NFL games are not just matchups of two complete teams. They are also a series of individual one-on-one matchups that can ultimately help decide the outcome.
Every Friday, we are going to take a look at three potentially significant individual matchups that will be taking place in Sunday’s and Monday’s games.
Here are the matchups we are looking at for the Week 5 games.
The Steelers and Colts enter Sunday’s game with matching 2-2 records, both in need of a win to get their season moving in a positive direction.
While the Steelers are dealing with a depleted secondary due to the trade of Joey Porter Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys and injuries to Jamel Dean and Brandon Echols, the Colts do not really have the wide receiver personnel to exploit that, especially after the injury to Alec Pierce.
That is going to leave a lot of the Colts offense in the hands of running back Jonathan Taylor and tight end Tyler Warren.
The Steelers were able to win their 2025 game with the Colts thanks in large part to their ability to shut down both Taylor and Warren. The player most responsible for that was Wilson, the team’s most athletic inside linebacker. Wilson had 14 tackles, an interception and two pass defenses in that game, while helping to limit Warren to just 26 yards on five catches and Taylor to just 45 yards on 14 carries.
They are going to need that sort of performance from Wilson, as well as fellow inside linebacker Patrick Queen, if they are going to get a similar result on the stat sheet and scoreboard this season.
There are not many bigger games on Sunday that the Seahawks-49ers game. Not only does it feature the defending Super Bowl champions and their longtime rivals, but the top spot in the NFC West is also on the line.
One of the matchups that is going to dictate the outcome of that game is going to be Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year, going up against Lenoir, the 49ers’ top cornerback.
The question, though, is how much these two will actually see each other.
While Lenoir will get his fair share of Smith-Njigba, Seattle has a tendency to move its star wide receiver around the formation, and the 49ers do not seem to be inclined to shadow him. In some ways that might make the matchup more of an offensive coordinator vs. defensive coordinator matchup, but the two will still cross paths. A lot.
In two games against the 49ers a year ago, Smith-Njigba caught 15 passes (on 21 targets) for 208 yards. He did not find the end zone, however, as the two teams split the season series.
The Raiders offense does not typically run through its wide receivers. Not only because they don’t really have a true No. 1, but because running back Ashton Jeanty and tight end Brock Bowers are the most talented players on the offense.
But if there were ever going to be a week for that to change, and if there were ever going to be a week for a Raiders wide receiver to go off, this might be the one.
The Patriots’ cornerback room is decimated by injuries this week with both starters, Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III, already ruled out. That could create some matchups for Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins to exploit, especially as it relates to Tucker.
The Patriots are also one of the NFL’s best teams at defending tight ends, which could leave Bowers neutralized a little bit.
Tucker is the Raiders’ best big-play wide receiver, entering Sunday averaging over 15 yards per catch this season. This could be a big chance for him to build on that.
