Week 15 Offensive Line Rankings

1. New England Patriots (Previous Rank: 1) – Bye Week 
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Previous Rank: 2) – The Bucs o-line continues to play well after another strong performance in both phases in a big win over the Bills. They only allowed six pressures and contributed to the Bucs backs rushing for 122 yards on 5.5 YPC. Tristan Wirfs has surged into the pro-bowl and all-pro conversation as he has the best PA% of any tackle, and he’s continuing to run block well. He and Marpet are battling it out for best player in this group. The Bucs o-line as a team is also running away with the lead in PA% as they are 3% clear of the next best team. 
3. Philadelphia Eagles (Previous Rank: 4) – Bye Week 
4. Dallas Cowboys (Previous Rank: 3) – This unit continues to struggle in the running game. It’s almost hard to believe this is the same group that was spearheading the league's best rush attack earlier in the year. They still pass-block at a high level and remain in the top three in PA%. It would really help if Connor Williams got back in the lineup at LG, and I’ll keep saying it every week until it either happens or Connor McGovern starts to play better than Williams was playing. 
5. Cleveland Browns (Previous Rank: 6) – The Browns o-line played one of their best pass-blocking games of the season without Conklin. They had an impressive PA% of 13% and allowed no sacks. It is a little concerning that the Browns run-game has fallen off some of late but not all of that is the fault of the o-line. Teams know Baker is hurt, and the Brown lack premium talent on the outside and are taking a stop-the-run first approach with this offense. 
6. Los Angeles Rams (Previous Rank: 5) – The Rams were shorthanded last night, and it showed. Havenstein was out due to Covid, and Allen was out due to a knee injury. It wasn’t an awful game, but they allowed pressure at a league-average rate of 24% and gave up three sacks. Most of the allowed pressure came from the backups, so this unit shouldn’t be penalized in the rankings with their starters scheduled to return. 
7. Kansas City Chiefs (Previous Rank: 7) – The Chiefs o-line wasn’t as impressive as one might think in a 48-9 victory. They allowed pressure 28% of the time and two sacks. They were even worse run-blocking. Take away one 51-yard run, and the Chiefs totaled 81 yards on 29 carries (2.8 YPC). The good news is Joe Thuney continued his dominance in pass pro. He allowed no pressures, and it was his fourth time in his last five starts not allowing a pressure. 
8. Los Angeles Chargers (Previous Rank: 8) – The hit or miss right side of the Chargers o-line was mostly miss in their win over the Giants. Scofield and Norton allowed a combined eight pressures. However, the trio of Slater, Feiler, and Linsley played well, so it didn’t hamper the offense much. Expect to hear Slater and Linsley announced as pro-bowlers soon, and while Feiler probably won’t get the nod, he’s had a pro-bowl caliber season in his own right. 
9. San Francisco 49ers (Previous Rank: 10) – The 49er o-line struggled most of the game in pass pro. They allowed two sacks and pressure over 30% of the time. Mostly all of the pressure came from the right side, as Brunskill and Compton both were bad. They both allowed a sack and a combined 10 pressures. The good news is they ran block well, which they normally do. It’s this group’s calling card, and Trent Williams is the best run-blocker in the NFL. 
10. Indianapolis Colts (Previous Rank: 12) – Bye Week 
11. ​New Orleans Saints (Previous Rank: 9) – Terron Armstead returned to the lineup in all his glory allowing no pressures. McCoy also had a good game at center. Hurst struggled again at RT and frankly has yet to play a good game at that spot. Throckmorton also struggled at LG which is where Hurst would be if Ramczyk was back. If Ramczyk comes back playing at the level he was before he got hurt, this is a top 10 offensive line. He’s missed four straight games, so until he officially comes back and plays well, this line takes a hit in the rankings. 
12. Detroit Lions (Previous Rank: 14) – The Lions were another team hit by covid, and center Evan Brown was the player in this group impacted. Ryan McCollum got the nod in his absence and was a disaster. He allowed four pressures and a sack. The other four players all played well in pass pro. If you take out McCollum’s pressures, they only allowed pressure 12% of the time. The Lions were also effective run-blocking, especially Penei Sewell who is quietly becoming a mauler. 
13. Buffalo Bills (Previous Rank: 15) – The Bills o-line held up well considering the number of pass snaps they played and the amount of blitz pressure they faced. They only gave up pressure 18% of the time. After a rocky start to the season, the Bills o-line has quietly become one of the better pass-blocking units in the league. They’ve allowed pressure less than 20% of pass snaps in seven of their last nine games. Dion Dawkins is on pace to have his best pass pro season and so is Ike Boettger. They continue to creep up in the team pass blocking ranks. They now rank 13th with a PA% of 23.8%. 
14. Baltimore Ravens (Previous Rank: 16) – The Ravens o-line had a bounce-back game and played really well vs. the Browns despite the loss. They only allowed seven pressures, and most of it came from the inconsistent Villanueva who allowed four along with two sacks. However, everyone else played well, especially in the interior. The Ravens quietly have one of the better interior groups in the league with Bozeman and Zeitler both having strong seasons. 
15. Arizona Cardinals (Previous Rank: 13) – The Cardinals o-line had been one of the most consistent pass-protecting offensive lines in this season, but they had an uncharacteristic stinker game on MNF vs. the Rams. They gave up two sacks and 27 pressures. Kyler Murray didn’t play well, but this offensive line didn’t give him much of a chance to. Given their track record this season, this game must be chalked up as nothing more than an aberration, but it was a really bad look. 
16. Washington Football Team (Previous Rank: 11) – Washington’s o-line was a disaster against the Cowboys. They allowed three sacks and pressure nearly 40% of the time. Injuries continue to do in this offensive line. Larsen started at C, and he’s the team’s third-string center. He got hurt, and Keith Ismael had to take over. Backup RT Cornelius Lucas had one of the worst games of the week allowing 8 pressures and a sack. 
17. Atlanta Falcons (Previous Rank: 19) – This group struggled vs. the Panthers as they allowed pressure 29% of the time and allowed three TFL. It was a very abnormal game for the Falcons o-line. Chris Lindstrom, this group’s best player, had his worst game of the season. Jalen Mayfield, who entered week 14 with the highest PA% among guards, allowed no pressures for the first time all season, and Hennessy, McGary, and Mayfield probably all outplayed Matthews and Lindstrom. It was just a complete aberration game. 
18. Tennessee Titans (Previous Rank: 20) – Hopefully Henry returns ASAP because this o-line actually ran block well vs. the Jags despite the rushing numbers. The biggest issue with this group all season has been pass pro, and they had another weak game in that aspect as they allowed pressures on 28% of pass snaps and two sacks. 
19. New York Jets (Previous Rank: 21) – The Jets were forced to throw practically the entire game, and this o-line responded with one of their best pass pro performances of the season. They only allowed pressure at a rate of 19% and gave up one sack. The Duvernay-Tardiff addition looks better and better each week, and quietly, George Fant has been one of the best pass-blocking tackles in the NFL this season. He ranks sixth among eligible tackles in PA% at 3.24%
20. Denver Broncos (Previous Rank: 22) – The Broncos o-line has put together back-to-back good games. I won’t make too much out of them playing well vs. a depleted Lions team that is already bad when everyone is available to play. 
21. Cincinnati Bengals (Previous Rank: 18) – The Bengals o-line got it handed to them vs. the 49ers. The allowed pressure 57% of the time along with three sacks. Reiff reinjured his ankle in the first half and was replaced by Isaiah Prince who played the worst Sunday. The Bengals were a solid pass-blocking unit at the start of the year, but they’ve come crashing back to Earth. They’ve had back-to-back poor outings and now rank 21st in PA% at 25.8%.  
22. Chicago Bears (Previous Rank: 17) – The Bears o-line had one of the worst performances of the year in the SNF game vs. the Packers. They didn’t run block well and were a disaster in pass pro. They allowed 30 pressures and two sacks. Their PA% of nearly 64% might be a season-high for any team in one game this year. Jason Peters was lost early in the game, and things went from bad to worse. His replacement was Teven Jenkins who allowed seven pressures, two sacks, and was penalized four times. 
23. Minnesota Vikings (Previous Rank: 23) – Darrisaw’s was upgraded to questionable for the Vikings next game yesterday, which is great news because the effects of his absence were very noticeable on TNF. Oli Udoh and Mason Cole struggled most in pass pro vs. the Steelers, and both are playing out of position with Darrisaw out. The good news is Cole at least run blocks well whenever he’s been called upon to play this year, and the Vikings o-line as a whole did a good job upfront in the run game to assist Dalvin Cook in the clinic he was putting on in route to 205 yards rushing. 
24. Pittsburgh Steelers (Previous Rank: 24) – The Steelers o-line didn’t play that well vs. the Vikings. They allowed 12 pressures and three sacks. The biggest issue is that most of the pressure came from the interior as Green and Leglue especially struggled. The good news is they did have one of their better run-blocking games of this season. 
25. New York Giants (Previous Rank: 27) – The Giants o-line had one of their best performances of the season vs. the Chargers. Unfortunately, Mike Glennon was at QB, so it didn’t matter. They had a solid game run-blocking which led to the Giants rushing for 135 yards on 5.2 YPC. What was more impressive is they had their best pass pro game of the year only allowing pressure 14% of the time.  
26. Green Bay Packers (Previous Rank: 25) – The Packers took full advantage of the bye week to get their offensive line of backups ready to play. It’s a testament to the Packers offensive line coach that this group was able to play as well as they did vs. a good Bears defense that ranks top five in sacks. They only allowed four pressures and one sack despite losing their fourth starting offensive lineman to injury in Billy Turner during the game. The Packers are hopeful he can return at some point this season, but it likely won’t be soon. While I want to give this group credit for their performance. However, they are now down four starters and just played poorly before the bye week. It will take more than one good game before I can buy into this group as a quality NFL line. 
27. Jacksonville Jaguars (Previous Rank: 26) – This group can’t catch a break. Linder only last about a game and a half after returning from injury before getting hurt again. They were shut out by the Titans and while this group wasn’t awful, they weren’t good either. They only allowed 10 pressures but gave up three sacks. While they only had eight run snaps, they weren’t very good run-blocking in that small sample size which is why Urban Meyer may have elected to abandon the run game despite not being out of the game until the 4th quarter. 
28. Seattle Seahawks (Previous Rank: 29) – The Seattle o-line played the best game they’ve played since maybe week four. It’s not a coincidence that it came vs. the Texans. It’ll take more than a blimp game against one of the league’s worst teams to start feeling optimistic about this group again.  
29. Carolina Panthers (Previous Rank: 30) – The Panthers have been one of the worst pass pro o-lines in the NFL, but nobody struggles vs. the Falcons defense, so they had a decent game this week. 
30. Houston Texans (Previous Rank: 31) – The Texans o-line has put together back-to-back solid games. They still have a major talent deficiency without Tunsil and Cannon, but there’s no denying they’ve started to play a little better. 
31. Las Vegas Raiders (Previous Rank: 28) – The Raiders o-line had a rough day at the office vs. a red-hot Chiefs defense. They allowed pressure at a rate of 47% along with four sacks. Leatherwood, who has struggled most of the season, had his worst game of the year. Things were so bad that even Kolton Miller was a disaster. The only good news is Andre James had another strong game and has started to play consistently well after a rough start to the season. 
32. Miami Dolphins (Previous Rank: 32) – Bye Week