Week 2 NFL mismatches: Why Patriots could win by 50 or more

Don't sleep on the Patriots depth at receiver either. Against the Steelers, Phillip Dorsett scored a touchdown that looks similar to the one allowed by Fitzpatrick above.

Dorsett (slot right) is covered man-to-man by Steelers slot corner Mike Hilton, who is about four yards off the line of scrimmage. Since Dorsett is lined up slightly to the outside of Hilton pre-snap, Hilton slides slightly farther outside before the snap, then takes another slide to the outside after the snap. Having already given Dorsett room toward the middle, Hilton opens up to the inside, giving Dorsett a free release on a post route down the middle of the field. Brady is not going to miss that one -– it’s a 25-yard Patriots touchdown.

Chargers' Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram vs. Lions' Taylor Decker and Rick Wagner

Bosa and Ingram are one of the best edge rush duos in the NFL. From 2015-18, Ingram racked up 36 sacks and 80 quarterback hits. Since being drafted third overall in 2016, Bosa has amassed 29.5 sacks and 51 quarterback hits over just 36 games.

In Week 1, the Chargers’ dynamic duo dominated the Colts’ elite offensive line. Ingram tallied  five QB pressures, tied for the 12^th most among edge defenders. Bosa collected four pressures of his own, tied for 18^th among edge defenders. Each recorded a sack.

Thanks in part to pressure created by Bosa and Ingram, the Chargers took away Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s downfield passing game, forcing him into checkdowns. The Colts averaged nine yards per completed pass, which ranked 29^th in Week 1.

In Week 2, Bosa and Ingram get a hugely favorable matchup against Lions left tackle Decker and right tackle Wagner. Detroit’s bookend pass protectors had a poor season debut against the Cardinals’ strong edge rush duo of Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs, who combined for a whopping 13 pressures and three sacks. Decker and Wagner each allowed seven pressures in Week 1, placing them alone atop that ugly "leaderboard." 

The pressure allowed by Detroit's offensive line (in particular Decker and Wagner) affected Matthew Stafford. He posted a 63.9 passer rating when throwing under pressure, ranking 22nd of the 32 qualified quarterbacks in Week 1. Bosa and Ingram had a similar effect in Week 1 on Brissett, who ranked 20th in the league with a 69.9 passer rating while under pressure. The pressure they created was essential, as no other Charger created a single pass rush pressure.

Part of what makes Bosa and Ingram special is their versatility. Neither is tethered to one side of the field, and the Chargers move them around frequently. Los Angeles’ dynamic duo can get to the quarterback in myriad ways. The play below is a prime example.

Here, Ingram lines up inside, standing upright in a two-point stance over right guard Mark Glowinski’s outside shoulder. Ingram sets Glowinski up inside with a quick jolt toward the middle, freezing Glowinski’s hips. Ingram quickly jolts back outside, and at this point, Glowinski’s only hope of stopping Ingram is to land an effective punch. Glowinski goes for Ingram’s inside shoulder, but Ingram gives Glowinski a nasty swipe move to dodge the jab attempt. Ingram dips underneath and turns the corner on a dime, blowing by Glowinski and winning the battle. He closes in on Brissett with great speed to finish up the sack.

Notice that directly to Ingram’s left, Bosa beats the right tackle (Braden Smith) to the outside, nearly getting to the quarterback and possibly helping to create the sack by forcing him to step up.

Alignments like that one put offensive lines in a huge bind. Teams would expect to frequently see a stunt in this situation, but as shown above (and Bosa can do that as well), these two are fully capable of winning one-on-one battles inside.

Few teams have a pair of athletic outside pass rushers with the versatility to line up anywhere. However, it’s not just alignment hijinks that make Bosa and Ingram dangerous. They are both capable of beating tackles one-on-one to create havoc. Here, Bosa again lines up on the left side with his hand in the dirt, this time outside the tight end. The tight end releases downfield, and Bosa gets a full head of steam against Smith. He gives a slight inside jab, and then throws his signature outside rip move to beat Smith with ease and sack Brissett.