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Top 10 matchups for Week 12 of the NFL season
Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers is going to have a tough matchup when he faces Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks this weekend. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Top 10 matchups for Week 12 of the NFL season

As teams plan for the stretch run heading into December, there are some tremendous individual matchups around the NFL this week.

From Dez Bryant attempting to solve the puzzle that is Josh Norman as his Dallas Cowboys seek a second consecutive win to Seattle Seahawks running back Thomas Rawls filling in for an injured Marshawn Lynch, some of these matchups have wide-ranging playoff implications.

As we have done all season, here's a look at the top matchups for this week's slate of NFL games.

1. Tom Brady vs Denver Broncos pass defense

This elite-level matchup has swung in Denver's favor after the events of the past couple weeks. With both Julian Edelman and Dion Lewis out for the season, Brady is without two of his favorite targets. Heck, Danny Amendola went down to a knee injury Monday night. There's no word on his availability for this game.

Denver ranks first in the NFL against the pass at less than 191 yards per game. It's giving up a 74.2 quarterback rating on the season and its top three corners have yielded a total of one touchdown pass in coverage on the year.

Likely having to rely on the likes of Chris Harper and Aaron Dobson come Sunday night, Brady needs to find a way to continue getting water from a rock at the wide receiver position. If that doesn't happen, New England could very well lose its first game of the season.

2. Dez Bryant vs Josh Norman

With all due respect to the likes of Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman, Norman has been the best cover guy in the NFL this season. The Carolina Panthers standout is allowing an average of just 25 receiving yards per game and has yielded a ridiculously low 38.7 quarterback rating when being targeted on the year.

A week after taking the field with Tony Romo for the first time since the Dallas Cowboys opening game, Bryant is looking to help his team get back into playoff contention. He caught an important touchdown against the Miami Dolphins last week and appears to be near 100 percent.

Romo and Bryant will have to find a way to put up some sort of success if Dallas is going to hand Carolina its first loss of the season. That's the biggest key in this huge NFC matchup on Thanksgiving.

3. Antonio Brown vs Richard Sherman

Sherman has been mediocre thus far this season, at least when we look at how he's performed in the past. The All-Pro corner has yielded a 93.7 rating when targeted this year and has yet to pick off a single pass.

Taking on one of the best receivers in the game, Sherman will have to step up big time if his Seattle Seahawks are to make it to over .500 heading into Week 13.

So far this season, Brown has been magical for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite some struggles with the team's backup quarterbacks on the field earlier in the year, Brown still finds himself on pace for 126 receptions and over 1,800 yards. He'll need to bring his best heading into Seattle on Sunday.

4. Michael Oher vs Greg Hardy

This scribe had written Oher off big time prior to the year. After being one of the worst starting tackles in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans over the past few seasons, Oher has stepped up big time as Cam Newton's blindside protector in 2015. He's allowed just three sacks in 10 games and grades out as one of the top pass-protecting players at his position, per Pro Football Focus.

Oher is going to have his hands full big time against a Dallas Cowboys pass rusher that's made as much noise on the field as he has off the field this year. In just six games this season, Hardy has put up five sacks and a whopping nine quarterback hits.

You don't think he's going to want to make a statement against his former team on national television? This is a mighty trench battle between two big boys, and the winner could very well help dictate who comes out on top here.

5. Demaryius Thomas vs Malcolm Butler

Those of you who thought Butler was some flash in the pan after his tremendous performance in the Super Bowl are probably eating crow right now. How does it taste?

Stepping into the role filled by Darrelle Revis last season, Butler has acted the part of a shutdown corner for New England, following the opposing team's top receiver all over the field. Targeted a whopping 77 times threw 10 games, Butler is yielding a 57 percent completion rate and just 8.9 yards per target.

As it relates to Thomas, he has somewhat of a learning curve in terms of finding a relationship with new Broncos starter Brock Osweiler. The two connected on just three of eight passes for 59 yards last week against the Chicago Bears.

Osweiler has found a way to mesh with Broncos tight ends thus far, but he's going to have to open it up on the outside if the Broncos stand a chance of defeating the 10-0 Patriots on Sunday. That starts with Thomas.

6. Derek Carr vs Marcus Mariota

The most-impressive sophomore quarterback going up against one of the most-impressive rookie signal callers in recent league history.

While this game doesn't really matter all too much in the standings for Mariota and the Tennessee Titans, he's going to want to continue improving on the field during the final few games of his rookie campaign. Thus far this season, the reigning Heisman winner is completing 65 percent of his passes with 14 total touchdowns and just six picks.

Meanwhile, Carr and the Oakland Raiders are coming off a dreadful performance against the Detroit Lions last week — the team's third consecutive loss of the season.

After putting up 13 touchdowns compared to three interceptions in his past four starts, Carr failed to throw a single touchdown in a 18-13 loss to the Lions last week.

At 4-6 on the season and on the verge of falling out of the playoff picture, Oakland needs Carr to return to earlier-season form in order to take advantage of an inferior opponent on Sunday. That much is clear.

7. Thomas Rawls vs Pittsburgh Steelers run defense

With Marshawn Lynch likely sidelined for the foreseeable future, Rawls will be the Seattle Seahawks primary ball carrier moving forward. Coming off a ridiculous 255-yard, two-touchdown performance against San Francisco last week, this undrafted rookie free agent is making a huge impact.

In the four games that Rawls has been Seattle's top dog in the backfield, he's put up 530 rushing yards and an average of 6.2 yards per attempt.

Taking on a Steelers run defense that ranks fifth in the NFL at 93 yards per game, Rawls will be relied on here to provide some balance for Russell Wilson on offense. If that happens, Seattle will likely find itself at 6-5 on the season and right in thick of the NFC Playoff race.

8. Zach Strief vs J.J. Watt

The domination Watt has displayed over the past two-plus seasons has been awe-inspiring. After struggling to put up numbers on the stat line over the first few games of the year, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year has been on a whole new level recently.

Over the course of his past four games, Watt has racked up seven sacks and 12 quarterback hits — good numbers for most defenders over the course of an entire season. This has helped lead the Houston Texans right into the AFC South and larger AFC Playoff picture. Overall, their defense has yielded a total of two touchdowns over the past 14 quarters.

Assigned with finding a way to contain Watt for the New Orleans Saints is a tackle in Strief that's allowed the third-most sacks of any offensive linemen this season.

9. Julio Jones vs Xavier Rhodes

In a game the Minnesota Vikings should win going away, there is one matchup that favors the Atlanta Falcons big time.

Jones, one of the top receivers in the NFL, is on pace for 142 receptions and over 1,900 yards on the year. Heck, Jones has tallied 31 receptions for 459 yards over the past three games alone.

Taking on a corner in Rhodes that has allowed a 65.1 percent completion rate and 121.8 quarterback rating when targeted, Jones becomes an important figure for a Falcons team looking to get back on track after losing four of its past five.

10. Bobby Massie vs Aaron Lynch

One of the best young pass rushers in the NFL, Lynch has been one of the few positives for an otherwise disastrous San Francisco 49ers squad this year. Through 10 games, the second-year outside linebacker ranks sixth among 3-4 pass rushers with 31 hurries, sixth in hits with eight and is tied for second with seven sacks.

Lynch will have to take advantage of major mismatch on Sunday if his San Francisco 49ers are going to defeat the division-leading Arizona Cardinals. He's taking on an offensive tackle in Bobby Massie that Pro Football Focus grades out as the fourth-worst pass protector at his position.

If Lynch can put consistent pressure on Carson Palmer, it will go a long way in San Francisco's aspirations of upsetting Arizona at home on Sunday.

Check out Vincent's other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter @VincentFrankNFL

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