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 8 Recap
Offensive Side
It looks like the Packers and Vikings matchup should have been in the Battles of the Week column. Either way, the Packers didn’t give up a sack until the final play on an attempted Hail Mary. In the world of an offensive lineman you can play a perfect game up until the last play, give up a sack, and your day is ruined. I’m sure that is exactly how Rick Wagner feels right now.
It seems that it is getting to the point where we can’t trust starting Jonathan Taylor anymore. Jordan (freaking) Wilkins got 20 carries in Week 8. I think Dan put it perfectly in the tweet below from a fantasy perspective. From an Offensive Line perspective they played better than they have been, but it was also the Lions. For me it might be time to stop being stubborn and move them down a little bit until they can show they are as good as last year.
It stayed a nightmare in case you were curious https://t.co/8axfRo2btz pic.twitter.com/qFug1tV4uM
— AWLSabermetrics (@awlsabermetrics) November 1, 2020
The Rams game was not what I expected either. It seemed to all fall apart for the Rams for a while after Jared Goff’s first interception of the day. They did have a pretty good ground game as expected. Overall they had 27 carries for 122 yards, not including Robert Woods obligatory carries. The problem is that no running back had more than 10 carries. It was nice to see Cam Akers get some usage, but this is frustrating for fantasy purposes.
Defensive Side
The Eagles defense racked up 4 sacks with 3 coming from their defensive line as we saw Ben DiNucci run for his life on many other plays. This was to be expected knowing how beat up the Cowboys are along the offensive line. Ezekiel Elliott was held to 63 yards on 19 carries and did not look like himself during the game. It did come out earlier this week that he is dealing with a hamstring issue.
The first half for the Buccaneers was not pretty overall, but their defense turned up the heat in the second half. Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul combined for 2 sacks and 3 tackles for loss, with Devin White adding another sack from the linebacker spot. They held the Giants running backs to 72 yards on 20 carries and kept Daniel Jones in check for the most part. Not the best game overall, but they got the job done. They will need to put the full game together if they want to have a chance against the Saints this week.
This Ravens group was impressive overall holding the Steelers to 221 total yards on the day. They shut the Steelers down in the first half also as the only points scored were on a pick 6 by Robert Spillane. The second half was a bit of a different story. We saw Ben get the ball out on time and the Ravens not getting the pressure needed. It is tough to defend all of the Steelers weapons, but the way to do it is to get in Ben’s face and not allow him to make plays.
Offensive Line Advantage
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Dallas Cowboys
The Steelers offensive line has been consistently improving to me over the season. David DeCastro missed the first couple games of the season and suffered an abdominal injury in Week 5 against the Eagles. In the games that he has played, DeCastri has played at an elite level. He has not allowed a sack in the 3.5 games played and is helping Chukwuma Okorafor who has played almost every snap since they lost Zach Banner in Week 1. We all know how bad Dallas has been, they just dealt Everson Griffen to the Lions and cut Dontari Poe. This is going to be a SMASH game for all Steelers players involved.
Las Vegas Raiders @ Las Angeles Chargers
It is still yet to be determined if Trent Brown will play this week after receiving an IV during pregame in Week 8. Apparently, air went into his bloodstream and he was sent to a hospital in Cleveland. Sam Young also suffered a minor knee injury in their previous game and was forced to leave, but was able to get some practice in this week. The good news for the Raiders is that newly transitioned left guard Denzelle Good might be more than just a stop-gap for Richie Incognito. He has shown promise after having a pretty average first couple weeks after the switch. I always hate hearing about concussions, but if Joey Bosa were to miss this game it would give the Raiders an even bigger advantage. I’m sure you’ve seen Tommy’s threads about Josh Jacobs, he should have another monster game on the ground this week.
Raiders LG Denzelle Good (@IBeDG_71) had a monster game on the interior. A couple of the Browns DT are going to have nightmares after this one, especially #65. #Raiders #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/ViZ7Uei6fZ
— Ryan Holmes (@Rholm22) November 3, 2020
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Houston Texans
Lets give this team another chance here. The Jaguars have been a bit of a rollercoaster along the offensive line. Some weeks are better than others, but hopefully they put it together this week after getting to rest up in Week 8. Speaking of rest they should get A.J. Cann back this week after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 6 against Detroit. Houston is giving up 5.06 Adj. Line Yards per carry which is strange for a defense led by a healthy J.J. Watt. The loss of D.J. Reader is certainly showing for them. This should be yet another strong game for James Robinson.
Honorable Mentions: Both the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions offensive lines.
Defensive Line Advantage
Buffalo Bills vs Seattle Seahawks
I’ve written about the Bills defensive line in past weeks, and while they are uber talented up front with Hughes, Oliver, and Addison. They are playing better as a group than individually as no one has more than 3 sacks, but as a unit, are 10th in sacks with 19, and 10th in adj. sack rating. The Seahawks offensive line is ok, ranked 24th overall by Brad Wire, and are rated 21st in adj. sack rate by Football Outsiders. The Seahawks have been much better at run blocking than pass blocking, so it’s a good thing they have Mr. Unlimited at QB. The Bills are going to get after Russell Wilson on Sunday, but the difference may be in the run game the Seahawks are top 10 in run blocking and the Bills are in the 20’s in run stopping. Start Wilson and whoever is running the ball, but don’t expect a huge day from Russ.
Washington Football Team vs New York Giants
The premier matchup for this week is the Washington Football Team’s great defensive unit vs the Giants not great offensive line. Washington is rated 2nd in adj. sack rate with 10.6% thanks to the entire defense teeing off on QBs. Montez Sweat (5 sacks), Ryan Kerrigan (4), Chase Young (2.5), John Bostic (2), and Landon Collins (2) all chipping in to put serious pressure on opposing QBs. The Giants offensive line is ranked 27th overall by Brad Wire and are 16th overall in adj. sack rate. The Giants are getting better each week, but there are too many rushers on Washington’s team to stop and it’s looking like another bad day for Daniel Jones and company. I would not start any RB for the Giants, nor Jones, and only Darius Slayton if you reallllly have to.
Battles of the Week
Baltimore Ravens @ Indianapolis Colts
The loss of Ronnie Stanley is another giant heart breaker for the Ravens who lost Matt Skura late last season. Skura may be fully recovered from ACL surgery but it can take an additional year to actually trust that it is healed. I expect him to be better next year as he has put up some rough performances. The main battles to watch in this game will be Calais Campbell vs. Quenton Nelson, Yannick Ngakoue vs. Anthony Castonzo, and Deforest Bucker vs. the Ravens interior offensive line. We saw J.K. Dobbins carve up a tough Steelers defense last week and it will be interesting to see if he can do it again in another touch matchup.
New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Division Game. Rematch from Week 1. Tom Brady and Drew Brees battling it out for most touchdowns all time. That is all fun and games, but it all starts, and ends, upfront. Tom Brady was sacked 3 times to Drew Brees’ 1. Brady threw 2 interceptions to Brees’ 0. Brees’ offensive line held up better than Brady’s did, period. Tampa Bay has had quite an up and down season as far as offensive line goes, 4 games giving up no sacks and 4 games giving up at least 2 sacks. There have been some coverage sacks given up, but that is to be expected when the receiving core is a patchwork quilt every game.
We know what the Saints are working with upfront. They have been one of the best offensive lines the last two years. Michael Thomas looks like he is finally going to return this week also which means Drew Brees should be able to get the ball out on quick and on rhythm. This helps upfront and has been one of the keys to their success. Check out Brad’s individual matchup for more on this game.
Favorite Individual Matchups
Brad Wire – Cesar Ruiz (G – NO) vs. Ndamukong Suh (IDL – TB)
Ruiz has been featured here before in Week 6 going against Derrick Brown and the Panthers. This week is a different and much more refined pair of defensive tackles. He has shown some flashes this year, but overall has underperformed. Understandably so, he was injured early on in the season with no training camp. He will get better as the season progresses. The entire defensive line of the Bucs, especially Ndamukong Suh, he’s going against this week are not young however. They are very seasoned vets that have dominated in Todd Bowles system. If Ruiz can hold his own like he has shown he can at times then the Saints can likely deal Brady his 3rd loss of the season.
Tommy Mo – Cameron Jordan (DE – NO) vs Tristan Wirfs (OT – TB)
I have enjoyed seeing rookie offensive lineman get tested against exceptional veteran defensive lineman this season. The offensive line rookie class has been better than people may have realized in terms of starting right away. This week’s test is the rookie Wirfs against one of the coolest cats in the game, Cam Jordan. Jordan has 2.5 sacks on the year and 4 QB hits. Not necessarily amazing stats, but Jordan’s game is about disrupting the line of scrimmage and stopping the run. Wirfs is big and strong, and has played well against guys like Joey Bosa, and is a very solid run blocker. This will be a battle in the trenches and I’m curious to see who will come out on top.
Highest graded edge defenders in Week 8 ahead of MNF:
1. Demarcus Lawrence – 91.3
2. Joey Bosa – 91.0
3. Cameron Jordan – 89.7
4. Alex Highsmith – 88.7
T-5th. Marcus Davenport/Brandon Graham- 83.7 pic.twitter.com/BNdia4bYL2— PFF (@PFF) November 2, 2020
