Greatest Offensive Lines in NFL History
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There are metrics for just about everything in football these days, but that’s why I love offensive linemen. They are throwbacks to simpler days when the only criteria was simply whether you got the job done or not.
While attempts have been made to quantify line play in recent years, I only trust yards gained and touchdowns scored. Along with sack percentage, which has more gray areas but is generally useful, they’re the old reliables that I used to compile this list of most dominant o-lines of the expansion era.
Let’s give the big uglies some love, shall we?
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30. 1998 San Francisco 49ers
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From left to right: left guard Derrick Deese, left tackle Ray Brown, center Chris Dalman, right guard Kevin Grogan (Pro Bowl), right tackle Kirk Scrafford
Rush yards/game: 159.0 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 5.2 (first)
Rush touchdowns: 19 (third)
Sack percentage: 8.7 (23rd)
Bottom line: Thirty-seven-year-old Steve Young posed a challenge in pass protection, but Garrison Hearst ran wild behind road graders Brown, Dalman and Grogan between the tackles.
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29. 2001 Pittsburgh Steelers
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From left to right: Wayne Gandy, Alan Faneca (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Jeff Hartings, Rich Tylski, Marvel Smith
Rush yards/game: 173.4 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.8 (second)
Rush touchdowns: 17 (seventh)
Sack percentage: 6.4 (19th)
Bottom line: The Steelers ran for at least 120 yards in all except one of their first 16 games. Seven times they went over the 200 mark. Then, they were limited to 58 in the AFC Championship Game. Hey, that’s what can happen when the New England Patriots cheat their butts off.
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28. 1985 Chicago Bears
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From left to right: Jimbo Covert (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Mark Bortz, Jay Hilgenberg (Pro Bowl), Tom Thayer, Keith Van Horne
Rush yards/game: 172.6 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.5 (fifth)
Rush touchdowns: 27 (first)
Sack percentage: 9.1 (19th)
Bottom line: The best o-line over an extended period in the expansion era? The 1984-86 Monsters of the Midway have my vote. All three appear on this list, and all had Covert, Bortz, Hilgenberg and Van Horne in lead roles.
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27. 1974 Dallas Cowboys
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From left to right: Ralph Neely, John Nyland, John Fitzgerald, Blaine Nye (Pro Bowl), Rayfield Wright (Pro Bowl)
Rush yards/game: 175.3 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.5 (first)
Rush touchdowns: 22 (second)
Sack percentage: 10.9 (22nd)
Bottom line: Neely, Nyland, Nye and Wright were back in the saddle for a fourth consecutive season. The group struggled to keep 32-year-old codger Roger Staubach upright at times, but the ground game rolled up 200-plus yards on five occasions.
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26. 2012 Washington Redskins
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From left to right: Trent Williams (Pro Bowl), Kory Lichtensteiger, Will Montgomery, Chris Chester, Tyler Polumbus
Rush yards/game: 169.3 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 5.2 (second)
Rush touchdowns: 22 (second)
Sack percentage: 6.9 (21st)
Bottom line: Sixth-rounder Alfred Morris experienced a career season in his pro debut, and the Redskins went from worst to first. The offensive linemen that year are five good reasons why it happened.
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25. 1979 New York Jets
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From left to right: Chris Ward, Randy Rasmussen, Joe Fields, Dan Alexander, Marvin Powell (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl)
Rush yards/game: 165.4 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.2 (ninth)
Rush touchdowns: 23 (eighth)
Sack percentage: 8.0 (11th)
Comment: Because run-blocking and pass-blocking are not one and the same, seldom do you find an o-line that is highly proficient at both. Well, here’s one. This five-man band was so in tune that Scott Dierking and Clark Gaines combined for nearly 1,700 yards on the ground. I said Scott Dierking and Clark Gaines, people!
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24. 1971 Miami Dolphins
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From left to right: Doug Crusan, Bob Kuechenberg, Bob DeMarco, Larry Little (First Team All-Pro), Norm Evans
Rush yards/game: 173.5 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 5.0 (first)
Rush touchdowns: 11 (15th)
Sack percentage: 7.9 (15th)
Bottom line: Believe it or not, there was a time when teams ran the ball early and often to set up the play-action pass. The Dolphins of the early 1970s did this better than anyone. While the AFC champs stayed on the ground 60 percent of the time and gained 55 percent of their yardage there, their 20 touchdowns and 6.2 yards per attempt through the air were among the top eight in the league.
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23. 1991 Buffalo Bills
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From left to right: Will Wolford, Jim Richter (Pro Bowl), Kent Hull (First Team All-Pro), John Davis, Howard Ballard
Rush yards/game: 148.8 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.7 (third)
Rush touchdowns: 16 (seventh)
Sack percentage: 6.4 (15th)
Bottom line: Wolford, Richter, Hull and Ballard did the heavy lifting on the ground for four consecutive AFC championship teams. But when the Bills fell behind 24-zip in Super Bowl XXVI, all bets were off.
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22. 1989 Cincinnati Bengals
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From left to right: Anthony Munoz (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Bruce Reimers, Bruce Kozerski, Max Montoya (Pro Bowl), Brian Blados
Rush yards/game: 155.2 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.7 (second)
Rush touchdowns: 17 (sixth)
Sack percentage: 7.4 (16th)
Bottom line: Rookie sensation Ickey Woods went down in Week 2, but 31-year-old Anthony Munoz was still ... Anthony Munoz. Veteran James Books stepped in to have a career season behind an experienced front line.
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21. 1987 San Francisco 49ers
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From left to right: Bubba Paris, Jesse Sapolu, Randy Cross, Bruce Collie, Harris Barton
Rush yards/game: 149.1 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.3 (third)
Rush touchdowns: 11 (20th)
Sack percentage: 5.5 (sixth)
Bottom line: Bobb McKittrick was known to get a lot out of a little, but the line coach outdid himself here. Veteran Randy Cross was the only player with as many as 10 starts among the 18 who played in the trenches.
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20. 1984 Chicago Bears
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From left to right: Jimbo Covert, Mark Bortz, Jay Hilgenberg, Kurt Becker, Keith Van Horne
Rush yards/game: 185.9 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.4 (fourth)
Rush touchdowns: 22 (first)
Sack percentage: 8.5 (14th)
Bottom line: While their loud-mouth counterparts on defense made all the noise, the o-line played no less of a role in their ascension to contender status. In 11 of 18 games (playoffs included), veteran Walter Payton and his co-conspirators gained more yards on the ground than in the air.
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19. 2021 Philadelphia Eagles
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From left to right: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Jack Driscoll/Nate Herbig, Lane Johnson
Rush yards/game: 159.7 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.9 (fourth)
Rush touchdowns: 25 (first)
Sack percentage: 5.9 (14th)
Bottom line: No fewer than a dozen Eagles linemen started games, but the offense rushed for 150-plus yards on nine occasions, nonetheless. Thirty-four-year-old warhorse Jason Kelce was the only one with perfect attendance.
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18. 2008 New York Giants
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From left to right: David Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O’Hara (Pro Bowl), Chris Snee (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Kareem McKenzie
Rush yards/game: 157.4 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 5.1 (first)
Rush touchdowns: 19 (eighth)
Sack percentage: 5.4 (13th)
Bottom line: The three primary backs each averaged 5.0 yards per carry, and two (Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward) surpassed the 1,000-yard mark. In a crucial three-week stretch in November, they exceeded 200 yards each time en route to a 12-4 record and the NFC East crown.
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17. 1977 Chicago Bears
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From left to right: Ted Albrecht, Noah Jackson, Dan Peiffer, Revie Sorey, Dennis Lick
Rush yards/game: 200.8 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.7 (first)
Rush touchdowns: 18 (sixth)
Sack percentage: 7.9 (13th)
Bottom line: O-coordinator Sid Gilman was known for the vertical pass game, but dumb, he was not. The old ball coach had Bob Avellini do what the quarterback did best — hand the ball to Walter Payton behind a young line that had lots of size and fresh legs.
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16. 1988 Cincinnati Bengals
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From left to right: Anthony Munoz (First Team All Pro, Pro Bowl), Bruce Reimers, Bruce Kozerski, Max Montoya (Pro Bowl), Joe Walter
Rush yards/game: 169.4 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.8 (first)
Rush touchdowns: 27 (first)
Sack percentage: 7.1 (15th)
Bottom line: Four-fifths of this group (Brian Blados replaced Walter one year later) owns two of the top 22 spots on this list. All together now — un-der-ra-ted!
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15. 1980 Los Angeles Rams
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Front left to right: Doug France, Kent Hill (Pro Bowl), Rich Saul (Pro Bowl), Doug Smith/Dennis Harrah (Pro Bowl), Jackie Slater
Rush yards/game: 174.9 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.6 (second)
Rush touchdowns: 17 (10th)
Sack percentage: 6.0 (ninth)
Bottom line: After Harrah replaced the injured Doug Smith in Week 9, the run game went into full beast mode. It rolled up 200-plus yards in five of the next eight games to close out an 11-5 season.
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14. 1972 Miami Dolphins
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From left to right: Doug Crusan, Bob Kuechenberg, Jim Langer, Larry Little (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Norm Evans (Pro Bowl)
Rush yards/game: 211.4 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.8 (second)
Rush touchdowns: 26 (first)
Sack percentage: 7.5 (13th)
Bottom line: The ’71 Dolphins line was very good. This one was even better. The difference was in the middle, where Langer replaced veteran Bob DeMarco to give the unit more athleticism and younger legs.
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13. 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers
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From left to right: Jon Kolb, Sam Davis, Mike Webster, Jim Clack, Gerry Mullins
Rush yards/game: 212.2 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.5 (third)
Rush touchdowns: 33 (first)
Sack percentage: 8.9 (12th)
Bottom line: While the Steel Curtain got most of the pub (and rightly so), this group excelled under the radar. The fact that Kolb never played in a Pro Bowl was an oversight of criminal proportions.
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12. 2019 Baltimore Ravens
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From left to right: Ronnie Stanley (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Bradley Bozeman, Matt Skura, Marshal Yanda (Pro Bowl), Orland0 Brown Jr. (Pro Bowl)
Rush yards/game: 206.0 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 5.5 (first)
Rush touchdowns: 21 (second)
Sack percentage: 6.0 (13th)
Bottom line: Did quarterback Lamar Jackson (1,206 yards, seven touchdowns on the ground) make the line, or did the line make him? I’m not convinced that three members were Pro Bowl caliber, but the numbers vouch for their collective dominance.
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11. 1992 Buffalo Bills
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From left to right: Will Wolford (Pro Bowl), Jim Richter (Pro Bowl), Kent Hull, Glenn Parker, Howard Ballard
Rush yards/game: 152.25 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.4 (fifth)
Rush touchdowns: 18 (sixth)
Sack percentage: 5.4 (seventh)
Bottom line: Statistically, this is the best front line of the four-peat AFC champions and the second to make the cut here. Parker replaced John Davis at right guard, and the sack percentage improved by eight spots in the order.
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10. 1995 Kansas City Chiefs
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From left to right: John Alt, Dave Szott, Tim Grunhard, Will Shields (Pro Bowl), Ricky Siglar
Rush yards/game: 138.9 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.4 (fifth)
Rush touchdowns: 14 (14th)
Sack percentage: 3.8 (third)
Bottom line: If ever there was a Marty Schottenheimer offense, this was it. Then, the head coach took the ball from backs Marcus Allen and Greg Hill and gave it to quarterback Steve Bono in the playoffs. Whaa?!
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9. 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars
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From left to right: Cam Robinson, Patrick Omameh, Brandon Linder, A.J. Cann, Jeremey Parnell
Rush yards/game: 141.4 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.3 (seventh)
Rush touchdowns: 18 (second)
Sack percentage: 4.4 (sixth)
Bottom line: Consistent? The AFC South champs averaged 140.0 yards on the ground in three postseason games, virtually identical to their regular season norm. And only once did the offense allow more than three sacks in a game. Even so, not one of the no-names was offered a Pro Bowl vacation.
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8. 1994 Pittsburgh Steelers
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From left to right: John Jackson, Duval Love (Pro Bowl), Dermontti Dawson (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Todd Kalis, Leon Searcy
Rush yards/game: 136.25 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.0 (fifth)
Rush touchdowns: 15 (fifth)
Sack percentage: 7.8 (sixth)
Bottom line: This was one of the most balanced o-lines of the expansion era. Its strength was the left side, where 10th-round draft picks Jackson and Love laid the groundwork.
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7. 1996 Denver Broncos
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From left to right: Gary Zimmerman (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Mark Schlereth, Tom Nalen, Brian Habib, Broderick Thompson
Rush yards/game: 147.6 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.5 (third)
Rush touchdowns: 20 (second)
Sack percentage: 5.5 (ninth)
Bottom line: This was the ideal combination of elite young back (Terrell Davis), savvy o-line (only Nalen was younger than 30 years old) and newfangled scheme (the zone principles of assistant Alex Gibbs). The offense rushed for 160-plus yards in half of its regular-season games.
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6. 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers
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From left to right: John Jackson, Will Wolford, Dermontti Dawson (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Brendan Stai, Justin Strzelczyk
Rush yards/game: 154.9 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.3 (eighth)
Rush touchdowns: 19 (fourth)
Sack percentage: 4.1 (second)
Bottom line: This is the second team (and third appearance) for Wilford on this list. If the guy isn’t the most unsung linemen of the expansion era, then he certainly deserves to be on that list, too.
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5. 1982 Buffalo Bills
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From left to right: Ken Jones, Reggie McKenzie, Will Grant, Jon Borchardt, Joe Devlin
Rush yards/game: 152.3 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.3 (third)
Rush touchdowns: 9 (12th)
Sack percentage: 4.2 (third)
Bottom line: Here’s a shout-out to Reggie McKenzie, who inexplicably played in only one Pro Bowl in his career. The Meechigan Man appears with two of the top five entries here, this one at 32 years old.
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4. 1999 San Francisco 49ers
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From left to right: Dave Fiore, Ray Brown, Chris Dalman, Jeremy Newberry, Derrick Deese
Rush yards/game: 130.9 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 5.0 (first)
Rush touchdowns: 14 (third)
Sack percentage: 5.7 (ninth)
Bottom line: Because quarterback Jeff Garcia owns the 12th-best rate in league history, I won’t give the line too much credit for the sack percentage. Still, the overall numbers are too impressive to ignore here. One of these guys deserved a Pro Bowl vacation, but when you play with a 4-12 team, them are the breaks.
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3. 1986 Chicago Bears
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From left to right: Jimbo Covert (First Team All Pro, Pro Bowl), Mark Bortz, Jay Hilgenberg (Pro Bowl), Tom Thayer, Keith Van Horne
Rush yards/game: 168.75 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.5 (second)
Rush touchdowns: 21 (third)
Sack percentage: 5.5 (7th)
Bottom line: The great Bears o-lines of the 1980s had one constant — coach Dick Stanfel. Yet it took decades for the deadbeat voters to finally give him a bust in Canton, and then only after the 87-year-old had passed away. A Hall of Fame player and Hall of Fame coach deserved better.
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2. 1978 New England Patriots
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From left to right: Leon Gray (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), John Hannah (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Bill Lenkaitis, Sam Adams, Shelby Jordan
Rush yards/game: 197.8 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 4.7 (first)
Rush touchdowns: 30 (first)
Sack percentage: 7.9 (fifth)
Bottom line: Hannah and his co-conspirators were one of the select few o-lines to achieve the triple crown of ground games — first in yards, first in yards per attempt and first in touchdowns. A low sack rate gave it all-time status, which mobile quarterback Steve Grogan aided in no small way.
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1. 1975 Buffalo Bills
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From left to right: Dave Foley (Pro Bowl), Reggie McKenzie, Mike Montler, Joe DeLamielleure (First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl), Donnie Green
Rush yards/game: 212.4 (first)
Rush yards/attempt: 5.1 (first)
Rush touchdowns: 26 (third)
Sack percentage: 5.9 (third)
Bottom line: When an o-line has a cool nickname like the Electric Company, so named by O.J. Simpson because of its ability to turn on the Juice, you know it’s one of a kind. Coach and de facto general manager Lou Saban drafted DeLamielleure, McKenzie and monstrous tight end Paul Seymour, traded for Montler, and the rest would soon be history. This is the only line to finish among the top three in all four categories in the expansion era.
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