Five matchups to watch in Week 12

The last week of the bye season has some great matchups, with some good divisional games and some interesting cross-sectional matchups. Here are some of the most intriguing personnel matchups we may see Sunday before Giants-Cowboys kicks off.

1. Patriots DT Vince Wilfork vs. Lions RG Travis Swanson
Even as a veteran, New England’s mammoth defensive tackle is a load for teams to handle. Facing Larry Warford, a quality power player in his own right, would have been a fascinating matchup in its own right. But Warford’s knee injury is likely to keep him out again. That likely means another start for rookie Swanson. He came out of Arkansas as a quality center prospect, but playing right guard, especially against a player as massive as Wilfork is a challenge of a whole different order. Detroit’s offensive line could not find the end zone against Arizona last week. If Swanson is matched up one-on-one with Wilfork, he should get plenty of help from center Dominic Raiola, or that could single-handedly wreck the Lions’ chances of finding the end zone this week.

2. Cardinals TE John Carlson vs. Seahawks LB K.J. Wright?
It may seem odd to highlight an Arizona tight end, considering that between Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, and John Brown, they have three receivers who’ve shown they can be dangerous this year. But with Fitzgerald missing practice Wednesday and Thursday with a knee injury and the Seahawks struggling some against opposing tight ends, Carlson could be a valuable target for Drew Stanton. How the Seahawks choose to play him will depend some on their own injury concerns. Bobby Wagner is back practicing and seems likely to play. That would let Wright shift back to his more familiar outside linebacker spot from the middle. If Wagner has to miss another game, Carlson would probably see more of Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith.

3. Broncos LG Orlando Franklin vs. Dolphins DT Randy Starks
The Broncos offensive line has been dealing with injuries and playing quite badly of late. They can’t run the ball at all, and Peyton Manning throwing short pass after short pass after short pass even when the game was crying out for a deep shot to get the coverage to back off in Sunday’s loss to the Rams was likely a function of Denver having no trust in their ability to keep him upright against a talented Rams front. Well, the Broncos are once again facing one of the best defensive lines in the league. This game is at home, but crowd noise does not matter if your players cannot block the opponents one-on-one. Franklin was a noted liability at right tackle in the Super Bowl. Moving him inside was supposed to limit his pass rush problems, but they have instead continued. Starks does not get the same publicity as edge rushers Cam Wake and Olivier Vernon, but he’s more than just a complementary player. It could be another sputtering afternoon for the former juggernaut Broncos offense.

4. Rams DT Aaron Donald vs. Chargers C Chris Watt
That fearsome St. Louis defensive line has another juicy matchup this week, against another AFC West offensive line that has been struggling lately. Nick Hardwick went down early in the season, and the Chargers have gone through multiple centers since. Rich Ohrnberger at least stabilized the position, but seems unlikely to play this week after missing practice Wednesday and Thursday. Rookie undrafted free agent Watt has had to fill in for Ohrnberger in-game each of the past two weeks and will likely draw the start on Sunday. Rookie first-rounder Donald has been just as incredible a penetrator as he was at Pitt and ranks second on the team with 4.0 sacks. Philip Rivers has compensated for poor offensive line play in years past and at times this year, but hasn’t played well lately and is dealing with his own injury. A San Diego team that started the season playing pretty well could be in real trouble with another loss.

5. Bengals RT Andre Smith vs. Texans OLB Jadeveon Clowney
Smith missed last week’s game with an ankle injury, but he’s back at practice this week. That is very good news for Andy Dalton. Cincinnati did beat the Saints last Sunday, but Smith’s replacement Marshall Newhouse is a liability. Playing with an ankle injury can be tough for a right tackle, particularly one like Smith who will struggle with speed to the outside even when he is healthy. That could be good news for Clowney, who’s still battling a knee injury of his own and looking for his first NFL sack. Both Cincinnati and Houston still have shots at their division and could even be battling each other for a wild card spot, so this could be a more interesting game than some of the uninteresting performances the two teams have turned in this year could make it seem.

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