Dissecting Best Individual Matchups to Watch in Denver Broncos' Week 3 Action

We're now so close to the Week 3 games that you can taste it, and the Denver Broncos are squaring off to meet the Seattle Seahawks in that fortress that they call CenturyLink Field. This is a place where the Seahawks almost never lose, a place where the crowd noise alone has become legendary.

That being said, it sets things up perfectly for the ultimate statement win for the Broncos. If they can beat the Seahawks in their own house, they can throw that Super Bowl monkey off of their backs and go into the bye week knowing that they are favored to win it all.

In order to do that, they're going to need to win the one-on-one matchups, and there are some great ones in this game. Denver brings more than a dozen new starters to this contest, so it's hardly a rematch, but some of the old names and faces are going to have to step up and produce.

It will all start with Emmanuel Sanders against Richard Sherman. If Denver was facing any other team, Demaryius Thomas would be matched up with Sherman, but Sherman's greatest weakness is that he can't move around on the field. He stays on one side.

Green Bay showed how to exploit this. Despite getting beat, the Packers took Sherman right out of that game by just putting their third WR on him and running decoy routes all night.

That's not how you beat the Seahawks, as we saw, but it's how you take Sherman out of the picture.

However, Sanders is going to be there to be more than just a decoy. As Keenan Allen showed in Week 2, when he danced Sherman out of his shorts at the line, a quick receiver who can get off of the line has the advantage over Sherman.

Demaryius is fast, to be sure, but he'd have to hand-fight Sherman all night long. Sanders is quicker in space, so he can get that early separation, and he has the burst speed to turn a short catch into a big gain.

Brady Phelps provided a look at the Allen-Sherman matchup.

Denver might choose to put Wes Welker out on Sherman from time to time, as well. Welker is an absolute genius at creating that space with just a step or two. However, I think the Broncos will use him more in the slot, and Sherman will probably stay on the outside like always. Expect to see Welker spell Sanders from time to time, but Sanders will do the majority of his work on that side.

Denver also has to sort of work Welker back into the lineup, as he hasn't played yet this year.

The second matchup to watch is Demaryius on Byron Maxwell.

Another thing we learned from Green Bay is that playing your top wideout on Maxwell means that you can really put up some stats. There were times in that game, despite how Green Bay was getting worked, that Jordy Nelson was just eating Maxwell alive. He could get those 10-yard passes time and time again (though, for the sake of fairness, Maxwell did get a pick in that game).

Demaryius is a beast. He's a physical specimen, something like former Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall. He's tall and strong and fast, and that's not a good matchup for Maxwell. He's a good zone corner, but he's not physically on the same level as Demaryius.

The only way we don't see this is if John Fox decides to just let Demaryius try to work over Sherman. While that would be a fun battle to watch, putting him on Maxwell is by far the better option, strategically, because it won't be much of a contest.

Demaryius should be able to put up a lot of receptions. The safety help over the top might keep them from being big gains—Earl Thomas is a terrific safety—but he should move the chains time and time again.

But really, we should expect Demaryius to do that to the Seahawks. He set a record for receptions in the Super Bowl, after all. If any of the Broncos will not have trouble with Seattle's defense, it's him.

Finally, there's the other Thomas, Julius. We learned from the San Diego game that tight ends can tear apart the Seattle secondary. Antonio Gates—with all respect to everything he's done over the years, as he's an all-time great—is nowhere near the caliber of player he was five years ago. He still caught three touchdowns all by himself in the Chargers' upset of the Seahawks.

Gifdsports provides visual insight on Julius' performance.

Julius is a more athletic tight end than Gates, and he's on fire right now, with four touchdowns already on the year. I'm a bit cautious about this one since I thought he'd be a big factor in the Super Bowl, and the Seahawks were able to stop him. Still, he looks like a good matchup at this point. If he can do to the Seattle safeties what Gates did to them, he'll be the X-factor.

If he can't, he still might be the X-factor but not in the way that Denver fans hope.

This is a stacked game. There are tons of insane matchups to watch. How will Peyton Manning do if Seattle can put pressure on him? Will the Broncos' offensive line, with Ryan Clady back, be able to protect Manning? Does Denver have anyone in the secondary who can account for Percy Harvin's speed? Is Bobby Wagner going to shut Montee Ball right out of the game, or will the Broncos' running game get going?

However, all other things aside, the Broncos are a passing team. They have an overhauled defense, and they need the running game to produce, but they rely on Manning's arm more than anything else. That means that the best matchups will be the Broncos' receivers against Seattle's secondary. That's where all the fireworks will be, and it's going to be a battle to the very end.