While we’re no doubt fans of Pro Football Focus and the work it does, sometimes the grades just don’t jive with what we see on the field — and that’s the case with the pass protection grade given to the Tennessee Titans’ offensive line in 2020.
According to Ben Linsey of PFF, the Titans’ group upfront received a pass protection grade of 57.9, ranking them 28th in the NFL. Tennessee was only one of three playoff teams to receive a grade in the bottom half of the league.
It’s hard to fathom how that’s the case. Granted, Tennessee’s offensive line certainly had its warts, but was impressive overall after cutting their sacks allowed total by more than half from 2019 (56) to 2020 (25).
What makes that more impressive is the fact that Tennessee’s O-line did it without Taylor Lewan, who suffered a torn ACL in Week 5, and then his replacement, Ty Sambrailo, whose season ended after Week 11. David Quessenberry stepped in after that and performed admirably.
On top of those injuries, Rodger Saffold, Ben Jones and Dennis Kelly were all playing banged-up during the season and still performed at a respectable to elite level. Jones and Saffold in particular both received First-Team All-Pro consideration.
We also saw the emergence of 2020 UDFA Aaron Brewer as a stellar backup and potential future starting option, and 2019 third-round pick Nate Davis took a big step forward in his second season while also receiving a vote for First-Team All-Pro.
Of course, the Titans don’t get extra points for all of those things, but it’s easy to see why this unit deserved a far better grade than the one PFF is giving it.
