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Week 6 NFL mismatches: Why a Falcon could excel, Cowboy may stumble
Longtime Packers receiver Randall Cobb is off to a slow start with Dallas (17 catches and 210 yards). Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Week 6 NFL mismatches: Why a Falcon could excel, Cowboy may stumble

Yardbarker's Michael Nania analyzes the biggest positional mismatches each week during the NFL season.

Falcons TE Austin Hooper vs. Cardinals LBs, safeties

Arizona's defense, which ranks 29th in points allowed per drive and 30th in defensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), is awful. The Cardinals and Redskins are the only teams to allow 23 points or more in five consecutive games to start the season.

One of Arizona's major problems is its penchant for getting picked on by tight ends. The Cardinals have allowed more receiving touchdowns (six) and receiving yards (461) to tight ends than any other team in the league.

Blame can be spread across the defense. Inside linebackers Jordan Hicks and Haason Reddick have allowed one touchdown each, as has outside linebacker Chandler Jones. Safety D.J. Swearinger is the biggest culprit, leading the way with three touchdowns allowed to tight ends, including two by Carolina's Greg Olsen in Week 3.

This play is the first of Olsen's two touchdowns. Swearinger lines up in man-to-man coverage against Olsen on the left side of the formation, pressing up on the line of scrimmage. Jarius Wright (#13), the wide receiver lined up outside left, runs over the middle to clear space for Olsen. Swearinger doesn't notice Wright in time to get over top of him, as he is picked out of the play and allows Olsen to grab the uncontested touchdown.

In Week 6, Hooper has a great chance to be the next man who takes advantage of Arizona's shoddy back-end coverage. He's off to a great start to his fourth season, ranking third among tight ends with 363 receiving yards (career-high 72.6 per game). Hooper ranks second on the Falcons with 42 targets, two behind Julio Jones; he has been targeted at least six times in each game.  With Atlanta's season circling the drain, Hooper could help keep the 1-4 Falcons afloat with a big game.

Jets CB Brian Poole vs. Cowboys WR Randall Cobb

Cobb is off to a poor start as Dallas' third wideout, averaging 3.4 receptions and 42 receiving yards per game, each mark the worst he has posted since his rookie season in 2011.  Dak Prescott has struggled mightily to get on the same page with the former Packer, a nine-year vet signed as a free agent in the off-season. Prescott's 56.3 passer rating when targeting Cobb is the worst among the quarterback's nine targets this season. Four of Prescott's six interceptions have come when throwing to Cobb.

This play is a great example of how Cobb and Prescott have been just a tick out of sync. Prescott does a nice job dodging the pressure and stepping up, then throws to an open Cobb cutting over the middle. Prescott's pass is off the mark, coming in a couple of steps behind Cobb. Still, Cobb makes an effort to contort back to the ball and seems to get two hands on it, but he can't haul it in. It bounces into the air and Montae Nicholson hauls it in for Prescott's first interception of the season.

In Week 6, Cobb could struggle against one of the hottest slot corners in the NFL, the Jets' Brian Poole. The former Falcon, signed to a one-year deal, is one of the few positives for winless New York (0-4). Poole has allowed only 0.43 yards per coverage snap, best among the 86 cornerbacks with at least 100 coverage snaps. Working almost solely inside (117 of his 129 coverage snaps in the slot), Poole should see a lot of Cobb, who ranks fourth among qualified receivers in percentage of routes (88.7) run out of the slot.

Poole has helped the Jets' defense shut down a trio of solid slot weapons: Cole Beasley, Jarvis Landry and Nelson Agholor combined to average three catches for 30.7 yards against the Jets (with zero touchdowns), versus their combined season average of 4.9 catches for 57.2 yards in the rest of their games.

Eagles DT Fletcher Cox vs. Vikings center Garrett Bradbury

The Vikings, who dealt with offensive line problems last season, hoped to turn around the unit with the addition of 2019 first-round pick Bradbury of North Carolina State. Although he has great potential, early returns are not stellar. Bradbury is the lowest-graded center at Pro Football Focus, struggling especially in pass protection. He has the worst pass-blocking efficiency rate (pressures allowed per snap, with greater value for sacks and hits) among centers. In Week 6, he'll  face perhaps the toughest matchup on his schedule.

In his eighth NFL season, Cox is one of the league's dominant defensive tackles. Since 2015, the 28-year-old ranks fourth among defensive tackles in quarterback hits (87) and fifth in sacks (32.0). Cox's 24 QB pressures this season ties him with Aaron Donald and Quinton Jefferson for second most at the position.

Despite averaging 4.8 pressure per game, Cox has zero sacks. Following a five-game streak with no sacks in the middle of 2018, Cox recorded 6.5 sacks over his final five games of the season. Clearly, he's overdue to take down a QB, which is very bad news for Bradbury and his quarterback, Kirk Cousins. In eight games against Cousins, Cox has 5.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits. 

Extremely versatile, Cox can be effective rushing any gap from any spot on the line. A player like that causes a lot of headaches for centers and quarterbacks trying to set protections pre-snap.

On this play against the Packers in Week 4, Cox lines up as a 3-technique over the outside shoulder of right guard Billy Turner. At the snap, Cox loops inside and rushes the center (Corey Linsley) head-on. Cox gets his hands inside and barrels Linsley into Aaron Rodgers' lap, forcing him to roll out and check the ball down.

Perhaps Bradbury is more ready for the challenge presented by Cox than he may have been a few weeks ago. After defeating the Giants in Week 5, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer acknowledged Bradbury's rough start, but said he thought that the rookie center took huge steps forward in his fifth career game.

The numbers agreed: Bradbury recorded his first game with zero pressures allowed. The Vikings ran for 211 yards, with much of that production behind Bradbury. Minnesota picked up 102 yards on 13 carries (7.8 per attempt) through the A-gaps.

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