Top Eight Matchups for NFL Conference Championship Weekend

And then there were four teams left with an opportunity hoist the Lombardi in Houston next month. Two games. Two conference title tilts. Two matchups pitting Hall of Fame-caliber quarterbacks against one another. It all comes down to this.

But there’s a lot more to look at here outside of the quarterbacks. Sure MVP candidates Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan going up against one another in the NFC Championship game is huge. There’s also history at stake between Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger in the AFC Championship game. We’ll cover both of these matchups below.

We will also look into just how the four remaining defenses hope to stop the likes of Julio Jones, Antonio Brown and Julian Edelman. Cornerback play will be important here, as will the necessity for top-level pass rush.

These are among the top-eight matchups for NFL Conference Championship Weekend.

1. Aaron Rodgers vs Matt Ryan

Two of the top MVP candidates going up against one another with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Each of these quarterbacks attempting to end drawn-out narratives that they can’t win the big postseason game. What is not to like here?

Both Rodgers and Ryan head into the NFC Championship game riding ridiculous hot streaks. Including last week’s three-touchdown performance against the Seattle Seahawks, Ryan has thrown 14 touchdowns compared to zero interceptions over the past five games. It’s not a coincidence that the Atlanta Falcons are undefeated while averaging 36 points per game during that span.

While he was picked off last week against the Dallas Cowboys, Rodgers is playing at a level we’ve rarely seen from a quarterback in the history of the league (more on that later). The Green Bay Packers’ signal caller has tallied 21 touchdowns and just one interception during his team’s eight-game winning streak.

The expectation here has to be that this will be a high-scoring affair. Atlanta finished the regular season as NFL’s top-scoring offense at 33.8 points per game. Green Bay came in fourth at 27 per game.

On the other hand, these two defenses each ranked in the bottom five of the NFL against the pass. Atlanta yielded an average of 267 yards with 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Meanwhile, the Packers’ defense ranked 31st against the pass and gave up 32 touchdowns through the air.

In reality, this game will likely come down to the quarterback who plays the best. We’re now in an era in the NFL where quarterback play is more important than ever before. That should be represented to a T come Sunday in Atlanta.

2. Antonio Brown vs Malcolm Butler

Brown will more than likely have to break through with a touchdown against the New England Patriots on Sunday in order for his Pittsburgh Steelers to pull the upset. Sure Brown caught six passes for 108 yards last week against the Kansas City Chiefs. However, along with Ben Roethlisberger, he was also one of the primary reasons Pittsburgh was held out of the end zone in an 18-16 win.

That has to change Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. Simply put, Pittsburgh must put multiple touchdowns on the board in order to come out on top here.

History also suggests that the Steelers are in a much better position to win when Brown scores. Including the team’s Wild Card victory over Miami, Pittsburgh boasts a 12-4 record over the past two seasons when Brown scores. It is just 11-7 when he doesn’t.

Set to take on a corner in Malcolm Butler who Pro Football Focus graded out as the fifth-best player at his position during the regular season, this won’t be a small task for Brown. In fact, Butler has yielded an absurdly low 17.9 quarterback rating when targeted since Week 14.

The good news for Brown here is that he’s gotten the better end of this matchup recently. In his past two games against Butler, the All Pro receiver has caught 14-of-19 targets for 227 yards. Should he be able to match this production come Sunday, the Steelers will be in a good position to win.

3. Bryan Bulaga vs Vic Beasley

Aaron Rodgers has actually been sacked 19 times during the Packers’ current eight-game winning streak, including eight times over the past two games. Though, that’s more about the likes of the Giants and Cowboys trotting out blitzes from their secondary. In all, Green Bay’s offensive line has performed at an exceptionally high level in pass protection this season.

Teaming up with David Bakhtiari, Bulaga has helped form the top tackle tandem in the NFL. Really, it’s not even that close right now.

Unfortunately for the Packers, this duo struggled big time during the team’s one-point loss to Atlanta back in Week 8. Rodgers went down three times and was pressured in over 40 percent of his drop backs in that game. For his part, Beasley, who led the NFL with 15.5 sacks during the regular season,  put up a sack and three pressures.

Having yielded 31 touchdowns with an opposing quarterback rating of 92.5 during the regular year, Atlanta will not have success against Rodgers without putting consistent pressure on the all-world quarterback. That’s only magnified with Pro Bowl cornerback Desmond Trufant still sidelined.

4. Julian Edelman vs William Gay

Edelman will be all over the field Sunday. Last week saw him play both outside wide receiver positions and the slot en route to putting up eight receptions for 137 yards. This means that youngsters Artie Burns and Ross Cockrell will also be tasked with covering him throughout the day.

Though, Edelman’s primary position remains the slot. That’s been magnified more recently with the emergence of Chris Hogan on the outside and the Patriots’ ability to split both Martellus Bennett and Dion Lewis out wide. If this is the case, Gay will have himself a heck of a matchup.

It took Edelman a bit of time to reconnect with Brady after the quarterback returned from suspension, but the veteran has been on absolute fire recently.

For his part, Gay was considered a weak link in an otherwise talented Steelers secondary this season. That’s nothing more than narrative. The veteran has been a tremendous cover guy from the slot this season, potentially one of the best in the NFL. He’s also coming off a tremendous performance against Kansas City in the divisional round.

Edelman will get his targets. He’ll be successful more often than not when targeted. That’s fine. But if Gay can perform like we saw last week in holding everything underneath, it will limit New England’s ability to consistently drive down the field. That’s going to be the biggest key here.

5. Jake Matthews vs Clay Matthews

Cousins going up against one another with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. A family rivalry to speak of. Potential bragging rights on the line. This is one of those individual matchups that are so far beyond the gridiron itself, we simply can’t be more excited.

Jake Matthews, the son of Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews, has taken his game to a completely new level for the Falcons this season. In helping provide MVP candidate Matt Ryan with elite-level protection, the former No. 6 overall pick has been among the best pass protecting left tackles in the NFL this season. He’s also been tremendous from a run-blocking standpoint.

The latter aspect of Matthews’ game is going to be important here as well. While Ryan and Julio Jones get the most credit for Atlanta’s No. 1 scoring offense, the team’s running back duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman have been tremendous. The two combined for over 200 total yards on 32 touches against an elite Seattle defense last week.

With Clay Matthews attempting to pin his ears back and get after Ryan here, it’s going to be key for him to also maintain the edge. If the Packers’ best defender is caught in the offensive backfield as Freeman and Coleman run past him, Green Bay simply doesn’t have the linebacker talent to stop this tremendous running back tandem.

On the flip side, the Pro Bowl pass rusher can disrupt the timing of Atlanta’s passing game if he’s able to put consistent pressure on Ryan. There’s no need for a spy here due to Ryan’s lack of mobility. In fact, one could say that Matthews’ biggest task here could be to close off the edge as a way to help Green Bay’s interior pass rush get to Ryan. That’s an area the MVP candidate has struggled with over the course of his career.

The son of linebacker Clay Matthews Jr., this Pro Bowler can make his father proud with a dominating performance that reminds us of what the elder Matthews did during his illustrious Cleveland Browns career.

6. Martellus Bennett vs Mike Mitchell 

We’re sure to see Lawrence Timmons help provide coverage underneath for the Steelers here. One can also expect New England to line Bennett out wide at times come Sunday. However, Mitchell will consistently be going up against the Patriots’ starting tight end throughout the game.

This is a matchup within the context of a larger battle between New England’s passing game and Pittsburgh’s pass defense. Should Artie Burns shut down Hogan outside with Gay performing well against Edelman in the slot, it will force Brady to go beyond his first couple options in the passing game. That’s what Pittsburgh wants here … to make the MVP candidate uncomfortable in the pocket.

The good news for New England here is that Bennett has performed pretty well in the stead of the injured Rob Gronkowski. He caught 75 percent of the passes thrown in his direction during the regular season.

The bad news? Bennett has tallied just eight receptions for 97 yards over the past four games. This hasn’t hindered New England’s success on offense due to what we’ve seen from Hogan and Edelman at receiver. Though, if those two were to be contained Sunday, Bennett’s presence becomes that much more important.

Not technically known as a solid cover free safety, Mitchell has improved in that aspect of his game since he entered the league with the Carolina Panthers. In fact, he played a central role for a Steelers defense that yielded just six receiving touchdowns to tight ends during the regular season.

While this might not be a sexy matchup, it surely will help dictate the outcome of Sunday’s AFC Championship game. That much is clear.

7. Julio Jones vs Ladarius Gunter

Gunter has taken on an incredible role for the Packers in just his second season. With the season-ending injury to Sam Shields in September and continued injury issues for Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins, he’s been the one mainstay at cornerback in Green Bay.

Though, the Miami (F) product was taken to task by Dez Bryant last week. When all was said and done, Dallas’ top receiver caught 6-of-8 passes for 85 yards with two touchdowns against Gunter. While it wasn’t enough for the Cowboys to pull off the comeback, it gives a blueprint for Jones and the Falcons to work with.

Jones is in the mold of Bryant, a physical receiver that can strong arm his way into a reception. He’s also more explosive than his counterpart in Dallas, as evidenced by the 17 yards Jones averaged per catch during the regular season.

This is the one matchup Atlanta should be able to exploit. Gunter will likely get help over the top from Micah Hyde and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, but it can’t be at the cost of allowing the likes of Taylor Gabriel, Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman to run unfettered in Green Bay’s secondary. This is surely where Gunter must step up and perform at a high level.

8. Tom Brady vs Ben Roethlisberger 

Five of the past nine AFC Championship trophies reside in either Pittsburgh or New England. Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger have now combined 16 conference title games with nine Super Bowl appearances and six Lombardi trophies between the two.

Now with Peyton Manning retired, this is the new big rivalry in the AFC. It pits two future Hall of Famers against one another with another shot at the Super Bowl on the line.

This specific matchup surely is interesting in that it pits an MVP candidate in Tom Brady against a quarterback in Big Ben who might in fact be the worst starting quarterback remaining in these playoffs. At the very least, when we look at how the four remaining signal callers have performed this season.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that New England will win going away here. Big Ben has more weapons at his disposal, including a running back in Le’Veon Bell who has now put up 2,200-plus total yards in just 14 games this season.

Despite Dion Lewis’ exceptional performance in the AFC Divisional Playoffs, he’s not the dynamic threat Bell is. That will help Big Ben overcome any matchup disadvantages he might have going up against Brady. The same can be said for Antonio Brown, who has dominated Malcolm Butler as of late.

As Brady looks to etch his name in the record books with a seventh Super Bowl appearance, Roethlisberger will be attempting to match Terry Bradshaw for the most Super Bowl appearances in the long and heralded history of Steelers football. That’s what is at stake here.