Top 10 matchups for Week 4 of the NFL season

The NFL is already entering the quarter point of the regular season. It seems to go by so fast. Before you know it, the hopes of contention every team has turns into lost seasons for some of the most talent-stricken clubs in the league.

Meanwhile, other squads surprise the skeptics by performing at a much better clip than we expected prior to the season.

The same can be said for players on each team. Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor has been a shockingly good performer through three weeks. He now faces his most difficult test of the young season against a Washington Redskins corner in Josh Norman coming off a less-than-stellar performance.

Meanwhile, Jadeveon Clowney is now asked to play a larger role with the Houston Texans now that J.J. Watt has been placed on injured reserve. This week, he’s tasked with going up against a surprising rookie in the form of Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Jack Conklin.

These are among the top-10 individual matchups in Week 4 of the 2016 NFL regular season.

1. Antonio Brown vs Marcus Peters

The last time these two matched up against one another, Brown went for six catches and 124 yards on eight targets. Though, Peters was able to keep him out of the end zone in a 23-13 Kansas City Chiefs win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Both are coming off tremendous outings this past week, at least statistically. Brown tallied  12 catches for 140 yards in what ended up being a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

It did take 18 targets to hit that mark, and Brown himself — much like the entire Steelers team — was kept out of the end zone.

For his part, Peters continues to go up against the best the NFL has to offer. He was thrown out there against top receivers as a rookie last season, holding up admirably in the process. The same has rung true in 2016.

This past week saw Peters put up the best performance of his young career. The former first-round pick accumulated two of the six interceptions Kansas City recorded against New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. He now has an absurd 12 interceptions in 19 career games. Yes, that’s a record.

2. Rob Gronkowski vs Preston Brown

We’re assuming that Gronkowski will play a larger role in the New England Patriots’ offense this week. The Pro Bowler played sparingly in his return to action against the Houston Texans this past Thursday.

Though, he’s now going to have well over a week to allow that injured hamstring to continue to heel. That has to be great news for New England heading into Week 4.

Also great news for New England, Gronkowski put up seven receptions for 113 yards and a score in his first meeting against Brown and the Buffalo Bills last season. Though, Brown did hold the star tight end to just two receptions in their second meeting.

This is a tremendous in-game matchup right here. Brown has been among the most consistent coverage inside linebackers in the NFL. He’s also going to have help over the top with Corey Graham.

Whoever is under center in New England will be forced to look in Gronkowski’s direction a heck of a lot come Sunday.

This is where Brown and Graham can play a big role in helping Buffalo win a second consecutive game while handing New England its first loss of the season.

3. Terrelle Pryor vs Josh Norman

It’s rather absurd that Pryor finds himself in an article like this, but we have to give credit where it’s due. What he did last week in an overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins was pretty darn extraordinary (more on that here).

Now, heading into the quarter point of the season, the Cleveland Browns’ top receiver has proven himself to be a force at receiver. He’s now on pace for over 1,300 yards and is the seventh-most targeted receiver in the NFL.

Pryor will have his hands full against a Washington Redskins corner that’s looking to pick up the pieces following a less-than-stellar outing against Odell Beckham Jr. last week.

After allowing just two total receptions in the first two games, Norman yielded five receptions for 88 yards and was burnt multiple times by OBJ last week. He’s most definitely going to come to play in this one.

4. Kelvin Benjamin vs Desmond Trufant

Benjamin was held to zero catches on just one target in the Carolina Panthers’ disappointing Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. That just tells us the job Vikings corner Xavier Rhodes did on the big-bodied receiver.

Though, Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula took the blame for the lack of focus on Benjamin in the defeat.

“Yeah, we’ve got to find a way to get him (Benjamin) the ball more,” Shula said, via the team’s official website. “That starts with me. But we’ve got to make sure we’re doing it in a way that we’re not just trying to force him the ball.”

We’re unlikely to see this repeat itself Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons. In reality, Cam Newton needs to simply find a way to throw the ball up there for grabs a few times.

That would normally be a successful strategy with the 6-foot-5 pass catcher on the receiving end. This is until we realize that Benjamin will be lining up against one of the top cover guys in the entire NFL.

At 1-2 on the season, Carolina simply needs to find a way to get back on the winning track.

Should that not happen against a division rival that’s won two consecutive after an opening-game loss, the Panthers will find themselves two games out in the NFC South at the quarter point of the season. It’s in this that Benjamin becomes an extremely important part of Sunday’s game.

5. Brandin Cooks vs Jason Verrett

As saw earlier in the article, Cooks was absolutely shut down by Trufant on Monday night. Considering No. 2 receiver Willie Snead missed the game to injury, this surely played a role in the Saints’ loss.

Unfortunately for Cooks and Co., it doesn’t get any easier this upcoming week against yet another top-end young cornerback. We know the Saints aren’t going to stop anyone on defense. This has been proven time and again over the past season-plus.

It also means that the offense needs to be clicking in order to give New Orleans a chance to win. This didn’t happen on Monday night, and it must start this upcoming weekend. If not, the now 0-3 Saints will find themselves in the midst of a lost season.

The interesting dynamic here is that Verrett was burnt early and often by Indianapolis Colts top receiver T.Y. Hilton, who caught five passes for 135 yards and a score against him last week.

This comes after Verrett dominated Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Allen Robinson in Week 2. Needless to say, the former first-round pick is going to want to pick his game up here.

As important as this game is for New Orleans (pretty much a do or die), it’s equally as important for San Diego. Simply put, the team cannot afford to fall to 1-3 in a competitive AFC West. That’s where Verrett will have to perform much better than we saw last week.

6. Andre Smith vs Jason Pierre-Paul

Smith’s importance to the Vikings is now increased after Matt Kalil was placed on injured reserve. Starting at right tackle, the former Cincinnati Bengals first-round pick performed adequately in pass protection against a weak Panthers defensive line, but did struggle a ton blocking in the run game.

Smith’s task is going to be much more difficult from a pass-protection standpoint this upcoming week. Seemingly back to his pre-accident level, JPP has been among the most-dynamic 4-3 pass rushers in the game.

He had a massive take down of Washinton Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins late in the first half last Sunday and now ranks among the top-three players at his position in hurries heading into Week 4.

Coming off a horrible loss this past week, the New York Giants are going to need to perform at a higher level defensively to ward off the undefeated Minnesota Vikings. That starts with putting pressure on Sam Bradford. Should this not happen, Minnesota will find a way to hand the Giants their second consecutive loss after a 2-0 start.

7. Donovan Smith vs Shane Ray

https://twitter.com/LedyardNFLDraft/status/780760258293661697

This should be a blast. We were going to put Von Miller on this list, but there’s no reason to believe he won’t dominate Tampa Bay Buccaneers right tackle Demar Dotson. That’s where Ray comes into play.

The Bucs will have to send double and potentially even triple teams to Dotson’s side in order to contain the reigning Super Bowl MVP.

Much like we saw last week in the Denver Broncos’ win over Cincinnati, this should leave Ray with one-on-one assignments on the other end. And much like last week, that could have a major impact on the outcome of the game. Ray recorded three sacks of Andy Dalton in a dominating all-around performance.

This came on the heels of him picking up a fumble and returning it for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2. You want to guess who forced that fumble?

Smith hasn’t been highly regarded in the advanced stats community since entering the NFL as a second-round pick last season. But he’s done a darn good job of protecting Jameis Winston, especially considering the Penn State alum was thrown into the fire as a starting left tackle out of the gate.

With Tampa refusing to send help to that side in order to mask issues at other areas of the offensive line, Smith is going to be forced to go one-on-one with Ray. It’s in this that he must perform at a high level in order for the Buccaneers to snap a two-game losing streak and reach .500 on the season.

8. Rex Ryan vs Bill Belichick

Why not? This is one of those heated AFC East rivalries that we’ve become accustomed to over the years. Two coaches that represent what this division has been all about over the past decade-plus. Two coaches that don’t necessarily like one another.

Whether it’s Ryan hilariously attempting to throw shade at Belichick or the New England Patriots’ coach calling out his counterpart in the past, this is a true coaching rivalry.

With the Buffalo Bills in need of a win in order to hit the .500 mark after a bumpy start to the season, Belichick and Co. are looking to potentially put a final nail in Ryan’s short-lived career with the Bills.

On the other hand, Buffalo is coming off a solid performance against the Arizona Cardinals and is facing a Pats team that has a pretty darn huge question mark at quarterback. Despite this, New England heads into Week 4 with a perfect 3-0 record.

Should Buffalo find a way to hand the Patrots their first loss of the season, it will once again find itself in the AFC East race. If not, Ryan and Co. will be looking a three-game division deficit directly in the face heading into Week 5.

9. Jack Conklin vs Jadeveon Clowney

J.J. Watt wasn’t himself in the Houston Texans’ shutout loss to New England last week. Maybe it was because Houston was coming off a short week.

There’s now an obvious reason for this. Watt was not 100 percent, and will now reportedly miss extensive action after being placed on injured reserve Tuesday.

Remember, Watt underwent off-season back surgery and was questionable to start the season just a month ago. Rushing himself back likely played a major role here.

Either way, Houston now needs former top pick Jadeveon Clowney to step up as a force in Watt’s absence. Thus far this season, the young EDGE rusher has put up an inconsistent performance, recording just one sack and a handful of quarterback pressures in three games.

It’s going to be up to Clowney and fellow former first-round pick Whitney Mercilus to step up in Watt’s stead.

That starts this week against a Titans rookie in Conklin that has performed at an extremely high level in three games. The Michigan State product has not yielded a sack in 100-plus pass blocks. That’s an absurd number for someone that should be struggling with the speed of the NFL game.

For his part, Mariota has struggled with pressure in his face during the early part of the season. Fortunately, a solid effort from Conklin and the rest of Tennessee’s offensive line has made that an inconsistent reality through three games.

At 1-2 on the season, Tennessee can pull even with Houston by knocking off the division leaders on Sunday. A loss here, and the Titans will fall two games out. That’s where Conklin’s outing this week is the biggest of his infant career.

 

10. T.Y. Hilton vs Jalen Ramsey

As we noted before, Hilton absolutely dominated a tremendous young corner in Jason Verrett last week. He now takes on a Jacksonville Jaguars rookie who has done his talking both on and off the field this season.

Ramsey’s biggest claim to fame as a rookie is the war or words he went through with Baltimore Ravens receiver Steve Smith following last week’s loss. That’s a battle you’re simply not going to win.

Though, when actually on the field, Ramsey has performed at an elite level in his first three games. This has him already drawing assignments against the best receivers the game has to offer.

A winless Jaguars team in need of a spark. A one-win Indianapolis Colts team in need of a win to pull to .500 on the season. This one individual matchup should tell us the story when the final page is written come Sunday afternoon.