They won’t get much of the ink when it comes to game previews, but some of the most important units heading into Conference Championship weekend are the offensive lines of the remaining teams. In fact, all four of the teams still in playoff contention feature top-10 ranked offensive lines this season.
We saw the Seattle Seahawks falter this weekend largely because of the performance of a unit that they have dedicated next to no resources to, while the offensive lines that are still in the hunt have all been integral to the success, or at least improvement, their team has seen this season, rather than a hindrance.
Atlanta’s giant leap forward owes much to the team’s offensive line, enabling QB Matt Ryan to produce an MVP-caliber season and giving the team a much-improved foundation for the running game. Meanwhile, Tom Brady’s job has been made much easier by a New England offensive line that no longer needs to be actively propped up by his work within the pocket.
Green Bay boasts the league’s best pass-blocking unit, which allows Aaron Rodgers to do some of the crazy Aaron Rodgers-type things that only he is capable of, and the Steelers have put together one of the league’s best units up front, which is suddenly not only without a weakness, but playing its best football entering Conference Championship weekend.
Pittsburgh has first-round picks invested in its line in the form of center Maurkice Pouncey and right guard David DeCastro, but the Steelers also have undrafted free agents like Ramon Foster, and a player in Alejandro Villanueva—who was once a wideout at Army—playing left tackle and protecting the blind side of QB Ben Roethlisberger.
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