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Five players poised for big performances in Week 16

Posted by on Dec 19, 2014 01:57

Certain stars must step up for their respective teams this weekend. And they have the favorable matchups to do just that.

The players on the front-side of these matchups are the ones that absolutely must enter beast mode in Week 16 for their teams to remain in contention—and it’s the other way around for the player(s) they face. We’ll start with the lock for NFL Defensive Player of Year, who must play well even by his GOAT standards for Houston to stay alive.

Texans-Ravens: J.J. Watt vs. Ravens OL

Watt has wreaked havoc at various spots from edge-to-edge in Romeo Crennel’s defense, pressuring the quarterback more than any player in the NFL. Watt faces arguably his greatest test yet in a Baltimore offensive line with no glaring weakness and three of Pro Football Focus’ Pro Bowl selections in right tackle Ricky Wagner along with guards Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele.

It will be interesting to see how Crennel employs Watt against the Ravens. Inside running has been a consistent source of production and offensive rhythm for Baltimore this year and the line’s strength. Watt will probably attack Baltimore from several points along the trenches, and hitting the interior would put strength on strength.

There’s also the idea of pitting Watt against left tackle Eugene Monroe, perhaps the area to exploit as he’s the lowest PFF-graded Ravens linemen relative to his position, by a fair margin. This could go a long way to unsettle the groove in which Joe Flacco has found himself recently, throwing just one interception over the past five games and submitting brilliant days against San Diego and the season-saving win at Miami.

Chiefs-Steelers: OLB Justin Houston vs. Ben Roethlisberger and Le’Veon Bell

KC has a good pass rush, but against good running attacks it seems the Chiefs can only hope that their opponent runs at Justin Houston. In the second Denver-KC game, C.J. Anderson nearly broke double-digit forced missed tackles by the second quarter. Houston served as the sole wrecking ball against that offense, when the Chiefs weren’t putting him in coverage. Kansas City ranks bottom-five in yards allowed per rushing attempt, and Houston must both defend the edge and pad his league-leading sack total this weekend.

Houston gets a test in both the patient shiftiness of Bell and savvy pocket ruggedness of Ben Roethlisberger. Tamba Hali is no slouch and rookie Dee Ford has come on a bit recently, but Houston needs to mitigate Bell and harass Big Ben for KC to survive.

Browns-Panthers: Josh Gordon vs. Panthers DBs

Johnny Manziel showed very little feel for the timing and rhythm of Kyle Shanahan’s offense—or NFL offense in general—in his debut last week. The immediate solution for adjustments in the next week would be to get the ball in the hands of playmakers, right off the snap. This means screens and quick-hitters to your YAC-monsters. And in Josh Gordon, Cleveland has the perfect weapon.

The Panthers secondary had been a weakness as expected going into the season, before improving over the past month. Young corners Bene Benwikere and Josh Norman are showing promise but could struggle to bring down Gordon in the open field. No one on roster ranks higher than 70th among NFL corners in PFF’s tackling efficiency metric. Roman Harper will find it tough to catch Gordon and has missed nine tackles on pass plays, one of the worst marks among safeties. Given Manziel’s struggles and Carolina’s once-again feisty d-line, chunk plays in the pass game may have to ride on Gordon’s legs.

Cardinals-Seahawks: Cardinals defensive front vs. Russell Wilson

Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has had Russell Wilson’s number since dealing the quarterback his first home loss in the pros almost a year ago.

In Wilson’s last two matchups against Bowles’ defense, the Seahawks have scored a mere two touchdowns combined and Wilson’s averaged 159.5 yards through the air. I’m expecting Bowles’ unit to again show their mastery of aggression with delayed blitzes coming from unexpected places.

Creating uncertainty for Wilson’s scrambling instincts can mute the chaotic lifeblood of Seattle’s passing game, one which typically strikes even the most disciplined opponents at some tired moment in each game. After his defense sacked Wilson seven times just a few weeks ago, Bowles’ unit will need to stifle Seattle even further, as the Cards’ offense deflates with each injured quarterback.

Colts-Cowboys: Vontae Davis vs. Dez Bryant

Davis shut down DeAndre Hopkins’ on four attempts into his coverage last week, registering a pass defensed and an interception to go with no catches against him. Allowing an NFL-low 35.3 passer rating into his coverage this season, Davis doesn’t spend every snap against the opposing top receiver. Still, Chuck Pagano should be compelled to have Davis shadow Dez Bryant this week.

Bryant accounts for nearly half of Tony Romo’s touchdowns (13 of 28) and well over a third of his passing yards (1,148 of 3,188). Splitting Bryant out and attacking his corner off the snap is Dallas’ ultimate trump card in the red zone, as big a reason as the run game for why Dallas is fourth in red-zone touchdown efficiency. Meanwhile, Davis has yet to allow a touchdown.

Bryant has shown he can eat plenty against the league’s best corners. It will be fun to watch him go from roasting Bradley Fletcher one week to battling someone who actually stands a chance. Given Jason Witten’s speed limitations and Terrance Williams’ struggles to get open these days, the Bryant-Davis battle should play a major role in determining the outcome of this game.

About Thomas Emerick

Merry freelancer. NFL Lead Writer at The Sports Daily, Contributor to Sporting News. May have also seen my work at USA Today, Bleacher Report, Pro Football Focus and the late AOL FanHouse. VT grad. I am also an avid diabetic.

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