Rankings of the 2024 NFL offensive line before Week 11…
After giving up only two pressures and no sacks on 33 dropbacks against the Chiefs, Denver moved up two spots from the previous week to take over the No. 2 ranking. • Commanders’ ascent continues: Washington is now playing a top-three offensive line through Week 10 after moving up three spots and breaking into the top 10 last week. • Get your advantage by subscribing to PFF+: Get complete access to all of our in-season fantasy tools, such as the Start-Sit Optimizer, weekly predictions, WR/CB matchup charts, and weekly rankings.
The effectiveness of an NFL team’s offensive line is one of the most crucial factors in its success. While powerful units provide an offense a tremendous advantage, terrible lines or even disastrous weak-link mismatches can decide the outcome of games. All season long, we’ll be keeping an eye on NFL offensive line play and identifying each group’s main weak points. Here are the weekly rankings and the top player from each unit as Week 10 of the 2024 NFL regular season draws to a close.
The NFL community largely criticized the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision to sign Russell Wilson to a one-year, $1.2 million contract in the first few days of free agency. Wilson’s deteriorating performance with the Denver Broncos was not encouraging, and there were rumors that he wouldn’t mesh well with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Wilson’s first experiences with his third team weren’t great because of a persistent calf issue that prevented the 35-year-old from being fully healthy until the middle of the season. As the team’s starting quarterback, Justin Fields performed admirably even up until he was beset by poor choices and inaccuracies. Wilson was given the opportunity to start in Week 7, and he has more than succeeded since.
Wilson has led Pittsburgh to three consecutive games with at least 26 points in his three starts. In terms of more sophisticated metrics, Pittsburgh has only committed three turnovers during that time, ranking fifth in passing EPA per play, seventh in scoring drive %, and eleventh in EPA per play. Pittsburgh was 18th in overall EPA per play, 12th in scoring drive percentage, and 14th in passing EPA per play with five turnovers during Fields’ first six games as coach. Even while those numbers don’t change much, they do show improvement, especially when compared to previous seasons of futility and through the air.
Wilson has started to significantly improve the Steelers’ offense there, in fact. He ranks 15th among qualifiers with a 72.3 PFF passing grade, higher than Fields’ 67.0. Wilson’s turnover-worthy play rate (1.0% to 2.8%) is lower than his big-time throw rate (6.6% to 3.5%), even though the raw figures aren’t that different. Specifically, how has Wilson sparked this progress? His trademark “moon ball” is where it all begins. From Seattle and Denver, he has carried over his penchant for throwing high-arcing go balls, which he does rather brilliantly in the Steel City. In addition to throwing deep at one of the NFL’s highest rates, Wilson has the second-highest pace among qualifiers, with 17.6% of all of his attempts being 20 yards or more downfield.
PFF Home Logo Sign In How the Steelers’ offensive comeback has been inspired by Russell Wilson 2YHB54X On Sunday, November 10, 2024, in Landover, Maryland, Russell Wilson (3), quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders. (Photo by Terrence Williams/AP) Written by Bradley Locker Posted at 9:10 a.m. EST on November 13, 2024 The remedy has been Wilson’s deep ball: In addition to throwing deep at one of the NFL’s top rates (17.6% of all attempts have gone 20 yards or more downfield, the second-highest clip among qualifiers), Wilson has done so with remarkable success. • The problem of play under pressure persists: Under pressure, Wilson’s PFF overall grade is 23rd, and he’s letting his own sacks at one of.
