Football is a game of matchups. It doesn’t matter how talented a roster you have; if you don’t match up well against your opponent, you’re going to have a long day.

On Thursday night, the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive line should’ve struggled against the Pittsburgh Steelers’ pass rush. However, they crafted an excellent game plan, which neutralized the Steelers’ pass rush, and it resulted in the Bengals upsetting the Steelers.

Today, we’re going through all 14 Week 7 games and identifying one key matchup for each that could go a long way towards determining the outcome.

Rams at Jaguars (London): Jaguars’ OL vs Rams’ Front Seven

The Los Angeles Rams’ pass rush has been a strength of their defense this season, but this week, they play a Jacksonville Jaguars team that is pretty good at protecting their quarterback.

Trevor Lawrence is pressured on 32.9 percent of his drop-backs, which is the ninth-least in the NFL this season, and the Jags offensive line ranks 6th in the NFL in pass blocking grade, per PFF. On the other side, though, the Rams have already recorded 126 pressures and 19 sacks.

This should be a very entertaining matchup. If the Rams can consistently pressure Lawrence, they should be able to take care of business. But if Lawrence has a clean pocket all day, it’s going to be hard to stop the Jags’ offense.

Saints at Bears: Bears’ WRs vs Saints’ DBs

The New Orleans Saints’ secondary got exposed by the New England Patriots last week. The Patriots consistently got behind the Saints’ defensive backs, and if it weren’t for a suspect offensive pass interference call, the Pats could’ve easily thrown for 300+ yards.

This week, they face a Chicago Bears team that’s on pace to have their first 4,000-yard season in franchise history. DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden III form a deadly receiver trio, and if the Saints can’t fix some of their coverage issues, the Bears could run away with this game.

Dolphins at Browns: Dolphins’ Offense vs Browns’ Defense

I know this is a very general matchup, but this game will be decided when the Miami Dolphins’ offense and the Cleveland Browns’ defense are on the field. The Dolphins have a horrible defense, and the Browns have a horrible offense. The only reason both teams have a win is because of the other side of the ball.

Miami has shown some life offensively, and the Browns have one of the best defenses in football. If Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle, and DeVon Achane can find some success offensively, Miami’s probably going to win this game, but if Myles Garrett and the Browns’ defense win out and shut them down, it should be Cleveland who gets its second win of the year.

Patriots at Titans: Patriots’ CBs vs Titans’ WRs

If the Patriots have struggled anywhere this season, it’s in the secondary. They’ve been great offensively and up front on defense, but they’ve given up some big plays through the air, which have hurt them at times.

Luckily for the Pats, the Tennessee Titans have not been good offensively. They simply don’t have the talent (or coaching) to be elite in the pass game. Cam Ward’s been fine, but their receiving core, led by Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett, and Elic Ayomanor, just isn’t good enough to compete against NFL defenses. Plus, Ridley is out, so that helps the Pats’ defensive backs.

If the Titans can somehow find some success through the air, they could give the Pats a scare, but ultimately, I don’t expect this to be too close.

Raiders at Chiefs: Rashee Rice vs the Raiders’ DBs

If you’ve read any of my work this week, you’ll know I’m very bullish on Rashee Rice. I think he’s one of the best receivers in football when healthy, and now that his six-week suspension is over, they’re going to target him early and often.

The Las Vegas Raiders’ defense has not proven it can stop much of anything this year, so I don’t think they have a chance to stop Rice. If Patrick Mahomes and Rice pick up where they left off last year, Rice should be in for a massive day, and Vegas won’t be able to do anything about it.

If I’m a Raiders fan, I might not even turn on the TV tomorrow.

Eagles at Vikings: Kevin Patullo vs Brian Flores

The Philadelphia Eagles’ offense is struggling right now, and there’s no clear path forward. They can’t run the ball, and they can’t throw the ball. It makes no sense given the roster they have, but they just can’t get anything going. And this week, they have to travel to Minnesota to face a very stingy Vikings defense.

Kevin Patullo is the Eagles’ new play caller now that Kellen Moore left for New Orleans. It’s his first year as a play caller, and there’s arguably no harder defensive coordinator to face in year one than Brian Flores.

Flores is known for his exotic blitz scheme, and I expect to see a ton of pressure from them this week. Jalen Hurts has struggled when blitzed this season, so if Flores can find a way to manufacture pressure this weekend, good luck to Patullo and the Eagles’ offense.

Panthers vs Jets: Justin Fields vs Panthers’ DBs

Despite what the stat sheet says, Justin Fields has looked like a lost puppy out there. He really struggles reading defenses and has to rely on late-game situations when the New York Jets are down big to get most of his yards. This week, though, there’s a chance he could actually have success against the Carolina Panthers’ secondary.

The Panthers have one of the worst secondaries in the NFL. They rank 27th according to PFF and just allowed Dak Prescott to have a pretty big game against them. I’m not saying Fields is going to have a big 200+ yard, two-touchdown game, but I think he could have a reasonable amount of success through the air this week. And if the Jets want a shot at getting their first win, he’d better.

Giants at Broncos: Jaxson Dart vs Broncos’ Pass Rush

Jaxson Dart has been very exciting to watch this season, but I don’t think he’s going to have much success this week. The Denver Broncos have one of the best pass rushes in football, and if they put pressure on him consistently, I don’t see Dart having much success. Just look at his numbers this year when he is and isn’t pressured.

The Giants’ offensive line has been very susceptible to giving up pressures. Dart has been pressured on 38 percent of his drop-backs this season, and now they have to face one of the best pass rushes in football. Good luck, Jaxson.

Colts at Chargers: Jonathan Taylor vs Chargers’ Run Defense

Daniel Jones has been great this season. I’m not trying to discredit that, but the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive success has largely been due to Jonathan Taylor and the run game. Teams have to respect the run, and that opens a lot of things up in the pass. Jones has been decisive and hasn’t made mistakes. If there’s an MVP of the Colts right now, it’s Taylor.

This week, Taylor faces a Los Angeles Chargers team that has not been good at defending the run this season. They’re giving up 5.0 yards per carry, 124 yards per game on the ground. That will have to change this weekend. If the Chargers want to slow down this Colts offense, they need to stuff Taylor at the line of scrimmage. That’s a lot easier said than done, though.

Commanders at Cowboys: Commanders’ DBs vs Cowboys’ WRs

The Dallas Cowboys are expected to get CeeDee Lamb back this week, which should change the whole dynamic of their offense. They’ve been relying heavily on George Pickens with Lamb out – and to his credit, he’s played really well – but with Lamb back, it poses and whole new challenge for the Washington Commanders’ defensive backs.

The Commanders already rank 32nd in the NFL in coverage grade per PFF, and now they face one of the most prolific passing attacks in the league. Washington’s defensive backs will have to step up in a big way if they want to slow down Lamb and Pickens, but then they still have Jake Ferguson to worry about.

It’s going to be a long day for the Commanders’ defensive backs, but if they can just force a turnover or get a big pass breakup on a couple of third downs, they could potentially slow down the Cowboys’ high-powered offense.

Packers at Cardinals: Micah Parsons vs the Cardinals’ OL

We’ve yet to really see Micah Parsons take over a game as a Green Bay Packer. He has 2.5 sacks and 29 pressures this season, but it’s his teammate, Rashan Gary, who’s having the biggest impact on the stat sheet with 4.5 sacks.

Look, I understand the attention Parsons draws and that 29 pressures are an insane number through five games, but I really want to see Parsons put Jacoby Brissett in the dirt a few times on Sunday. Not only do I think that’ll help them win this game, but I think it would do a lot for his confidence moving forward.

Parsons can single-handedly wreck a game, and if he does that Sunday, good luck, Arizona.

Falcons at 49ers: Bijan Robinson vs 49ers’ Front Seven

Nobody has had an answer for Bijan Robinson this season, and that was evident on Monday night when he totaled 238 yards of offense against the Buffalo Bills. If the 49ers had Fred Warner in this game, I’d say there’s a decent chance they could limit Bijan’s effectiveness, but with Warner out, I just don’t know if they have the talent to stop him.

Not only is Bijan a great runner, but he’s an elite receiving threat. You can bottle him up in the run game, hold him to two yards per carry, and then he’ll break a screen or dump off for 50+ yards. I just don’t see the 49ers stopping him, so it’ll be all about limiting him as much as possible.

Buccaneers at Lions: Baker Mayfield vs Jared Goff

As good as both of these defenses can be when they’re playing well, I think we all know this game is going to come down to the offenses.

Baker Mayfield is playing at an MVP-level, but could be without his top four receivers and his top running back. That didn’t hamper him too much last week, but can he sustain success without his top weapons?

Jared Goff is also playing at an MVP-level, but he and the Detroit Lions offense were shut down in the second half against the Chiefs. Luckily for them, they’re much healthier than the Bucs, but Tampa won’t make their lives easy offensively.

I think this game ultimately comes down to which quarterback plays better. It’s a pretty simple way to look at it, but sometimes the simplest way is the best way.

Texans at Seahawks: Sam Darnold vs Texans’ DBs

Capping off the weekend is a cross-country showdown between the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks. I think there’s one key matchup in this game, and that’s between Sam Darnold and the Texans’ defensive backs.

Darnold is playing some of the best football of his career, but the Seahawks don’t have much of a run game to speak of. I’m a bit worried that it will get them in trouble down the line, but for now, they’re thriving with Darnold under center and Jaxon Smith-Njigba out wide. However, this week they face a very tough Texans defense, which allows just 12.2 points and 175 passing yards per game.

The game will ultimately boil down to, can Darnold consistently beat the Texans through the air? If he can, they should have no problem taking down Houston at home, but if he’s struggling, their run game isn’t good enough to lead their offense.