ProFootballWeekly.com asks associate editor Jeff Reynolds for his thoughts on the hottest topics in the NFL.
Breaking down Week Five’s top matchups
Two games on this week’s schedule stand out — New England at Atlanta and Cincinnati at Jacksonville. But a battle of first-place teams in Denver, where the Broncos meet the Redskins, could be a fine defensive struggle.
PFW: What are the matchups to watch in these games?
Reynolds: The Falcons plan to find out whether the Patriots were exposed last week, when the Chargers rushed for 188 yards and dominated the line of scrimmage in a 41-17 victory. New England could be playing without DL Richard Seymour, who injured his knee playing fullback last week, which would be a lethal blow for a team trying to prove it can stuff the run. Bill Belichick will invent a way if he doesn’t have one. He hasn’t lost back-to-back games since 2002, and the Patriots are in a very similar situation to what they were in Week Nine last season. Coming off of a national undressing at the hands of the Steelers, 34-20, the Patriots limped into St. Louis. Everything, we thought, was working against this team. Injuries thinned the secondary, the Rams had great personnel to attack the cornerbacks and the speed to expose the Patriots on the fast, indoor surface. The Patriots were even made two-point underdogs in Vegas. They won the game 40-22. In a frighteningly similar scenario, don’t expect Belichick to go down without throwing a few KO punches. The Falcons are first in the NFL in rushing. New England’s go-to schemes aren’t working. But they also have the type of offense that can wear down the fast-moving, lightweight Falcons defense. Watch for QB Tom Brady to spread the field with three and four receivers and attack the middle of the field with TE Ben Watson. This could also be a breakout game for RB Corey Dillon.
The team with the healthiest offensive line at the end of Sunday night’s Jaguars-Bengals contest will have the upper hand. Jacksonville’s offensive line is a wreck, and rookie OLT Khalif Barnes is making his first start of the year against a speedy Bengals’ defense which had seven sacks last week and leads the NFL in takeaway margin. In addition to Barnes being pushed into action, OLG Vince Manuwai has played poorly and both starters on the right side are playing at less than 100 percent because of knee injuries. For the safety of QB Byron Leftwich, Jacksonville has to come out running. RB Fred Taylor should be fresh. He carried eight times for 14 yards in Week Four after toting the rock 37 times in Week Three. Leftwich isn’t 100 percent either, and the Bengals have been ballhawks. Based on the stingy play of the Jaguars' pass defense, ranked second in the NFL in passing yards allowed, and the poor performance of the run defense, the Bengals should attempt to establish RB Rudi Johnson. However, if Cincinnati goes without its best interior lineman, C Rich Braham, Jacksonville will take advantage will Pro Bowl DTs John Henderson and Marcus Stroud. Both are playing with minor injuries, but Stroud doesn’t look to be himself, lacking lateral mobility and explosiveness at the snap.
Mark Brunell is no stranger to winning games at Denver, as he and RB Natrone Means helped carry the Jaguars to a divisional-playoff win at Mile High Stadium during Tom Coughlin's reign. Brunell isn’t the same young, mobile scrambling quarterback with high marks for accuracy. And maybe most importantly, he doesn’t have a force field like Tony Boselli at offensive left tackle. Considering the performance of the Broncos’ active and deep defensive line — the entire front seven has excelled, but the LB corps lacks great depth — Brunell can expect to be under fire. The Redskins’ best bet is RB Clinton Portis, who played very well against Seattle and should be juiced to face his former club. But a one-dimensional approach won’t beat the Broncos. Using more three-WR sets and involving TE Chris
ey, an emerging threat in the passing game, would suit Brunell and challenge Denver’s banged-up secondary. Watch for the Redskins to stack the box and put the game in the hands of QB Jake Plummer. Plummer has a streak of 10 quarters without a turnover as the Broncos have shaped a regimented game plan around the well-stocked RB position, amassing more than 400 yards on the ground the past two games. If Plummer has to throw, the Redskins’ odds of winning increase. He doesn’t make good decisions and can be mistake-prone after he has taken a few hits.
