Week 11 may be the last of the regular season with more than two teams on bye, but it still offers plenty of interesting matchups. Like we highlight every week, here are a couple of the more interesting ones from Sunday’s afternoon slate.
1. Lions WR Golden Tate vs. Cardinals CB Antonio Cromartie
The Cardinals tend to matchup their corners to opposing wide receivers. Patrick Peterson normally takes the top opposing wide receiver, with Cromartie facing the number two. But it doesn’t always work out quite so nearly. When we spotlighted the Peterson-Demaryius Thomas matchup back in Week 5, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles didn’t actually follow suit. Instead, he had Peterson follow Emmanuel Sanders and left Cromartie on Thomas. Thomas had over 200 yards receiving that game. Again this week, Bowles has an interesting decision to make. In last year’s Detroit-Arizona game, he had Peterson follow Calvin Johnson. Then, though, the Cardinals didn’t have a strong number two corner and the Lions had an even worse second receiver. Free agency addition Tate is second in the NFL in receiving yards when aligned in the slot, per Greg Cosell of NFL Films. If Peterson matchups up to Johnson, that would leave Cromartie, a natural outside corner rather than a slot player, on Tate, and that is a matchup Detroit could take advantage of.
2. Packers LB Clay Matthews vs. Eagles TE Zach Ertz
Matthews made a surprise move last week to inside linebacker, especially in sub package situations, and it will very interesting to see where he lines up this week as Green Bay tries to slow down Philadelphia’s offense. If he goes into coverage, Ertz is a player he may find himself matched up against, or Chip Kelly may look to isolate him in the middle of the field on crossing routes against wide receivers while operating at a high tempo to get him off-balance and keep Dom Capers from doing anything fancy. The Packers defense has been a solid complement to the offense much of the season, but New Orleans lit them up a couple weeks ago. Aaron Rodgers has been playing so well lately they can win even if the defense struggles, but they’d prefer not to have to find out. Oh, and chilly weather and maybe even snow could make this battle even more interesting.
3. Bengals OLB Emmanuel Lamur vs. Saints RB Travaris Cadet
This may not be the highest-profile matchup from this interesting inter-conference battle, but it could be one of the keys to the game. Sean Payton loves, loves, loves to get the running backs involved in pass game, and the Bengals linebackers have struggled badly in space as part of their general defensive issues. Cadet isn’t as dangerous as Darren Sproles in years past or Pierre Thomas earlier this season, but he’s plenty capable of taking advantage of a juicy matchup like this one. Add in New Orleans play-action to open up the middle of the field, and it could be another long day for the Cincinnati defense. The pressure will be on Lamur and Vinny Rey, especially with how badly Andy Dalton has been playing.
4. Giants RB Rashad Jennings vs. 49ers ILB Chris Borland
San Francisco is coming off a strong road win in New Orleans. New York is coming off a blowout loss to Seattle. 49ers win this game easily, right? Not so fast-this game could be a lot more competitive than you think. One big reason will be Jennings’ return to the lineup. He’s practicing this week and is expected to play, and the Giants really need him. Andre Williams has played for him, and has been one of the least efficient backs in football while Jennings was one of the most efficient ones. New coordinator and new offense notwithstanding, Tom Coughlin still loves balance, and with Jennings back the Giants have a chance of actually having some balance instead of just trying to have balance and ending up in second-and-long or third-and-long. San Francisco, when healthy, has the best pair of inside linebackers in football, but Patrick Willis is now on injured reserve and Navorro Bowman is not back in the lineup after his injury from the NFC Championship Game. That puts the pressure on third-round rookie Borland, a tackling machine who’s been impressive but now has to operate without a veteran telling him where to go.
5. Texans QB Ryan Mallett vs. Browns DE Desmond Bryant
What can you expect from a quarterback who hasn’t taken a significant snap in the NFL, with a head coach in his first year, coming off a bye? Whether you think he’s a future quality starter or a big-armed stiff, you can’t really be sure about what Mallett is. All we know is he hasn’t played and he’s a different quarterback than Ryan Fitzpatrick, with different strengths (that big arm) and weaknesses (even functional mobility within the pocket was a question mark at Arkansas). Bryant, who ranks second on Cleveland with 3.0 sacks, and company will be pushing the pocket and seeing if Mallett can make plays under pressure.
