Five matchups to Watch in Week 7

Here are some of the more intriguing matchups from Sunday’s slate of afternoon games.

1. Bengals TE Jermaine Gresham vs. Colts ILB D’Qwell Jackson

Without A.J. Green and with Marvin Jones now on the IR, the Bengals are playing without Andy Dalton’s two best targets from last year. That means more work for Gresham, who had six catches last week. Jackson is a savvy veteran on the inside of the Colts defense but probably can’t move well enough to stay with Gresham. He’ll still be involved in the coverage effort, along with fellow inside backer Jerrell Freeman. Staying disciplined against play-action will be particularly important, as Cincinnati will try to run the ball and get them moving forward at the snap before throwing to Gresham in the space where they should be.

2. Giants RT Justin Pugh vs. Cowboys DE George Selvie.

When the Eagles shut out the Giants on Sunday Night Football, a big reason why was their pass rush. When they weren’t getting one of their eight sacks on the game, they were harassing Eli Manning into making quick decisions and missing throws. Isolating and taking advantage of Pugh was a big reason why they were so successful. As competently as Dallas’s defense has played, they have fewer sacks on the year than the Eagles had last week. Can Selvie take advantage of the Giants’ second-year tackle the way the Eagles did, or will the pressure once again be on the Cowboys offense to win the game on their own?

3. Packers FS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix vs. Panthers QB Cam Newton

Newton has compounded expectations by playing some of the best football of his career so far this year. That comes after an offseason of predictions of doom thanks to a beleaguered offensive line and massive turnover at wide receiver. Jonathan Stewart looks likely to play this week, taking some of the run game pressure off Cam and his rib injury, but he’ll need to continue to play in a passing game that may be without key target Kelvin Benjamin (concussion). For Green Bay, both starting cornerbacks Sam Shields and Tramon Williams are banged up and missed practice both Wednesday and Thursday. That puts extra pressure on the other secondary players. First-round rookie Clinton-Dix had probably the best game of his young NFL career against the Dolphins last Sunday and needs another strong effort to help the Packers keep pace in the NFC North.

4. Chargers TE Antonio Gates vs. Chiefs SS Eric Berry?

Berry has been with an ankle injury since getting hurt in Week 2. He returned to practice Wednesday, but missed practice Thursday. If he can go on Sunday, he’ll have a very difficult task in facing Gates and San Diego’s hyper-efficient passing game. Kansas City has lost their last four to San Diego and needs a win to avoid falling to 2-4 and giving themselves an even longer road for a postseason return trip. This game counts double, and they need it. If Berry can’t go, then it will be Husain Abdullah at strong safety instead.

5. Saints TE Jimmy Graham vs. Lions MLB DeAndre Levy

The Saints have a mostly dysfunctional, or at least not predictably functional, passing game. The exception to that rule is when Drew Brees throws to Jimmy Graham. Graham is banged up with a shoulder injury, but is practicing and means so much he will probably be on the field Sunday if he can play at all. As mentioned before in this space, the Lions are having a surprisingly strong performance on defense so far this season. The pass rush and specifically the defensive line was the highlight of last week’s win against Minnesota. But Levy is part of a back seven that has performed very well in coverage even without Stephen Tulloch. Graham poses a special challenge to defenses, and teams defend him in different ways. Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin could easily choose to put Levy on a Saints running back instead of Graham, but either way he’ll be a key part of the coverage effort.

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