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 6 games.
If the Eagles are going to find a way to win on Sunday, it is almost certainly going to have to be on the back of its defense. Mostly because the offense is absolutely decimated by injuries, including the absences of starting quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley.
Winning a high-scoring, back-and-forth game may not be in the cards.
That means they are going to have to find a way to shut down one of the NFL’s highest-scoring offense, that also happens to have one of the best passing games through the first quarter of the season.
Carolina enters the game averaging 30.3 points per game (fourth in the NFL) and 301.3 passing yards per game (second in the NFL).
The main driver of that is McMillan, who has been one of the NFL’s most dangerous playmakers at wide receiver.
Mitchell has been one of the few bright spots in Philadelphia this season and figures to see a lot of McMillan in what should be one of the best — and most significant — one-on-one matchups of the week.
Opposing quarterbacks have managed only a 60.1 passer rating on balls thrown in Mitchell’s direction this season.
If the Houston Texans are going to play their way back into the playoff race, it is going to have to come by winning their divisional games.
That includes a game like Sunday against the Jaguars.
In an unexpected twist, it has actually been Houston’s offense that has been the strength of its team this season, not its defense. That offense has only improved with the return of Collins.
He figures to draw the attention of Hunter, who has really started to excel this season now that he is primarily focusing on one side of the ball (cornerback). He is rapidly becoming one of the best shutdown corners in the league.
Along with already recording his first career interception, he has also broken up five passes and is allowing only a 72.2 passer rating on balls thrown in his direction.
The Bills defense has a lot of problems this season, and it hasn’t really performed well against anybody or any aspect of opposing offenses.
One area where they have especially struggled is defending the middle of the field and stopping high-level tight ends.
That could be a problem on Sunday against Brock Bowers, who is establishing himself as one of the best tight ends in football and figures to continue to be a safety net for quarterback Kirk Cousins and and the Raiders offense.
After missing the first two games of the season, Bowers has already caught 24 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns.
If the Bills cannot find an answer for him, they might find themselves in another high-scoring game that is going to come down to quarterback Josh Allen’s ability to take over and win it.
