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The Philadelphia Eagles just won the Super Bowl after winning the conference two of the last three seasons . They laid claim to the NFL’s highest honor on the backs of their offensive line.
The Eagles O-line made things easy for the plethora of playmakers wearing midnight green on Sunday night in New Orleans. Saquon Barkley might get most of the credit for the Eagles’ dominant ground game, but those who’ve been paying attention know the offensive line is the real hero in Philadelphia this season.
The Eagles success has given the Dallas Cowboys something to aspire to in 2025.
Not only is Klayton Adams, Dallas’ new offensive coordinator, one of the NFL’s best offensive line coaches, but the Cowboys new actual offensive line coach, Conor Riley, is also highly regarded in his role. As if that wasn’t enough, the Cowboys holdover tight end coach, Lunda Wells, is a respected offensive line mind as well.The Cowboys have a clear focus on their offensive line this offseason and they have all the money-backed moves to prove it.
Whether the Cowboys can bridge that gap between them and the Eagles in a single offseason remains to be seen. Philadelphia won Pro Football Focus’ honors for being the top offensive line in the NFL in 2024 while the Cowboys finished ranked just 25th. The Eagles also finished in the top 10 in both pass block win rate and run block win rate, while the Cowboys only cracked the top 10 in run block win rate. To the surprise of no one, the Cowboys’ pass protection rated just 24th in this ESPN metric.
It should be no surprise Jalen Hurts had the longest time to throw (TTT) in the NFL last season, averaging 3.23 seconds per drop back. Cooper Rush (2.36 seconds) and Dak Prescott (2.64 seconds) finished in the NFL’s bottom seven (of those playing at least 20 percent of the snaps) in 2024.
When kept clean, Hurts posted a 92.8 offensive grade, good for top five in the NFL. When under pressure he was third worst.
Hurts was just a hair above Daniel Jones when playing under pressure, company no self-respecting quarterback wants to find themselves amongst. All Hurts did in the Super Bowl was win MVP, being one of the most OL-dependent players in the NFL.
Hurts still had to perform, but it’s a similar ask to that of the Kyle Shanahan QBs in San Francisco.
Barkley dominated the NFL in yards before contact behind his elite offensive line; it was them who deserve the bulk of the credit for his historic season, opening holes and keeping him clean and untouched for so long, down after down.
Barkley was still a beast as a runner, finishing No. 6 in yards after contact/attempt in 2024, but Rico Dowdle also finished in the top 10 in this RB specific performance stat and he’s hardly considered elite .
There’s a lesson the Eagles have taught Dallas this season and a blueprint for success the new coaching staff seems particularly qualified to follow. It’s all about the offensive line and the Cowboys seem to finally understand that.