There are just two weeks to go in the regular season. Nine teams are still alive for six stops in the NFC, with all seeds up for grabs. A whopping nine teams are still alive for just three available playoff spots in the AFC, plus the three teams that have already clinched their division are jockeying for playoff seeding, including the crucial first-round bye. With Jacksonville-Tennessee out of the way on Thursday night, every single game on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday has at least one team with Super Bowl aspirations and many of them have two. Here are some of the most intriguing personnel matchups in the games heading up to Sunday’s battle for NFC supremacy between the Seahawks and the Cardinals.
1. Cowboys LT Tyron Smith vs. Colts DE Cory Redding
With right tackle Doug Free missing practice Wednesday and Thursday and DeMarco Murray injured in his left hand, a Dallas team that already runs to the left side more than the average team may look to become even more left-handed than normal against Indianapolis. Smith may be the league’s best left tackle, with remarkable athleticism for a man in his size being particularly useful on Dallas’ outside zone runs. Redding in probably Indianapolis’ best, or at least most reliable, defensive lineman. He’ll need to have a strong game this week, or else the Colts’ vulnerable linebackers will have to have a standout performance to limit the Cowboys run game and keep their quest to beat out Denver or New England for one of those crucial byes intact.
2. Ravens OLB Elvis Dumervil vs. Texans RT Derek Newton
Starting their third quarterback of the season, Houston will undoubtedly look to rely on Arian Foster as much as possible. In the words of Greg Cosell of NFL Films, though, eventually it will be third-and-9 and then what do you do? For likely starter Case Keenum, the answer last season in the face of any pressure was too often “turn around and run away and get sacked for an even bigger loss of yardage.” That makes giving him good pass protection against a strong Baltimore front particularly important. The Ravens have two top-level pass rushers in Dumervil and Suggs. The Texans have one very good tackle. Duane Brown may face Suggs primarily, which would leave Dumervil on Newton. Newton’s a better player than he was, but giving Keenum (or Tom Savage) a comfortable pocket against a pass rusher of Dumervil’s caliber is a particularly difficult test. If he succeeds, Houston can make plays against a Baltimore secondary that is still injury-riddled. If not, well, Gary Kubiak will finally win another game in Houston.
3. Saints WR Marques Colston vs. Falcons CB Josh Wilson?
This game has two sub-.500 teams, but it is still a crucial game for this season’s NFC South title. What a division! Drew Brees is coming off an incredibly efficient performance of ball distribution against a bad Chicago secondary, and New Orleans is looking to end their losing streak. A key part of their pass game, when they’ve been having success, has been the resurgence of veteran Colston, who has struggled to make the same plays and fill the same role he did earlier in his career. A beleaguered Atlanta secondary provides a favorable matchup. The key question will be how Mike Nolan chooses to defend the Saints passing attack, and whether that will include nickel corner Wilson against Colston; possible, but it would give Colston the sort of size advantage he’s enjoyed through his career. No matter how they choose to defend him, Atlanta must not let Brees have the same easy passes he did last week, or else Matt Ryan may have to win the game on his own.
4. Steelers WR Antonio Brown vs. Chiefs CB Sean Smith
Pittsburgh is a fascinating team on offense, featuring two of the league’s best players at their position in Brown and Le’Veon Bell and an extremely talented quarterback in Ben Roethsliberger, but they’ve fluctuated between some of the best offensive games in the NFL this season (Roethlisberger’s record-setting games against the Colts and Ravens) and some of the worst (the first Ravens game, the loss to the Jets). Brown is virtually guaranteed to catch five passes, since the Steelers seem to make it a priority to give him at least five catches every week, but just how much damage does he do? He’s one of the best route-runners in the league, able to turn sharply and get open in tight spaces. Smith has a size advantage on him, but probably couldn’t compete with his movement even without a groin injury that put him on the injury report even though he practiced fully. Will the Chiefs match him up, or will they let Smith play one of the Steelers’ other receivers and let Brown work against other players? With Kansas City struggling on offense, a good defensive performance is a crucial part of winning. No matter whether it’s Brown, Bell, or Roethlisberger to other players, the Chiefs need to force the Steelers into one of their worse offensive games to keep their wild card hopes alive.
5. Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin vs. Browns CB Justin Gilbert
Two teams with only fringe playoff hopes, but we could see a battle of first-round picks. Benjamin went over 100 yards even with Derek Anderson throwing him the ball last week, and Carolina should have Cam Newton back this week. For Cleveland, their only hope of the postseason is to win their final two games. Given what Johnny Manziel did last week, the defense must turn in a superlative performance. Gilbert has had a typical rookie’s struggles, but Benjamin’s weaknesses seem to line up pretty well with Gilbert’s weaknesses. That could make this a very interesting matchup between two really talented players, if this particular matchup doesn’t end up being all about Carolina’s underwhelming offensive line getting run over by Cleveland’s defensive front.
