It seems as if Pro Football Focus will go under before it gives the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line credit for its work against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. The Steelers held Myles Garrett without a sack, tackle for a loss, or quarterback hit for just the sixth time in his 123-game career, per assistant director of communications Michael Bertsch, and yet, the team’s offensive line actually dropped three spots in PFF’s weekly rankings.
Of course, the team’s 91.9 pass blocking efficiency grade had to come with a backhanded compliment about Aaron Rodgers getting the ball out fast.
“With the help of Aaron Rodgers’s quick decision-making, Pittsburgh’s protection unit delivered a strong performance in Week 6 against a strong Cleveland pass rush. Across 31 drop backs, the group allowed five pressures — including no sacks — resulting in a 91.9 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating, which ranked fifth this week.”
Yes, Rodgers gets the ball out quick. It does help the offensive line. But Myles Garrett also gets to the quarterback pretty darn fast too. The Steelers deserve credit for executing their plan. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows against Garrett, but they did what they needed to do to neutralize the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and the rest of the Browns’ defensive front wasn’t all that effective.
The Steelers also recorded four yards per carry on non-kneel downs against a defense that was allowing 3.1 yards per carry coming in, but no offensive lineman had a run blocking grade over 62.0 against Cleveland. The Steelers’ offensive line, despite back-to-back strong performances, now sits as the No. 18-ranked unit in the NFL.
I just fail to see how PFF continues to give Garrett credit (Trevor Sikkema said Garrett still had a “really good game”) but then on the flipside doesn’t give Pittsburgh’s blockers credit for their role in a performance that was, stat-wise, one of the worst of his career. It doesn’t make much, or any, sense.
Tomorrow night the Steelers will go up against the No. 30-ranked offensive line in the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals look like they may get Lucas Patrick back, and he would likely start at right guard over rookie Jalen Rivers, but it’s still a group that’s not very impressive and hasn’t been for years. Orlando Brown Jr. vs. Nick Herbig/Alex Highsmith will be a matchup worth watching, and T.J. Watt will look to take advantage against a banged-up Amarius Mims.
The Bengals did add OG Dalton Risner ahead of the season, and Risner has held up well in pass protection, but as has been the case for most of his career, he has struggled as a run blocker. It’s a matchup that should be advantageous for Pittsburgh’s front seven.
