Browns OL's major victory over T.J. Watt in Week 12 supported by this one stat
There are several teams in the NFL this season that have the same weakness - their offensive line. Between injuries or just not being able to match up with some of the more elite defensive lines in the league, O-line is certainly going to be a hot topic during the NFL Draft next year as there are several marquee names to choose from there.
For the Cleveland Browns, it's been the be all, end all of their season so far. Between light drama with Jedrick Wills Jr.'s comments, injuries to Jack Conklin and Wyatt Teller, and now injury to Dawand Jones who was doing a fantastic job at left tackle in place of Wills, Cleveland has not been spared from the terrible injury luck facing O-lines around the league.
Read more: Coach's corner: Best call from Browns v. Steelers in Week 12
But, in Week 12 and the Browns' victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the offensive line was genuinely solid. Jameis Winston had a ton of time on several drop backs in the pocket, and he was able to at least escape the pocket and make a run for it for decent yardage instead of immediately getting tripped up at the line of scrimmage. Nick Chubb was also able to get off several decent runs, with his longest being seven yards. But, his two touchdowns are what stick out from his performance and from the O-line.
One offensive lineman that truly stood out amongst the pack, though, was tackle Jack Conklin. Conklin, an eight year veteran, was paired up against a Defensive Player of the Year caliber linebacker in T.J. Watt. Watt made headlines ahead of the game by way of Myles Garrett making it known to media that he did not appreciate Watt's absence at his DPOY award ceremony last season, nor did he appreciate Watt tweeting "nothing I'm not used to" after losing the award to Garrett. Watt brushed the comments aside in pregame, insisting that he believed Garrett was the best defensive end in the NFL.
Garrett certainly made that known in Week 12, but Watt couldn't even hold a candle to Garrett in the contest because of Conklin.
On 24 snaps, Conklin managed to allow just one pressure from Watt. Watt, who has 7.5 sacks on the season and is first in the league in forced fumbles with four, was a ghost thanks to Conklin's efforts in protecting Winston in the pocket. His ability to keep up that pressure on so many snaps and likely seeing so many different defensive formations from Watt and the Steelers was majorly impressive, and a great sign for this O-line moving forward through a gauntlet of a remaining schedule.