O-Line Rankings and Matchups to Exploit: Week 4

Sep 24, 2025

William Navarro-Imagn Images

Evaluating offensive line play regarding its effect on fantasy football output has been a stone unturned throughout our game within a game. Here at 4for4, we’re dedicated to looking at fantasy pieces from all angles, including an offensive line's positive and negative impact on that team’s fantasy assets.

Below, I’m going to be digging into specific weekly matchups between offensive lines and the opposing defense's aFPA —one of the many useful tools available to us here at 4for4. Many sites publish raw fantasy points allowed by position, but 4for4 goes a step further and adjusts those numbers for a defense’s relative year-to-date schedule strength. These numbers will continue to strengthen through more data points as the season progresses and, when compared to a team’s advantages within the trenches, will expose fantasy pieces we may not have otherwise considered

Editor's Note: Check out the complete set of Week 4 rankings here.

Let’s begin by diving into the passing game to see what offensive line/defense matchups we can exploit.

Favorable Quarterback Matchups

Quarterback Matchups
O-Line Ranking	Team	Opponent	aFPA	Difference
2	PHI	TB	30	28
1	DEN	CIN	27	26
3	BUF	NO	28	25
10	GB	DAL	32	22
4	IND	LAR	23	19
11	MIN	PIT	29	18
9	ATL	WAS	24	15
5	LAC	NYG	19	14
8	LAR	IND	21	13
16	KC	BAL	25	9
15	SF	JAX	22	7
19	NYJ	MIA	26	7
26	LVR	CHI	31	5
13	TB	PHI	14	1
6	DET	CLE	6	0
17	JAX	SF	17	0
23	CAR	NE	20	-3
12	ARI	SEA	9	-3
7	BAL	KC	3	-4
21	NO	BUF	15	-6
14	WAS	ATL	7	-7
18	CHI	LVR	11	-7
27	SEA	ARI	18	-9
25	MIA	NYJ	16	-9
20	NE	CAR	8	-12
28	TEN	HOU	12	-16
30	CLE	DET	13	-17
29	NYG	LAC	10	-19
22	DAL	GB	1	-21
24	PIT	MIN	2	-22
31	CIN	DEN	4	-27
32	HOU	TEN	5	-27

Broncos vs. Bengals

The Broncos' offensive line has picked up right where they left off in 2024, but the play of Bo Nix has masked just how well they’ve played. The blocking has been credited with only one sack on the year (tight end Adam Trautman), while the Front Five has allowed a total of 17 pressures through three games. Guards Ben Powers and Quinn Meinerz, as well as left tackle Garett Bolles, have yet to allow their third pressure of the season.

Despite all this, Nix is averaging a lowly 178.3 yards per game with a 74.2% on-target rate, while earning only 0.48 fantasy points per drop-back in clean pockets. That final number was all the way up at 0.57 during his rookie season. That may not seem like much, but it equates to roughly 2.5 fantasy points/game, or the difference between his current QB26 ranking in points per game (13.5) and the QB16.

He’s got a chance to turn things around against a Bengals defense that has allowed 191.3 YPG as well as four passing touchdowns from a clean pocket, both bottom-10 marks. Lock Nix in for top-10 QB consideration, while Courtland Sutton should be brought along as a WR2, and Troy Franklin makes for an interesting WR4 dart.

Bills vs. Saints

Left tackle Dion Dawkins had his 10-game streak of not allowing a sack broken back in Week 1 (though Josh Allen kinda just walked into Nnamdi Madubuike, to be fair), but he and the rest of the line have kept the quarterback upright ever since. The o-line has only been charged with that sack and two QB hits over the first three weeks, and now they’ll get a Saints pass rush that has the sixth-lowest pressure rate (28.0%), coming off a 44-13 thwacking by the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. Some of that production was due to a whopping 206 return yards on special teams, but the Seahawks were also floating through the second half in a bid to run out the clock on a 38-6 halftime lead.

Allen (always) is the obvious play here, but assuming the Saints can get anything going themselves, we should be able to target a few of the Bills' pass-catchers as well. Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir both deserve WR3 consideration, while we may finally be seeing Dalton Kincaid turn a corner. The tight end has strung together 16 targets through three weeks and has avoided the dreadful near-gooseeggs that litter his career box scores. Comfortably slot him in as a top-10 TE option.

Vikings @ Steelers

The first start for Carson Wentz was interesting, to say the least. The veteran journeyman was tasked with only 26 dropbacks in a 48-10 victory, buoyed by two defensive touchdowns that helped put the game out of reach. Though the Vikings are 2.5-point favorites on the other side of the pond this weekend, we should expect a much closer game and more work out of the potential streamer.

The Steelers’ defense has been surprisingly permeable (h/t Jennifer Eakins) this season, allowing 0.16 EPA per dropback (23rd) and 8.5 yards per attempt (28th). Those numbers jump to 0.44 (31st) and 9.4 (29th), respectively, when filtered to non-pressured pass attempts, which helps illustrate just how dependent this team is on its defensive line. And even with two goal-line turnovers forced against the Patriots last week, this defense is off to its “third-worst three-game start” during the Mike Tomlin era, as measured by defensive EPA per play.

Pittsburgh does have Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt to terrorize the opposition, but they sadly missed the window of Christian Darrisaw being sidelined. The stud left tackle rotated in during Week 3, but figures to be a full-go in this matchup, helping to solidify a line that also boasts Brian O’Neill and an improved interior, even if Ryan Kelly is once again sidelined.

Wentz is a decent stream-worthy option but a far better SuperFlex option, while Jordan Addison is an interesting dart-throw option in his first game back from suspension.

Favorable Defensive Matchups

Jets @ Dolphins

Tua Tagovailoa has sandwiched one good performance with two near-disasters over the first three weeks of the NFL season. In Weeks 1 and 3, he racked up a 9.2% turnover-worthy play rate and 130 yards, and in Week 2 (315 yards, one turnover-worthy play), he absorbed five sacks. Opposing D/STs have averaged 8.0 FPPG, including two top-three finishes. Those 8.0 points would tie the Jaguars and Steelers as season-long D/ST2.

Tagovailoa deserves plenty of the blame here, but the offensive line has its share of holes, as well. Patrick Paul has actually filled in admirably for the recently retired Terron Armstead, but Larry Borom has struggled on the opposite side, while rookie LG Jonah Savaiinaea has been getting absolutely wrecked. Savaiinaea has allowed 11 pressures en route to a 95.1 pass-blocking efficiency rating, ranking 60th out of 64 qualifying guards. He also ranks 57th in blown-block rate (4.5%) out of that subsect.

The Jets have lost two squeakers to the Steelers and Buccaneers on their way to 0-3, but this is a good bounce-back spot to slide them in as a D/ST streamer.

Texans vs. Titans

In a matchup between two of the more disappointing offenses (and o-lines) in the league, it’s probably best to just take the D/ST that hasn’t scored negatives to this point in the season.

The Houston Texans will host a Tennessee Titans o-line that admittedly looks better than its 2024 version, but still has some work to do. Namely, the right tackle rotation between John Ojukwu and Oli Udoh has been going about as well as you’d expect a situation like that to go. With JC Latham going down in Week 1 with a hip strain, this left Udoh to allow two pressures and a sack in 12 snaps of relief. In the following week, Ojukwu got the start, allowing two sacks, before giving up two more last Sunday in 31 snaps (Udoh allowed three pressures on 39 snaps). Head coach Brian Callahan said the team will take a “wait-and-see” approach on Latham’s return in Week 4, and it’s clearly a return the team will be looking forward to.

If right guard Kevin Zeitler is also inactive for a second straight week, the Titans are going to have serious issues.

Favorable Running Back Matchups

Running Back Matchups
O-Line Ranking	Team	Opponent	aFPA	Difference
1	DEN	CIN	30	29
5	LAC	NYG	31	26
2	PHI	TB	24	22
7	BAL	KC	26	19
3	BUF	NO	20	17
16	KC	BAL	32	16
10	GB	DAL	25	15
11	MIN	PIT	22	11
8	LAR	IND	14	6
23	CAR	NE	27	4
13	TB	PHI	16	3
12	ARI	SEA	15	3
21	NO	BUF	23	2
6	DET	CLE	6	0
4	IND	LAR	3	-1
31	CIN	DEN	29	-2
32	HOU	TEN	28	-4
9	ATL	WAS	5	-4
15	SF	JAX	10	-5
18	CHI	LVR	13	-5
27	SEA	ARI	21	-6
19	NYJ	MIA	12	-7
24	PIT	MIN	17	-7
28	TEN	HOU	18	-10
17	JAX	SF	7	-10
30	CLE	DET	19	-11
14	WAS	ATL	2	-12
25	MIA	NYJ	11	-14
20	NE	CAR	4	-16
26	LVR	CHI	8	-18
29	NYG	LAC	9	-20
22	DAL	GB	1	-21

Chargers @ Giants

Lost in the shuffle of Russell Wilson’s benching is the fact that the Giants’ vaunted defensive front has been run over through the first three weeks of the season. After allowing Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Austin Ekeler, and Jeremy McNichols to combine for 133 rushing yards in the opening week, they proceeded to allow 97 yards to Javonte Williams before settling in for a 20-79-1 stat line between Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt last week. New York ranks 19th in stuffed rate (carries that result in zero or fewer yards), but more importantly, leads the league in broken-plus-missed tackle rate (17.1%), leading to 5.3 YPA on non-quarterback runs.

This week, they’ll be tasked with stopping the momentum of rookie Omarion Hampton, who racked up 129 total yards on 26 opportunities in the now Najee Harris-less Chargers backfield last week.

Rams vs. Colts

The Colts as a whole have been a pleasant surprise through the first three weeks of the season, but they’ll be heading to Los Angeles to take on an offensive line that has been a pleasant surprise in its own right. Despite an injury to left guard Steve Avila back in Week 1, the Rams rank eighth in RB yards before contact (1.78) and second in adjusted line yards (5.32), as Kyren Williams sits at RB13 with 13.5 half-PPR points per game.

It is noticeable that we have (finally) started to see more out of Blake Corum over the last two weeks, but that just means Williams is seeing a roughly 70% snap rate instead of the 80-85% rate we got used to last year. That snap rate could continue to regress into the 65% range, but it’s not something we should be worried about here in Week 4.

Running Backs with Bad Matchups

As opposed to breaking down every bad matchup through the rest of the slate, here are some running backs I’m looking to avoid because of their poor offensive line and/or the strong defensive fronts they will be facing: