wasn’t much better than his total numbers at the end of the game (36.7% completion percentage).
Houston will hopefully get Nico Collins back in Week 10, but it won’t mean much unless the offensive line can figure out how to hold up in protection for the rest of the season.
Matchups to Target
Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
Atlanta’s offensive line is set to get a boost from Drew Dalman, who was designated to return in Week 9 but held out against the Cowboys. Ryan Neuzil (55.2 PFF grade) has performed admirably in his absence, but Dalman is a significant upgrade for one of the better units in the league.
The Falcons offensive line has struggled giving up pressures this season (98), but Kirk Cousins hasn’t allowed those to turn into sacks frequently (11).
All four of Atlanta’s usual starters have a PFF grade above 65.0, a run-blocking grade above 61.0, and a pass-blocking grade above 55.0. The team needs more from its tackles in pass protection (six sacks surrendered). Collectively, the team is averaging 4.5 yards per carry.
mesmerized by Bijan Robinson's jump cut pic.twitter.com/QzNv4QNYqR
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) November 5, 2024
The Falcons are set up to have an advantage in the trenches in Week 10 against the Saints. New Orleans has gotten consistent edge pressure from Chase Young (33 pressures and three sacks) and Carl Granderson (32 pressures and five sacks) but features little else in the pass-rushing department. The team has just one player (Granderson) with a run defense grade above 57.0.
Bijan Robinson is set to have an excellent game, but Cousins should have plenty of time to find his pass-catchers against a secondary that will be without Marshon Lattimore.
New York Giants at Carolina Panthers
The loss of Andrew Thomas has been felt by the Giants over the last two games. In Weeks 8 and 9, the Giants have given up three sacks and 31 pressures. In their defense, that is more so due to a brutal Week 8.
In Week 9, the Giants gave up just one sack and six pressures against the Commanders. Washington doesn’t feature the most formidable defensive line but has been able to cause quarterbacks fits due to its blitzing and stunting.
The #Giants pick up 10 yards on this first-quarter zone read. Tyrone Tracy Jr. did an excellent job seeing the hole and noticing the position of the read defender.
His acceleration to hit the C-Gap and strength to run through the contact are traits he's consistently shown… pic.twitter.com/dL1PYUHeSf
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) November 4, 2024
The Giants are poised to have another strong week against the Panthers' poor defensive line in Week 10. Carolina has just three defenders with double-digit pressures. None of them have more than 18. It has also generated just 11 sacks this season.
New York should have little problem establishing the run or hitting big plays in the passing attack this week. Fire up your Giants in fantasy, especially if you are trying to navigate bye weeks.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Buffalo Bills
The Colts rank first in pass-blocking grade (71.3) and second in run-blocking (67.4) and PFF grade (68.8) in 2024. The team has allowed just 13 sacks and 77 pressures this season. This is undeniably the best offensive line in 2024.
Indianapolis will get a chance to establish its dominance against Buffalo in Week 10. The Bills have just one defender (Greg Rousseau) with more than 17 pressures. The team has gotten good sack production from a variety of defensive ends this season (five edge-rushers with two or more sacks) but lacks talent on the interior.
This matchup will be even more lopsided if the Colts can get Bernhard Raimann back in the starting lineup after he missed Week 9. Even if he doesn’t play, expect Indianapolis to dominate on the ground with Jonathan Taylor. That should open up play-action passing for Joe Flacco.
Matchups to Avoid
Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The Cowboys offensive line is far from the dominant unit that we have come to know in recent years. Not only are new pieces like Tyler Guyton (55.3 PFF grade) and Cooper Beebe (60.5 PFF grade) struggling but established veterans like Tyler Smith and Zack Martin haven’t played to their usual standard.
Arnold Ebiketie had the first sack of the game, which was his first of the year
He gets his man off balance but this is a pure effort sack, doesn't give up and brings Dak Prescott down pic.twitter.com/NwaCTDeVxS
— Tre’Shon (@tre3shon) November 4, 2024
In total, the Cowboys have surrendered 17 sacks and 95 pressures this season as a unit. All five of their linemen have surrendered at least 12 pressures and three linemen (Terence Steele, Martin, and Guyton) have given up at least three pressures.
This group will be tested against the Eagles in Week 10. Seven different players for Philadelphia have at least 10 pressures. Six players have at least two sacks. Philadelphia can generate pressure on the edge with Josh Sweat (30 pressures and five sacks) and on the interior with Jalen Carter (28 pressures and three sacks).
The Cowboys offense was always going to struggle with Dak Prescott out and CeeDee Lamb ailing, but the problems will be amplified with a bad matchup in the trenches.
Houston Texans vs. Detroit Lions
The root of Houston’s offensive struggles can be attributed to the offensive line. The Detroit Lions will undoubtedly be able to exploit it even without the presence of Aidan Hutchinson (45 pressures and eight sacks on 198 pass-rush snaps).
Joe Mixon has been elite this year and it showed against the Jets
•C insert Zone design (yikes Kenyon Green)
•Mixon flashes hip flexibility and contact balance for a huge gain pic.twitter.com/2GB5Vcx8xk— Drew (@IndepthTexans) November 6, 2024
Make no mistake, the Lions still have plenty of ways to attack the quarterback. Alim McNeill (27 pressures and three sacks) and Levi Onwuzurike (23 pressures and three sacks) lead a formidable attack in the middle. Detroit also made a significant addition during the trade deadline, acquiring Za’Darius Smith from Cleveland (27 pressures and five sacks) to offset the loss of Hutchinson.
Houston’s greatest weakness on the offensive line is on the interior. That matches up perfectly with Detroit’s current strengths. Add in a veteran pass-rushing presence in Smith, and this could be another rough game in the pocket for C.J. Stroud.
Tennessee Titans at Los Angeles Chargers
Things are starting to spiral for the Titans offensive line.
Tennessee has spent most of the season trying to find anybody who can man the right tackle position. Four different players have logged at least 21 snaps at right tackle this year. None of them have a PFF grade above 55.0.
In Week 9, the Titans also lost their second biggest offseason acquisition, center Lloyd Cushenberry III, to an Achilles injury. Cushenberry struggled in his first season with the Titans, but he was still an experienced veteran. His backup, 2017 sixth-round pick Corey Levin, has just 480 career snaps.
One of the last teams an ailing offensive line wants to see is the Chargers defense.
Deatrich Wise Jr. beats his man with a great hand move and earns the sack pic.twitter.com/GiDzVHl1Ti
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) November 3, 2024
Five different players have generated at least 11 pressures for Los Angeles this season. Four players have at least three sacks this season. The Chargers are doing an excellent job getting after the quarterback, despite being without Joey Bosa for all but 95 snaps this year.
This matchup could get out of hand in a hurry. Expect the backfield to have a solid day for as long as the team can run the ball in this matchup.
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