Pro Football Focus had ranked the Buffalo Bills’ offensive line as the NFL’s third-best prior to their Week 4 debacle against the Baltimore Ravens, a ranking that has clearly changed after the forgettable night in which quarterback Josh Allen was often forced to run for his life. The unit allowed three sacks and multiple pressures, and as a result, PFF dropped them in their latest rankings, down two spots to No. 5.
“Buffalo’s offensive line allowed 18 pressures and no sacks or hits through the first three weeks, but that changed in Week 4 against Baltimore,” PFF analyst Zoltan Buday wrote. “The unit allowed 12 pressures – including two sacks and two quarterback hits – on the Ravens. Their 81.1 PFF pass blocking efficiency rating ranked 25th in the NFL for the week.”
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Stout left tackle Dawkins had the lowest pass-block grade among the Bills’ five starting linemen in Baltimore with a grade of 53.1. Not far behind was O’Cyrus Torrence, who achieved a passing grade of 54.8. The remaining three were rounded out by Connor McGovern (55.7), Spencer Brown (56.6) and David Edwards (66.8). Edwards also had the highest run-block grade (78.1) and overall (78.1). Brown was terrible at run blocking, earning a 56.3. Edwards was the only one of the five to score an overall score higher than 70.
All starting linemen allowed at least one quarterback pressure, per PFF, with Dawkins, McGovern and Torrence leading the way with three each.
Dawkins suffered a hamstring injury early in the game, which is likely a substantial part of why he allowed his first sack of the season and a campaign-high pressure; head coach Sean McDermott expects him to be able to play in this week’s matchup with the Houston Texans, which is huge. The Texans have one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league in Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. A return to form for the offensive line will be crucial this week as Josh Allen and James Cook look to once again produce at the pace they have performed in the first three weeks of the season.
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