Scouting the OL/DL Matchups: Week 2

What’s crackin’, folks! What a wild Week 1 of the NFL season. The witching hour lived up to its name, and Sunday Night Football wrapped the day well. We then got another primetime comeback on Monday night that could have Bears fans questioning everything.

The post-Week 1 fallout is the epitome of knee-jerk overreactions, and that’s likely happening in a good way for fans of the Steelers, Jets, and Colts. Pittsburgh has potentially found its best quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger’s body fell apart, Justin Fields has excited the entire Jets fanbase, and Daniel Jones could be this year’s Sam Darnold.

On the flip side, it’s likely not going well for fans of the Dolphins, Texans, and Giants. Mike McDaniel is the first coach firmly on the hot seat, C.J. Stroud and Houston’s offense were atrocious against Los Angeles, and Russell Wilson’s time as the Giants’ starter is already running short. Miami might not pull the nose up, but Houston and New York (once Jaxson Dart comes in) still have hope. Let’s all just R-E-L-A-X and get ready for Week 2!

The Packers can establish early NFC supremacy against Washington on Thursday. We also have a rematch of Super Bowl 59 in the late window and a Monday night doubleheader. It should be another fun weekend of NFL football!

WEEK 2 OL/DL MATCHUPS

CLE @ BAL — RAVENS OL vs BROWNS DL — MATCHUP TO EXPLOIT

Both of these teams experienced brutal losses to open the season, with Baltimore collapsing against Buffalo and Cleveland being sunk after a pair of missed kicks against Cincinnati. Myles Garrett has terrorized the AFC North since his debut, but Lamar Jackson has killed Cleveland since taking over as the full-time starter in 2018. I expect that to continue with the Ravens coming home for Week 2.

Jackson and Derrick Henry looked unstoppable for the first 56 minutes of Sunday Night Football, until a Henry fumble kept the Bills alive. It was a disappointing finish for the Ravens, but Baltimore’s offensive line showed why they’re one of the best run-blocking units in the league. Henry had touchdown runs of 30 and 46 yards behind some textbook blocking, and all of his 169 yards came without Isaiah Likely and Patrick Ricard. The entire Ravens offense blocks their tails off, and should continue this week.

Baltimore could do whatever it wanted with both zone and direct runs last week; however, what stops Henry is early interior penetration. Cleveland has succeeded against Henry in the past (60 yards in 2020 Week 13; 73 yards in Week 8 last year) and was exceptional in Week 1, holding Chase Brown to 43 yards. Henry is a different animal. It’s easy to run away from Garrett, so the penetration task falls to Maliek Collins and rookie DT Mason Graham. I’m expecting another big game from Henry.

As for Cleveland, Garrett is a game wrecker when rushing the passer, but we all know that Jackson is the ultimate escape artist in the pocket. The Browns were exceptional when they blitzed or stunted against Cincinnati last week, so look for them to keep bringing heat. Leaning on Henry and the ground game should negate Garrett (somewhat), but Jackson will likely create just enough space for two or three big pass plays.

TLDR: I expect Baltimore’s run game to continue its dominance behind an exceptional OL, and Cleveland’s pass rush to cause Jackson some stress. The Ravens should lean on Henry in their home opener.

DEN @ IND — BRONCOS OL vs COLTS DL — MATCHUP TO EXPLOIT

The Broncos got away with a sloppy Week 1 offensive performance, and travel to a Colts team coming off an emotional trouncing of Miami. Denver’s issue was its quarterback, as Bo Nix managed 176 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Despite a strong performance from the offensive line, he looked uncomfortable in the pocket and tried to play too much hero ball. Watching the film, it felt like he was trying to create chaos, even though his line had consistently formed a firm pocket.

Tennessee’s Jeffery Simmons gave Ben Powers and Quinn Meinerz some trouble with power rushes, but Denver’s OL started the season well in protection. I expect this to continue against Indianapolis, as the Colts’ front four isn’t as potent as Simmons at rushing the passer. It will be up to Nix to settle down.

Denver’s rushing game was another story. The OL paved the way for 133 yards from the running backs, and looked particularly effective on direct/downhill runs. Indianapolis only faced 10 carries from Miami’s running backs, but allowed De’Von Achane to average 7.9 yards per carry. It’s a small sample size, so it’s tough to gauge Indy’s run defense, but I’m confident the Broncos can lean on the ground game again this week.

TLDR: Denver’s OL started the season well in both phases despite some chaotic play from its quarterback. Indy’s defensive front is coming off a strong performance that made Miami look awful. I’ll lean on one of the best offensive lines in the league here, and expect Denver’s run blocking to travel well against the Colts.

JAX @ CIN — BENGALS OL vs JAGUARS DL — MATCHUP TO AVOID

Cincinnati got lucky last week thanks to a pair of missed kicks by the Browns. After scoring all 17 points on its first three drives, the offense looked inept and totaled just SEVEN yards in the second half. I can’t imagine the unit will look that bad for its home opener, but Jacksonville is coming off a strong performance, and the Bengals look stuck in another slow start.

Jacksonville’s defense is not as good as Cleveland’s on paper, but the Jaguars held Carolina running backs to 73 rushing yards and Bryce Young to 154 yards through the air. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker tore up the Panthers’ offensive line with different games and stunts, and Arik Armstead and DaVon Hamilton held up against the run (though they were slightly weaker against gap runs). The Bengals will be without RG Lucas Patrick, so watch for the Jags to take advantage of Dalton Risner, who signed with Cincinnati late in training camp. This defensive front disappointed me after I was high on them heading into last season, but this was a near-perfect way to start the season.

Burrow was electric last season, leading the league in passing yards and touchdowns; however, he was middle-of-the-road against blitzes and stunts. Risner is an experienced, capable replacement for Patrick, but he’s only been with the Bengals for two weeks. Like I wrote earlier, I have a hard time believing Burrow and the Bengals will look bad again, but this matchup favors the Jaguars.

TLDR: The Bengals got lucky last week, while the Jaguars looked impressive. One game doesn’t mean much, but an already weak Cincy OL has an injured starter, and Jacksonville’s front four were in mid-season form. I’ll be surprised if Cincinnati’s offense looks inept again, but I’m leaning Jaguars in the trenches.

ATL @ MIN — FALCONS OL vs VIKINGS DL — MATCHUP TO WATCH

Atlanta and Minnesota are an intriguing matchup for me. On paper, the Falcons should have the advantage on the ground, while Minnesota could make Michael Penix’s life tough when he drops back to pass. These two teams should be playoff contenders later in the season, but Week 2 already means more for Atlanta coming off a tough divisional loss.

The Falcons love their wide zone rushing attack, yet both running backs were held to just 24 yards each on 22 total carries last week. Watching the film, Atlanta’s blockers struggled to reach the second level against Tampa Bay. Free-flowing linebackers and penetration are kryptonite for zone runs, and the Falcons have to clean this up going forward. I still have faith in this unit, and Minnesota was weaker against zone runs on MNF, so expect a steady dose of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier.

Minnesota’s pass rush was one of the league’s best last season and started 2025 with 18 pressures last Monday night. The Vikings found a weakness on the interior of Chicago’s offensive line and exploited it by blitzing linebackers and getting quality rushes from new additions Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Ivan Pace Jr. adds another element to the rush anchored by Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard. I don’t see Minnesota taking its foot off the gas against another young quarterback in Penix.

TLDR: I’m split on this matchup but am leaning toward Minnesota. The Vikings' pass rush is formidable with only four guys, but I love how well they add linebackers to create chaos in the middle. I still have faith in Atlanta’s rushing attack, but the blocking scheme needs to be cleaned up.

CHI @ DET — BEARS OL vs LIONS DL — MATCHUP TO WATCH

Back-to-back divisional losses are a tough way to start the season, and that’s what Chicago and Detroit face heading into Week 2. The Lions didn’t look like the team we’ve come to know over the last few seasons against Green Bay, and the Bears looked like the same old outfit by blowing a fourth-quarter lead to Minnesota.

I put some faith behind Chicago’s offseason OL moves and had them No. 15 in my preseason rankings. I won’t say this unit fell flat in its debut, but I wasn’t expecting 18 pressures allowed on Monday night. Some of those were on the quarterback, but new center Drew Dalman struggled against Minnesota’s interior blitzes, and the unit wasn’t getting much help from the running backs. They also only managed 53 rushing yards for D’Andre Swift. The early-season struggles aren’t totally unexpected; however, the Bears will start 0-2 if they can’t figure things out quickly up front.

Aiden Hutchinson’s return was supposed to reinvigorate Detroit’s defense, but the Packers held the Lions to just six pressures in Week 1. Following my own advice earlier, it’s just one game, but who was that Lions team we watched last week? The bright side for Detroit’s DL was that they held Green Bay’s running backs to 71 yards. They get a favorable matchup at home against a re-shaped offensive line, and I imagine Dan Campbell will have his team ready to go.

TLDR: The Ben Johnson familiarity factor will keep this game interesting. I was disappointed with Chicago’s OL in Week 1, but Detroit’s defensive front didn’t do anything special against Green Bay. I’m leaning to the Lions in this trench matchup, but anything is possible with how well these two head coaches know each other.