NFL's Crucial Secret To Success

A dirty secret to winning in the NFL is rarely discussed on sports talk shows, it will not get clicks, it gets overlooked all the time, but it is absolutely the difference between winning and losing in the NFL consistently.

This secret is simple, and most great coaches will point it out regularly but it never gets enough attention in my opinion.

And this secret is dominant offensive line play, a crucial part of a football team’s success that requires selfless performances and typically only gets pointed out when things go wrong, not when they go right.

Today, I want to take a few minutes to talk about a subject near and dear to my heart, offensive line play and how it’s driving the success of the NFL’s current two best teams, and the failure of one of this season’s struggling franchises.

My plan is not to bore you with the specifics of line calls, blocking pass offs, or run schemes that lead to success. Instead, I simply want to highlight a pair offensive line groups that have led to their team’s success, and a unit that is letting their franchise down.

Which Two Lines Are Excelling?

First, we’ll start with the creme de la creme, the Detroit Lions.

Detroit is winning because they have talent everywhere on offense, but it all starts up front. Sewell and Ragnow set the tone for the league’s best offense allowing them to run or pass without hesitation.

Goff rarely looks rattled in the pocket, Gibbs and Montgomery are breaking off big runs, and both of these facts can be attributed to great blocking.

Next up, somewhat of a sleeper in Kansas City.

They have been getting more and more shine the last two years, of course Mahomes and Kelce justifiably vacuum up most of the media coverage, but their o-line is one of the best in the NFL.

It took a few weeks to figure out left tackle, but now that that’s figured out, the group is humming along. Their three interior linemen may be the best in the NFL and it shows.

Maybe you still think of the Chiefs as flashy, but when you watch their games, you will find a gritty team winning with defense and grinding out first downs, rather than the big play offense of the past.

Which Line Is Causing Turmoil?

It should come as no surprise, but the New York Giants have had several issues up front.

Daniel Jones has become an easy target for the media to blame, and he actually not be all that good, but it’s very hard to judge based on their play up front.

Every time you turn on a Giants game, it’s hard not to feel for Jones.

The pass blocking is subpar, and so their run game has also been lackluster, but Nabers looks good and the hope would be the possibility of developing Andrew Thomas’ replacement for this season as it goes on.

It’s hard for me to believe they will truly be able to replace him given his talent, but developing a serviceable option would go a long way.

From my vantage point, you cannot understate how important offensive lines are.

When they play poorly it ruins your offense regardless of skill position talent or a star QBs ability.

There have been a few quarterbacks who can overcome a bad offensive line for parts of a season but it has not happened over a full year.

Running backs and wide receivers look inept when their line is not performing and it’s because the offense goes as far as the line will take them. .

To me, the offensive line is the most important part of any true contender in the NFL.

Maybe these are just my thoughts though, let me know in the comments.

This has been the Unlikely Success.