An unsung hero is someone who does great deeds, but gets little to no recognition for them. In football, the linemen who battle in the trenches are the unsung heroes that make the biggest impact on the game. In this weekly column, we shine a light on those unsung heroes and to help you make your lineup decisions. The offensive line advantage will be provided by Brad, with the defensive line advantage provided by Tommy Mo. Both also give their favorite matchups to look forward to for the week ahead.
Week 9 Recap
Offensive Side
The Steelers seemed to play down to the Cowboys level last week. Neville Gallimore did have a nice game finally. That was the Cowboys biggest weakness on their defense, especially since the loss of Gerald McCoy. They did not allow a sack though, which keeps them at 10 given up on the year. The ground game was non-existent after the first drive, not that it was really working then either. The good thing here is that they were able to keep Ben upright after his knee injury which allowed him to remain in the game.
The Raiders game ended up being a bit of a shootout towards the end. For Josh Jacobs it seemed that they were limiting his usage just a little bit, given that he was questionable to go in this one. He ended up getting 14 carries for 65 yards, but his running mate Devontae Booker edged him out by 3 yards on 6 fewer carries. Derek Carr was only sacked once, right before the end of the half, but was able to get time to hit a few deep shots during the game. Overall, a nice game upfront for this consistent group. They should be getting Richie Incognito back shortly, and maybe Trent Brown, so all signs point north in Las Vegas.
This last advantage was an above-average game for this Jaguars group. They held the Texans to 2 sacks and James Robinson racked up 99 yards on the ground. Holes were opened up for him and he took advantage, plain and simple. Doesn’t help when you are blocking for a statue, though. You want to block longer when your QB is able to help you out, even if it’s just getting the ball out quickly.
Defensive Side
Tommy Mo coming in with the HEAT for his first matchup. What a good call here. The Seahawks offensive line lost Mike Iupati a few weeks ago and it’s not like they were that good before that anyway. The key to stopping this high powered offense is containing the broken plays that Russell Wilson has mastered. Pressure up the middle, collapse the running lanes, keep contain outside so he can’t spin out, and launch one of his patented rainbow throws. As much as you can contain Wilson your offense is going to have to put up tons of points to beat them and the Bills offense was cooking today. They racked up 5 sacks and forced 2 picks for Russell Wilson and held them to 57 total rushing yards. Circle the wagons, the Bills are back after their disappearing act the last couple of weeks.
This Washington team certainly misses Matthew Ioannidis in the run game. They allowed Wayne Gallman and Alfred Morris 135 rushing yards on 23 carries. They did get to Daniel Jones on 5 separate occasions but did not force any turnovers. Washington overall had a few turnovers which put the defense in some bad spots, especially early when they fumbled on a punt return. Unfortunately, the defensive line can only do so much for this Football Team.
Offensive Line Advantage
Cleveland Browns vs. Houston Texans
Nick Chubb could not have come back for a juicier matchup. Houston is giving up the second most adjusted line yards per carry per Football Outsiders and they are facing a dominant Browns line who is getting Wyatt Teller back as well. This one is going to be a blast to watch. Wyatt Teller was having an All-Pro level season before his calf injury. I don’t expect him to be at that level quite yet especially going up against J.J. Watt. I outline that more below as my favorite matchup of the week. The rest of the line has been strong in his absence. Averaging 4.85 adjusted line yards per carry, good for 3rd in the league.
Even if he is on a pitch count Nick Chubb shareholders should be licking their lips for this matchup. Even the Terminator himself loves Nick Chubb this week in his free Love/Hate article. Even better news for Kareem Hunt shareholders as he actually scored more when Nick Chubb was playing. However, I think that it was Wyatt Teller going down that caused this, not the loss of Nick Chubb. With Teller being back this is going to inject some extra rocket fuel into this offense. Always have to bring it back to the big boys up front!
Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks
This was a tough one and it could have really gone either way. Seattle has been good in the run, partially due to their scheme, and not good in the pass. The Rams have been good in the passing game, again partially due to their scheme, but not as great in the run game. Both of the defenses in this game have been taken advantage of by what the other offense does well too. Seattle defense is atrocious against the pass, but pretty good against the run. The Rams are not good against the run, but rush the passer with the best of them. This should be one of the highest scoring games of the slate with the other being Arizona vs Buffalo. There are lots of no brainer starts in this one. Chris Carson if healthy, Deejay Dallas if he is out. Darrell Henderson looks like a game time decision, so this might be the week Cam Akers gets some more burn, but most likely a RBBC with Malcolm Brown.
I chose the Rams to have the advantage in this game is mainly due to the implied point total being so high and the Rams being better in pass protection. The Rams have given up sacks at the lowest rate according to Football Outsiders and this is going to be the key to the game. Seattle on the other hand is giving up a sack on 8% of drop backs, more than double the Rams rate. The run game for the Rams is going to be the kicker here. The Seattle front seven has been stout, but I imagine Sean McVay will be scheming ways to get chunk yards on the ground to keep Russell Wilson off the field.
No explanation advantage: Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers
Defensive Line Advantage
Washington Football Team at Detroit Lions
Buckle up fans of defensive line play and those starting Lions players this week. The defensive line advantage matchup of the week pits one of the best defensive lines in the game this year vs one of the worst. In both run blocking and pass blocking, the Detroit Lions are rated 21st and 26th, in adjusted line yards and sack rate, respectively. The Lions also let Matthew Stafford get sacked an average of 2.6 times per game, the 22nd worst in the NFL per teamrankings.com. That number jumps to 3 times per game when playing at home, which the Lions are this week. Washington is 1st in adjusted sack rate with 10.6%, and 12th in adjusted line yards, stuffing opposing runners on 20% of run plays. The trio of Sweat, Kerrigan, and Young have combined for 13 sacks on the season. That may not seem like a huge number, but the fact the pressure is coming from multiple people means you can’t key in on just one. The passing game for the Lions will already struggle this week without Kenny Golladay, and I would be concerned with starting Matthew Stafford (unless you have no other choice) as well as any Lions ball carrier. If you play IDP I’d consider starting Chase Young this week.
Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville Jaguars
While my partner Brad Wire included Green Bay in his “no explanation advantage” the Packers DL will get the explanation because they have a choice matchup this week. The Jacksonville offensive line is pretty good when it comes to run blocking (6th in adj. line yards) as we have seen in the success of James Robinson. But their pass blocking is the complete opposite. They are 30th in adj. sack rate, which contributes to their overall line ranking of 21 by Brad Wire. The Packers are rated 11th in pass rushing but they are led by one of the best in the game in Zadarius Smith. Smith is tied for 4th overall in sacks with 7, on par with Brandon Graham (PHI) and TJ Watt (PIT). He’s a beast in the pass rush and that’s where the advantage in this game will lie. As seen in the video below, he’s tossing around offensive lineman like a varsity player picking on the freshman team. While I would still expect a good game from Robinson (possible OROY?) I don’t have faith in either QB this week and would not expect a big day from Chark. Smith is going to get after it.
Zadarius Smith is a grown man 💪#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/M9YHHxs61M
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) November 10, 2020
No explanation advantage: Rams and Eagles
Favorite Individual Matchups
Brad Wire – Wyatt Teller (G – CLE) vs J.J. Watt (DL – HOU)
The return of Wyatt Teller provides the Browns with a big edge here, but the other side of the ball features on the best to ever do it. J.J. Watt for the most part has been held in check, but he gets the same treatment Aaron Donald does most of the time so that isn’t all too surprising. Wyatt Teller will be able to go 1 on 1 with J.J. Watt for the majority of the game because he is one of the best guards in the game. This will be a damn good battle this week, but one I think Wyatt Teller, and the rest of the Browns offensive line, will win.
I’d say getting Wyatt Teller back is a pretty significant addition to the offense #Browns pic.twitter.com/FmpghBcv5u
— MoreForYouCleveland (@MoreForYou_CLE) November 12, 2020
Tommy Mo – Aaron Donald (DT – LAR) vs Damien Lewis (RG – SEA)
Aaron Donald leads the league in sacks from the DT position with 9. For anyone that doesn’t understand the magnitude of that stat line, think about how often a DT gets double teamed. Especially a player of his caliber. Lewis is a rookie who will be facing his toughest matchup of his young career. He’ll most surely get help from the center Pocic, and probably from a 3rd player as well because he will need it to stop the best defender in the game. But my money is on Donald, not just because I also played DT, but because the guy is amazing and is unstoppable. Plus who doesn’t like a DT with a 6 pack?
