Matt Bowen's NFL Wild Card Weekend Film Study

Throughout the playoffs, former NFL defensive back Matt Bowen will bring you his film study: a breakdown of personnel, matchups and scheme on the postseason stage.

5 Players to Watch on Wild Card Weekend 

1. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Detroit Lions

With Suh back in the lineup after winning his appeal of a one-game suspension, the Lions can match up versus the Dallas Cowboys offensive line this Sunday in Texas.

Ralph Freso/Associated Press

Suh is the best defensive tackle in the game because of his ability to eat up double-teams and penetrate the line of scrimmage. That allows the Lions’ second-level linebackers to scrape to the ball and get downhill with speed versus both the zone and power run game.

On Sunday, Suh must flatten the line of scrimmage versus the zone concepts (keeps the guards off the linebackers) and win at the point of attack when the Cowboys block down in their power schemes.

This should be a physical game up front. Old school stuff.

2. Ryan Lindley, QB, Arizona Cardinals

Lindley will have some opportunities to target the top of the Carolina Panthers Cover 2 shell and work the intermediate windows, but he has to protect the ball after throwing three interceptions last Sunday in the Week 17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Lindley made some improvements in that game versus the 49ers (compared to his first start versus the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16), and he also showed the ability to get the ball down the field in the vertical route tree. However, he has to avoid the mistakes this Saturday against a Panthers defense playing good ball right now.

John Brown and Michael Floyd can put some stress on the Panthers safeties, but I would keep an eye on linebackers Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly when Carolina drops into those zone looks. Lindley has to see the entire field and account for the speed of the Panthers linebackers.

Throw picks and the season is over for the Cardinals.

3. Dan "Boom" Herron, RB, Indianapolis Colts

I wrote about Herron a couple of weeks back because of the versatility and overall skill set he brings to the Colts offense when compared to Trent Richardson. The tape tells the story there when looking at Herron’s vision, acceleration and lateral quickness to go along with the impact he can have in the passing game.

Here’s an example of how the Colts and quarterback Andrew Luck can utilize Herron on the Hi-Lo Mesh concept (pick play) with the running back releasing out of the backfield on the wheel (or rail) route:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Richardson is going to see touches this weekend versus the Cincinnati Bengals. We know that. But Herron needs to be in the mix for offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton. This is a playoff game. It's time to get the ball to the guys who can produce and take advantage of favorable matchups.

4. Josh Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

With Le’Veon Bell likely to sit this Saturday night versus the Baltimore Ravens, the undrafted rookie running back out of Wake Forest gets an opportunity to carry the ball on the playoff stage.

Harris shouldn’t be expected to replicate the production of Bell, but can he move the sticks in 3rd-and-2-6 situations and allow the Steelers to have balance in the game plan? With Dri Archer and newly signed Ben Tate, Pittsburgh does have some options in the backfield. But I’m focused on Harris this weekend after the rookie got some carries in Week 17 when Bell went down with a knee injury.

No one could have predicted that Harris would be a key part of the game plan this weekend when the season started back in September, but that’s the great thing about pro ball when we talk about opportunity. Let’s see if he can answer the bell in a game that will be nasty at times.

5. Greg Olsen, TE, Carolina Panthers

Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson should “travel” (match to coverage regardless of alignment) versus Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin this weekend. That’s going to be a test for the rookie to beat press-man and win against the variety of techniques Peterson will use outside of the numbers.

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Because of that, I would look for Olsen to have a major impact in the Panthers’ game plan. Think of the middle-of-the-field throws and the play-action concepts (corner route) when Carolina reduces the formation with multiple tight ends in the game.

If quarterback Cam Newton can work the ball inside of the numbers to Olsen, and also find the tight end versus the Cardinals’ pressure schemes, the Panthers can lean on the short to intermediate route tree in crucial game situations.

Five Matchups to Watch on Wild Card Weekend 

1. DeMarco Murray vs. DeAndre Levy

Levy is a star at the linebacker position in Detroit and his impact versus Murray is vital if the Lions want to slow down the Cowboys zone running game. That’s where Murray can press the edge of the formation, find vertical running lanes or cut back to expose the open side of the defense.

Here’s an example from the Cowboys’ Week 6 win over the Seahawks with Murray allowing the blocks to develop before taking advantage of the defensive pursuit in the two-back stretch scheme:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

When watching Levy at the second level, focus on his speed to the edge along with his ability to redirect when Murray cuts up the field. As we talked about above, having Suh in the lineup allows Levy to track the ball, but the linebacker still has to play with discipline if Detroit wants to limit Murray.

2. Antonio Brown vs. Ravens Secondary

Brown can light up the Ravens secondary if they want to sit back in 2-Man (two-deep, man-under) because of the receiver’s route-running talent and electric acceleration he displays coming out of the break.

Take a look at the outside cuts (corner, out, comeback) that Brown can run in this All-22 example with the cornerback playing trail-man technique (low to the inside hip):

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

This is when Brown sells the break at the top of the route and creates separation to go get the football. Plus, this also allows Brown to produce after the catch when he can use his open-field ability to eliminate angles.

With Brown, Markus Wheaton and rookie Martavis Bryant, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will have opportunities to go after a Ravens secondary that the Steelers match up well against.

3. John Brown vs. Roman Harper (Cover 2)

Think of Brown’s vertical speed versus Harper when the Panthers play Cover 2. Going back to the opportunities for Lindley I talked about above, I would challenge Harper in the deep half with the “sting” route early in the game.

Credit: Matt Bowen/Bleacher Report

This is the same route we saw during the regular season from Jordy Nelson and Odell Beckham Jr. with the wide receiver selling the corner route and breaking back to the post (called a “dino” stem).

If Brown can force Harper to open his hips in the deep half, this is a guaranteed six points with the free safety occupied by the corner route to the open side of the field. The Cardinals should go after Harper and find out if he can play with enough depth to account for his lack of speed versus multiple breaking routes.

4. Andrew Luck vs. Bengals 3-Deep Coverage

With Dwayne Allen back on the practice field for the Colts, can Luck target the inside throwing lanes out of Ace/12 personnel (2WR-2TE-1RB) when the Bengals show their Cover 3 shell?

A good tape to watch is the Bengals-Patriots matchup from earlier in the season when Tom Brady consistently worked the ball inside after New England occupied the cornerback. That allowed the tight ends to run the seam route behind the underneath defenders:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

The idea here is to get both Allen and Coby Fleener up the numbers to put pressure on the free safety in the middle of the field. And Luck can create even more room to throw if the Colts use play action to force those linebackers downhill at the snap.

5. Jeremy Hill vs. Colts Front-Seven

Given the up-and-down play from Andy Dalton, I would tighten the formation and look to feed Hill early in the game against the Colts. Run the power schemes with two tight ends on the field and make the Colts have to bring an extra defender down in the box:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Hill has impressed me all season because of his strength on contact and the speed through the hole that allows the rookie to push the ball into the second level of the defense.

Yes, this will create some one-on-one opportunities for Dalton if the Colts play more single-high looks, but I really want to see Indianapolis fit up the run and tackle versus Hill. Play some big-boy football. That would be my plan with the Bengals.

Tape Session

Here are three things I pulled from the All-22 tape that we should look for this weekend based on scheme and alignment.

1. Panthers' QB Power in the “Deep” Red Zone

When the Panthers have the ball in the “deep” red zone (plus 10-yard line), look for the quarterback designed runs with Newton in the Pistol and Shotgun alignments:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

As you can see here, the Panthers shift a wide receiver to the backfield (creates a two-back Pistol alignment) and show the option scheme (pitch man) to limit the linebacker pursuit. However, with the running back and open-side guard leading up through the hole (tight end kicks out the edge defender), this is a base quarterback power scheme.

This is the same blocking you will see on the Power O scheme with some added window dressing from the Panthers to show a speed option out of the Pistol.

2. Calvin Johnson in the “Strike Zone”

With the ball in the “strike zone” (20-35 yard line), keep an eye on the alignment of Johnson. Is he inside of the numbers? If so, that’s where the ball is going:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

When Johnson lines up in the slot, the Lions want to run the inside vertical seam versus both Cover 2 and Cover 3. This puts a lot of stress on the nickel cornerback to gain depth and cushion the seam route to take some pressure off the top of the secondary.

What do the Cowboys run? Cover 2 and Cover 3. This should be an automatic alert for the defense when Johnson is in the slot—because Matthew Stafford is going to take a shot to the end zone.

3. Cardinals' Zero-Pressure

The Cardinals will send zero-pressure in almost every down-and-distance situation under Todd Bowles. That means six (or seven)-man pressure with no safety help in the middle of the field:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

In the secondary, the defensive backs usually play off and to the inside (blitz-man technique) and flat-foot read everything (no backpedal, read through the three-step drop). The idea is to force the ball to come out and drive downhill on the throw.

Where do I expect to see pressure versus the Panthers? On 3rd-and-7-10. That’s when the Cardinals can play off and break on the slant, hitch, etc. to get off the field.

Seven-year NFL veteran Matt Bowen is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report.

Follow @MattBowen41