The Ravens hit the ground running on Sunday making their 2023 season debut against the Houston Texans and giving the inexperienced team no option. Baltimore came out winner after beating Houston 25-9 and two members of the struggling offensive line received plenty of flowers.
In the first weekly installment of their Team of the Week series for Week 1, Gordon McGuinness of Pro Football Focus picked Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum and left guard John Simpson as members of the 25-man squad of excellence.
QB: Tua Tagovailoa
— PFF (@PFF) September 11, 2023
WR: Tyreek Hill
Edge: ?
Week 1 Team of the Week ⬇️https://t.co/jUusTHIp8v
It is a rather interesting choice, as good as these two were on Sunday, considering the offensive line struggles through the first half of the game against the Texans. Houston got to Lamar on a steady basis and the lack of protection was glaring.
On the other hand, the defensive front and the pass-rushing unit were sublime, led by inside linebackers Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith, though none of them made it to PFF's squad for some reason we can't explain.
Anyway, back to Linderbaum and Simpson, the former earned the 15th-best overall blocking grade (76.1) among offensive linemen in Week 1 and the absolute best among centers, while the latter got the fourth-best overall grade (87.2) among OL and guards.
Neither of the two chosen linemen committed a penalty, while PFF did not blame any sack on them either. Linderbaum allowed two hurries and two pressures while John Simpson gave up a hit, one QB hurry, and two pressures.
Interestingly, as many as 22 offensive linemen put up a 100% efficiency in their Week 1 game (no pressures allowed through the game) and none of them were Linderbaum nor Simpson.
Linderbaum and Simpson finished the game against Houston with EFF% percentages of 96.4% and 96.7% in 28 and 30 opportunities respectively.