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 7 Recap
Offensive Side
The Falcons put up another Falcon-worthy performance on Sunday after showing a little hope in Week 6. Grady Jarrett was able to get a season high 4 QB hits, but was held to 2 total tackles (1 solo, 1 assisted). The Lions allowed 2 sacks on the day, both on the same drive to start the second half. The first of those sacks was a last-second blitz by Keanu Neal off a play action that D’Andre Swift couldn’t possibly have picked up. The second was a similar concept, just good play calls from the Falcons. D’Andre Swift’s longest run (24 yards) was called back due to a holding penalty.
I did not think the 49ers game would be that bad, nor that odd of a timeshare. I don’t know anyone that projected McKinnon for only 3 total touches, besides Kyle Shanahan. We saw more of what JaMycal Hasty can do, as both he and Jeff Wilson averaged over 6 YPC. This offensive line has shown steady improvements each week. The lone sack they gave up was a good defensive call on a power pull play action.
As for the Saints game, we saw both Kamara and Murray do work on the ground. Latavius Murray got vultured by Drew Brees after ripping off a 25 yard run earlier in the drive. That run would have given Murray a solid double digit performance. The Saints lone sack was a big one let up by James Hurst as it caused a turnover.
Defensive Side
Tommy Mo’s individual matchup of the week did not disappoint, as Jerry Hughes tallied a pair of sacks, a forced fumble, and snagged a pick to top it off. Mekhi Becton was not perfect in his return, but was far and away the best player on the Jets line. It seemed that Hughes stayed on the side opposite Becton for most of the contest. The Bills defense overall held the Jets to 10 total points, racking up 6 total sacks and 2 interceptions. Sam Darnold was held to just 120 TOTAL YARDS. What Adam Gase has done to the development of Sam Darnold is absolutely criminal.
Joe Burrow played one hell of a game for the Bengals. There’s not enough that you can say about this kid. Their beat up offensive line lost its best player in Jonah Williams, Joe Mixon, and faced one of the best pass rushers in the league. The Browns D-Line capitalized, racking up 4 sacks including a strip sack by Myles Garrett. Luckily Williams’ injury doesn’t seem to be too serious. He still might sit out Week 8 to get 2 weeks of rest with the Bengals bye in Week 9.
Offensive Line Advantage
Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings
Remember Week 1? Pepperidge Farm remembers, and Aaron Rodgers does too. He wasn’t sacked once in their original matchup, and the Vikings just traded away Yannick Ngakoue for 60 cents on the dollar. Let’s just hope you’re not going against Davante Adams in fantasy this week. Onto the real heroes; David Bakhtiari should be back this week after being a late scratch in their Week 7 game. The fact that he had a shot to play in Week 7 is telling. Hopefully he’s able to get some form of practice in. Elgton Jenkins has been playing lights out the last few weeks and should have no problem continuing his dominance here. Like I mentioned about the 49ers, this group just continues to get better. Aside from the Buccaneers game, this group has been spectacular. It goes to show just how important depth is, and theirs is the best in the league.
Indianapolis Colts @ Detroit Lions
The Lions defensive line is giving up 5.21 adj. line yards per carry, with only 8 sacks so far. This game should be absolutely dominated up front by the Colts. They should continue their dominance in pass protection, but with the bye week I expect to see drastic improvement in the run game. They remain locked into the #1 spot for me in the Offensive Line rankings for now. Start Jonathan Taylor no matter what this week.
Los Angeles Rams @ Miami Dolphins
Sean McVay has shown us he is going to use a RBBC this year that seemingly doesn’t feature Cam Akers. McVay is trying to win football games; he doesn’t care about our fantasy teams. Either way, the Rams have a juicy matchup with the Dolphins, who are giving up over 5 adj. line YPC, which is bottom 3 in the league. They have amassed 17 sacks on the year, however, led by Emmanuel Ogbah with 5. The Rams scheme allows for big running lanes leading to chunk yardage on the ground. Their heavy tendency for play action leads them to give up few sacks. Fire up your Rams this week and hope the Dolphins can keep this one competitive. Or not, and hope we see some Cam Akers garbage time touches.
Defensive Line Advantage
Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
I know the Steelers offensive line is good, and I know they are really good at pass blocking (adjusted sack rate of 4.0%) but the Ravens just signed Yannick Ngakoue to pair with Calais Campbell, and now have two defensive ends that are top 12 in IDP fantasy points per FantasyPros. That’s like adding Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson to your roster, but for defensive linemen. My brothers that battled in the trenches should appreciate that analogy.
The Ravens have an adjusted sack rate of 7.8%, (9th overall) so it will be a battle in the trenches between two good line units. I should really give the defensive advantage to the Steelers based on the numbers alone, as they are the #1 defense in yards given up, #1 rated run stopping defensive line, and #1 rated pass rushing defensive line. BUT, the Ravens are coming off a bye and are hungry for a win against a division rival. I fully expect Ngakoue and Campbell to tee off this weekend in a statement game.
Tampa Bay vs New York Giants
This is the choice matchup of the day. The Buccaneers are rated 3rd in overall pass rush with an adjusted sack rate of 10.2% and 25 sacks on the year, only behind the Steelers with 26. The Giants on the other hand are rated 19th overall in pass blocking and dead last in run blocking. On paper that’s a recipe for disaster. Tom Brady and company should have a great opportunity for a ton of fantasy points while managers of Giants players should avoid starting those players at all cost. Even my beloved Darius Slayton should be a sit this week.
Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys
This is not a huge advantage to the Eagles defensive line, as the Cowboys continue to have a historically good (not great this year) offensive line. However, Brandon Graham is one of the best in the league and 3rd in sacks with 6 on the year. The Eagles are also 4th in pass rush and 3rd in rush defense, stuffing opposing RBs on 27% of plays (2nd in the league).
Dallas has been better run blocking (10th overall) than pass blocking (18th overall) this year. While they are middle of the road, they have other issues to deal with as late-round rookie pick Ben DiNucci will be starting this week. My fellow Undroppables tell me he’s a better runner than passer, so we’ll see how this offense functions with #DiNucciGang at the helm.
Favorite Individual Matchups
Brad Wire – Jonah Jackson/Halapoulivaati Vaitai (G – DET) vs. Deforest Buckner (DT – IND)
Deforest Buckner may not be a big name to some, but he is a quietly dominant force on an underrated Colts D-Line. His matchup with both guards for the Lions will play a big factor in how well they are able to run the ball. He has shown that his length is a big problem for even the best offensive lineman. Vaitai has already given up 3 sacks since his return and Buckner has tallied the same for himself. I don’t see this as being a good game for Stafford and the Lions if these two aren’t able to step up when it counts.
Tommy Mo – Ndamokung Suh/Jason Pierre-Paul/Shaq Barrett (DE/OLBs – TB) vs. Andrew Thomas (OT – NYG)
I think this is the 2nd time I’ve included Thomas in this matchup but the rookie keeps getting tested every week it seems. This time by a trio of the baddest defensive linemen in the league. Thomas will have his real welcome to the NFL moment with these three guys getting after Jones in a variety of ways. I would be planning the massage and ice bath after this game if I was Thomas, because he’s gonna get worked over by these veterans.
