Vikings and Dolphins being carried in opposite directions by their offensive lines

Few teams in the NFL are as hot as the Miami Dolphins, who enter Week 11 on a four-game winning streak after a 1-4 start. But it’s the opposite story for the Minnesota Vikings, who are looking to pull out of a downward spiral and end a four-game losing streak that shredded a 5-0 start.

Both teams are 5-4, but carry much different prospects for the final seven games of the season. The Vikings look incapable of scoring the points necessary to keep up with the Detroit Lions or Green Bay Packers in the NFC North race, and while the Dolphins don’t look like AFC East contenders, they’re just on the verge of climbing into an AFC Wild Card spot.

To understand why the fortunes for the two are so different, you need not look any further than the offensive lines of both teams that are microcosms of the seasons so far.

A year ago, the Vikings were the only team in the NFL to get 16 starts from all five offensive linemen. It was far from a dominant group, but Football Outsiders ranked the team No. 10 in run blocking in 2015, even if the unit allowed Teddy Bridgewater to be sacked 44 times.

The health of the offensive line helped Adrian Peterson to lead the NFL in rushing with 1,485 yards and 11 touchdowns and the Vikings to an 11-5 record.

But the storyline couldn’t be more different in 2016. Even after the Vikings recognized the need to add more bodies up front in the offseason, the free agent additions of Andre Smith and Alex Boone haven’t helped the Minnesota line from getting decimated by injuries.

Smith is one of the three offensive tackles on the Vikings injured reserve, along with Matt Kalil and Jake Long. Its been crippling for an offense that was winning despite poor offensive line play early in the season. After four weeks, Pro Football Focus ranked the Vikings offensive line No. 30 in the NFL and that was before losing Smith or signing then losing Long.

Six weeks later, the Vikings are No. 31 on PFF, ahead of the San Diego Chargers only because center Joe Berger has played well.

“T.J. Clemmings in particular has been a disaster at tackle, surrendering 24 total pressures and owning one of the worst grades we have ever given a tackle over the past 10 seasons of grading,” PFF’s Sam Monson wrote.

On Football Outsiders, the Vikings are No. 31 in run blocking, and the team has been completely unable to run the ball without Peterson. Minnesota averages a league-worst 2.7 yards per carry and 182 combined rushing yards in the last three weeks.

There is no reprieve on the way for the Vikings, and they’ll likely continue shopping for street free agents to plug in and save the day. But it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel for Minnesota.

The Miami offensive line was severely set back when an explosive situation in the locker room in 2013 between Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin left the team without much to build around. Jake Long had just left in the 2013 offseason, Incognito was suspended by the team and later released, and Martin refused to play with the Dolphins again before he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers.

Still, the Dolphins had Mike Pouncey and helped the group by adding Branden Albert in the 2014 offseason. But that wasn’t enough, and Miami had one of the NFL’s worst lines in 2014 and 2015, with draft picks like Billy Turner, Dallas Thomas and Jamil Douglas all struggling to contribute and eventually getting released.

Make no mistake, the Miami offensive line isn’t one of the NFL’s best in 2016 either.

But with first-round rookie Laremy Tunsil starting, the Dolphins made a very successful transition to a power running offense with Jay Ajayi quickly becoming one of the breakout stars of the 2016 season.

Football Outsiders lists the Dolphins as No. 10 at run blocking and No. 28 at pass blocking, but the switch to downhill running has helped Ryan Tannehill plenty.

Tannehill during first five games: 254.4 yards/game, 6 TDs, 7 INTs, 17 sacks
Tannehill during last four games: 211.3 yards/game, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 3 sacks

Pouncey missed time early in the year, but he has since returned and is partly responsible for the team’s resurgence. However, injuries are piling up for the Dolphins, and Pouncey could be out again with a hip problem.

Albert’s sidelined while recovering from surgery to repair a dislocated wrist, and that means Miami could run into some trouble if players like Tunsil, Kraig Urbik, and Anthony Steen are forced to play and aren’t able to step up and perform at a high level.

After five games, the Vikings looked untouchable and the Dolphins looked like a team ready to move on to 2017. But one offensive line disintegrated, the other found an identity, and the teams’ records have reflected the trends.

The arrow is pointing up for the Dolphins offensive line and that’s good news for Tannehill and Ajayi, although the way they handle injuries will determine how far the run goes for Miami. But things look like they’re only getting worse in Minnesota, and that’s not a good sign for Sam Bradford, Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata.