Peyton Manning’s matchup against the New England Patriots this weekend is not the only game, but it’s the only one anyone cares about. Nonetheless, here’s some other stuff you may want to watch this week:
Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: It’s no secret that these two teams hate each other. This is one of the best rivalries in NFL history, and it’s fueled almost completely by sheer hatred. This game is made even better now, because with both teams sitting at 5-3 this game could have huge implications in the AFC North division. The Ravens have been more of a little brother to the Steelers for the past decade despite their Super Bowl championship two years ago. The Ravens chances were looking really good, but the last few weeks Ben Roethlisberger has played out of his mind. The Ravens will have to find some way to stop Big Ben if they want any chance in this rivalry.
Dez Bryant vs. the Arizona Cardinals secondary: The Dallas Cowboys are coming off an embarrassing home loss to the Washington Redskins, but they have a chance to redeem themselves this weekend in front of their home crowd against one of the better teams in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals. It’s still unclear whether or not Tony Romo will be playing Sunday, and if he’s out he will be replaced by Brandon Weeden who’s honestly perfectly capable of playing as well as Romo. The big matchup in this game, however, will be Dez Bryant against the Cardinals secondary. The Cardinals have done fantastic this season on defense; but this could easily be their second loss if they aren’t careful. The Cardinals will have to be able to stop Bryant, Jason Witten, and especially DeMarco Murray if they want to keep their one-loss record.
Peyton Manning vs. the New England Patriots: I know I already mentioned this one, but it’s so important I just had to talk about it some more. The Peyton Manning-New England Patriots matchup has been fantastic since his Indianapolis Colts days. Manning is playing as well as ever, but the Patriots are one of the toughest matchups he has this season. The Pats have one of if not the best defense in the league this season. A secondary of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner is just not fair. Manning will have to find some way to break this down, but there is no doubt that he will. On top of that, the Broncos defense will have to step up. Rob Gronkowski is running wild lately and making Tom Brady look good. The Broncos will either have to find a way to stop Gronk (impossible) or stop Brady (as many teams have shown this season, not that difficult). This game will probably come down to whether or DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller can put pressure on Brady. This may be the last time we see this matchup. Enjoy it.