10 matchups to watch during NFL Week 3

Now that we have completed two full weeks of regular season action, things are starting to take shape around the NFL.

Heading into Week 3, there is a whole heck of a lot to focus on. Multiple winless teams that entered the regular year with playoff aspirations find themselves in near must-win situations this week. Meanwhile, a few division games could give us a taste of what to expect moving forward.

The early-season butterflies are gone. Performances from here on out will dictate where teams stand heading into the quarter-point of the season and beyond. How will some of the top individual matchups play out?

We check in on 10 of the best below.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line vs St. Louis Rams defensive line

This one should be fun. In two games this season, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been under pressure just 25 percent of the time he has dropped back to pass the ball. This had led to him being sacked just twice on the year. Needless to say, giving Big Ben time to pass the ball can be a killer for opposing defenses. This was magnified by the dominating performance he put up against San Francisco last week.

On the other end, St. Louis boasts one of the top defensive fronts in the game. The eight players in their defensive line rotation have racked up a combined nine sacks and 26 quarterback hurries in two games. If Big Ben gets the necessary protection here, he will be able to duplicate the performance that saw him run roughshod over the 49ers defense last week. If not, Week 3 could represent a rather big wake-up call for Pittsburgh.

2. Sam Bradford vs New York Jets pass defense

This isn't as much a great matchup as it is a great opportunity for Bradford to prove his early-season struggles aren't indicative of the type of quarterback he's going to be in Philadelphia. Going up against an elite Jets offense while staring a 0-3 record directly in the face, Bradford will need to prove his worth here.

Through two games, Bradford has put up two touchdowns compared to four interceptions while leading the Eagles offense to an average of just 17 points per game. He's going up against a Jets pass defense that has forced four interceptions and a total of 10 turnovers. Unless something changes here, the Eagles' dreadful start to the season will continue.

3. Keenan Allen vs Xavier Rhodes

Allen followed up a 15-reception game against the Detroit Lions in Week 1 with a dud of a performance last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. The third-year receiver caught just two passes on four targets as he was shut down by a darn good secondary. Now going up against one of the better young corners in the NFL, it's important for Allen to bounce back.

For his part, Rhodes has been absolutely awesome through two games. He may have allowed Calvin Johnson to catch seven passes last week, but that came on 13 targets for an average of 4.8 yards per target.

If Rhodes is able to shut Allen down, Philip Rivers will have a difficult time finding open receivers against the Minnesota Vikings defense. That could force the veteran into making a mistake or two in what has to be considered a pretty big early-season game for both 1-1 squads.

4. Aaron Rodgers vs Justin Houston

This isn't necessarily an individual matchup, but Houston could make Rodgers' day rather long. As Kansas City's left outside pass rusher, Houston will be lining up against a replacement offensive tackle in the form of Don Barclay. Short of the Packers continually throwing double teams the pass rusher's way, Houston should be able to eat all game long.

Green Bay's blocking scheme could also lead to a trickle-down effect. If Mike McCarthy and Co. decide to double Houston, it will leave Tamba Hali one-on-one against David Bakhtiari. And while the left tackle has been stellar since taking over that role as a rookie in 2013, he does tend to struggle with the bull rush — something Hali is known for.

Why is this important? Green Bay runs a timing-based west coast offense. If that timing is thrown off, it will lead to an inconsistent performance from the passing game. With Eddie Lacy hobbled, this is a big deal.

5. Carson Palmer vs San Francisco 49ers pass defense

Mismatch alert. What Antonio Brown did to the 49ers pass defense was an absolute embarrassment to Eric Mangini's defense. With the likes of Kenneth Acker and Tramaine Brock going up against Brown, the new 49ers coordinator decided against throwing double teams that way. It resulted in nearly 200 receiving yards for the Pro Bowl pass catcher. And while San Francisco's stance was to throw its young defensive backs into the fire, the result was an absolute mess.

With the likes of John Brown, Larry Fizgerald and a potentially healthier Michael Floyd slated to take on a whole host of inexperienced corners at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, this area of the game could get relatively ugly for the home team.

In this, Mangini has a decision to make. He can throw double teams the way of the corner who is struggling the most. He can also decide to dial up the blitz against a lackluster offensive line. Unfortunately, this didn't work too well against Pittsburgh last week. It will be interesting to see how San Francisco schemes against a vastly improved passing attack led by an underrated Carson Palmer.

6. Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas vs Darius Slay

It remains to be seen who the Detroit Lions will line Slay up against when the Denver Broncos take possession of the football on Sunday night. Slay, a third-year corner out of Mississippi State, has been stellar through two games this season, mainly because teams have been avoiding his side of the field. In fact, the young defensive back has been targeted just five times thus far this year.

If Detroit decides to line Slay up at his normal left corner position, he will go up against Emmanuel Sanders, who has been targeted a whopping 26 times in two games. It will then be a game of cat and mouse between Peyton Manning and Slay. If the latter is lined up against Demaryius Thomas, it means that Sanders will have the pleasure of going up against a veteran in Rashean Mathis who has yielded 13 receptions on 15 targets through two games.

7. Alfred Morris and Matt Jones vs New York Giants rush defense

With improved play under first-year offensive line coach Bill Callahan, the Washington Redskins running game is going to be super impressive moving forward on the season. This was represented to a T Sunday against a darn good St. Louis Rams defensive front.

Matt Jones and Alfred Morris combined for 218 total yards on 42 touches in the impressive 14-point Redskins win over St. Louis. The interesting thing here is that both averaged well over two yards before contact per rush. This tells us a story of a Redskins offensive line that was in domination mode.

For all the flack that the Giants defense has received in recent years, it has been darn good against the run through two games this season. In fact, the Steve Spagnuolo-led defense ranks third against the run thus far in 2015 at 60 yards per game. It is also allowing just three yards per attempt.

If the Giants can somehow find a way to stop this new dynamic duo, it will force Kirk Cousins to win the game with his arm. As we have seen so many times in the past, the odds are against the stopgap quarterback actually being able to do this. That could net Tom Couglin's squad its first win of the campaign.

8. Tyler Eifert vs C.J. Mosley, Kendrick Lewis and Will Hill

A titan against titans. I guess that would be the best way to describe this elite-level matchup. An up-and-coming tight end in the mold of Rob Gronkowski, Eifert has been tremendous in his return to action after missing the vast majority of last season. Through two games, the former first-round pick has caught 13 of the 17 passes thrown in his direction with three touchdowns. Needless to say, this makes Eifert one of the most productive tight ends to date.

The Notre Dame product will, however, face his toughest test of the young season against a middle of the Ravens defense that is borderline elite.

While Will Hill technically plays strong safety, he's not one of those in-the-box guys. Instead, the talented youngster will be tasked with going up against tight ends. And in reality, it's been a smashing success. He's allowed just three catches on eight targets for an 11.5 opposing quarterback rating this season. If that's the dynamic performer Baltimore will get over the top, Mosley represents the perfect underneath coverage against Eifert. This is the one big matchup to watch against these two division rivals.

9. Amari Cooper vs Joe Haden

Normally, Haden going up against a rookie making his third regular season appearance would be considered a major mismatch in his advantage. This week against the Oakland Raiders No. 1 receiver, that might not be the case.

In his first two NFL games, Cooper has caught 12 of the 20 passes thrown in his direction for over 150 yards and a touchdown. For his part, Haden has been nowhere near the shutdown corner we have been accustomed to. He's giving up a 60 percent completion rate with two touchdowns and zero picks thus far.

If Derek Carr can find a way to have success against the Cleveland Browns top cover guy, it will open up a one-on-one matchup for a rapidly progressing Michael Crabtree on the other side. If that happens, the Raiders could very well find a way to duplicate the success they had in an impressive offensive performance against the Baltimore Ravens last week.

10. Jimmy Clausen vs the "Legion of Boom"

This is more tongue-in-cheek than anything else. Replacing an injured Jay Cutler, Clausen will get his first road start since his rookie campaign with the Carolina Panthers back in 2010. That was the season that saw the former second-round pick win just one of 10 starts while throwing three touchdowns compared to nine picks.

Going up against an angry Seattle Seahawks defense that has been nowhere near the dominating unit we have seen in the past, common logic seems to suggest Clausen will have a horrible day at CenturyLink. Though, if the former Notre Dame standout performs at anywhere near a decent level on the road, it could very well be panic time for Pete Carroll and Co.

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