Only in the NFL: Best Head-to-Head Battles of Week 11

It's Week 11 of the 2013 NFL season, and this week one game is hogging the spotlight.

That game takes place Sunday night, when the only unbeaten in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs, travel to face the one-loss Denver Broncos in a battle for supremacy in the AFC.

There are plenty of other big matchups on the slate. The San Francisco 49ers will try to rebound from last week's loss to the Carolina Panthers in New Orleans, while those red-hot Panthers play host to the New England Patriots on Monday night.

In a week sure to have a big impact on the playoff picture in both conferences, here's a look at the individual battles that will decide this week's games.

Trent Richardson vs. Colin McCarthy

The Indianapolis Colts were at the wrong end of Week 10's biggest blowout, stunned at home 38-8 by the St. Louis Rams.

The absence of top wideout Reggie Wayne has had a big impact on the Colts offense, and that impact has only been amplified by Indy's inability to run the ball effectively.

The Colts managed only 18 rushing yards against the Rams last week, and that's an issue head coach Chuck Pagano feels needs to change according to Mike Wells of ESPN. "Somehow, some way we have to be able to run the football," Pagano said.

Of course, part of the problem has been the fact that tailback Trent Richardson has been mostly awful since coming over in a trade with the Cleveland Browns.

Since joining the Colts prior to Week 3, Richardson has gained 250 yards on 88 carries. That's less than three yards a carry. His yardage has decreased every game since Week 4, finally hitting bottom with two yards on five carries last week.

This week Richardson and the Colts face the Tennessee Titans, who enter Week 11 21st in the NFL in run defense.

There's been a new sheriff in the middle of the Titans defense the past few weeks, with Colin McCarthy replacing Moise Fokou at middle linebacker.

If the Titans are going to steal this game and make the AFC South interesting again, it's imperative that McCarthy and the Titans make the Colts one-dimensional on offense.

After all, it certainly worked for the Rams.

Marcell Dareus vs. Nick Mangold

The New York Jets are one of the more pleasant surprises of the 2013 NFL season, sitting at 5-4 after a huge win over the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago.

Coming out of the bye, the Jets square off with a 3-7 Bills team that has dropped three in a row. That skid hasn't been the fault of Buffalo defensive line, where ends Mario Williams and Kyle Williams and tackle Marcell Dareus have all enjoyed solid seasons.

Dareus has been especially stout against the run, ranking sixth among all defensive tackles in that regard according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

As the Jets showed against the Saints, they are a much different team when the run game is working. That makes it imperative that center Nick Mangold hold his own at the point of attack this week.

It's something that Mangold has struggled with this year. The four-time Pro Bowler isn't having a good season, especially as a run blocker (where PFF ranks him 30th among NFL centers).

Calvin Johnson vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Secondary

At first glance, the 6-3 Detroit Lions shouldn't have much trouble handling the 3-6 Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11.

However, the Steelers are a proud bunch who isn't used to losing. The Lions are a fairly young team that hasn't grown accustomed to success.

There's real upset potential here, but only if the Steelers can at least contain wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

Mind you, shutting him down is a pipe dream. The key is to try to minimize the damage without letting running back Reggie Bush carve you up inside in the meantime.

Even that could be a tall order for the Steelers. Granted, Pittsburgh ranks fifth in pass defense, but the Steelers don't have a defensive back listed among the top 25 cornerbacks or top 10 safeties at Pro Football Focus.

Look for a lot of bracket coverages and safety help...for all the good it will do.

Joe Haden vs. A.J. Green

Don't laugh, but Sunday's matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals has real playoff implications in the AFC North.

Should the Browns upset Cincinnati, the Bengals lead in the division would suddenly sit at half a game entering their bye week.

This game also marks the latest get-together between two of the NFL's top young players at their position.

As it does twice each year, it will fall to Cleveland cornerback Joe Haden to cover A.J. Green, the first wide receiver to top 1,000 yards this season.

Haden fared pretty well in their first meeting this year, holding Green to seven catches for 51 yards in a 17-6 Browns win.

Last year however, was a different story. In two meetings between the teams, Green hauled in 14 receptions for 193 yards and three scores.

Josh Wilson vs. Riley Cooper

Believe it or not, Riley Cooper is one of the hottest wide receivers in the NFL right now.

Over the past two weeks, with Nick Foles guiding the offense for the Philadelphia Eagles, Cooper has hauled in eight catches for an eye-popping 241 yards and five touchdowns.

Now, the Eagles will try to move into first place (at least by half a game) in the NFC East with a win over a floundering Washington team that just lost to the Vikings.

With Washington's top cornerback (DeAngelo Hall) likely to draw DeSean Jackson in coverage, Josh Wilson will be charged with keeping Cooper from getting behind the Redskins' 26th-ranked pass defense.

It's an area where Washington has struggled. Both Hall and Wilson rank outside the top 75 cornerbacks this year, according to Pro Football Focus, and Wilson has allowed 69.6 percent of the passes thrown his way to be completed in 2013.

Cameron Wake vs. D.J. Fluker/Jeromey Clary

The Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers face a similar dilemma. At 4-5, another loss would do very serious damage to their lagging playoff hopes.

That makes this a virtual "must-win" game for both teams. If the visiting Chargers are going to get the win, they're going to need a push up front.

In order to get that push up front, rookie D.J. Fluker will have to handle Miami end Cameron Wake.

Fluker hasn't been lights-out for the Chargers, but the former Alabama star has only allowed two sacks this season, and Fluker has stabilized the right side of the San Diego line.

Injuries have resulted in an up-and-down season for Wake, but the 31-year-old is on pace for 11 sacks this year and ranks fourth among all 4-3 ends in 2013 per Pro Football Focus.

It's possible, however,  that it won't be Fluker on Wake at all. As Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego reports, the Week 11 status of tackle King Dunlap is uncertain. If Dunlap can't go, Fluker would flip to the left side, with seventh-year veteran Jeromey Clary drawing the start at right tackle.

Injuries have wrecked San Diego's offensive line the past two years, and the timing of Dunlap's couldn't have been much worse.

Colin Kaepernick vs. Drew Brees

This one isn't a head-to-head matchup per se, obviously. Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers won't be on the field at the same time, other than for a post-game handshake.

However, the two quarterbacks will no doubt be the most talked-about players heading into Sunday's big game in the Superdome, and one of them has tremendous pressure on him to elevate his performance in Week 11.

It certainly isn't Brees, who has thrown for over 325 yards in every home game this year, with 18 touchdown passes against only two interceptions.

Colin Kaepernick, however, is having quite the sophomore slump. Last week's 91 passing yards were his lowest total of the season, and the seventh time in nine games that Kaepernick has thrown for less than 200 yards.

Last year it happened once in seven starts.

The 49ers scored nine points last week. They'll need three times that (easily) to keep pace with the Saints.

Kaepernick, who has only a single touchdown pass in his last three games, is going to have to step it up, or San Francisco's chances of winning the NFC West are going to be shot.

Eddie Lacy vs. Jon Beason

2013 hasn't gone according to plan for the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants.

The season's been a disaster from the start for the Giants, but with three straight wins New York is suddenly relevant again in a bad NFC East.

Everything was going fine for the Packers not too long ago, but then Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone and Green Bay's season fell down the rabbit hole.

At 5-4, the Packers are still in the hunt, but there's precious little room for error now for a Green Bay team now being led by Scott Tolzien at quarterback.

A team once one of the NFL's most pass-happy is now very dependent on the ground game and running back Eddie Lacy. Lacy has topped 20 carries in six straight games, and the rookie from Alabama is averaging over 100 rushing yards a game over that stretch.

As bad as the Giants have been at times this year, the team is actually OK against the run, ranking 11th in the league at 102.8 yards per game.

It's really quite simple. If middle linebacker Jon Beason and the Giants stop Lacy, they have a very good chance of winning

Tamba Hali and Justin Houston vs. Chris Clark and Orlando Franklin

The biggest game of Week 11 takes place in Denver, where the Broncos play host to the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs in a battle to be top dog in the AFC.

You could easily do an entire one of these slideshows just on the matchups in this game, but there's one that's most crucial to the Chiefs' chances of a true "statement" win at Mile High.

The Chiefs, who lead the NFL in sacks, have to get after Denver quarterback Peyton Manning.

Luckily for Kansas City, it's something that Justin Houston and Tamba Hali have been very good at in 2013. The pair has combined for 20 sacks, and both rank inside the top-five 3-4 outside linebackers this year according to Pro Football Focus.

Meanwhile, the Broncos have had to do more than a little juggling up front this year, but Football Outsiders still ranks Denver third in the NFL in pass blocking this season.

The Chiefs aren't winning a high-scoring affair. Keeping Manning from settling into a rhythm is the quickest way to avoid one.

Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson vs. Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon

Much like the previous slide, this matchup involves a big game in prime time between two playoff contenders.

Much like the previous slide, this week's game between the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots features a future Hall of Famer in quarterback Tom Brady.

And just like the Kansas City Chiefs, if the Panthers are going to get the upset it's going to take a big game from the pass rush.

For the Panthers, that means ends Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy, who have tallied 14.5 sacks combined in 2013.

Both players rank inside the top 15 at their position at Pro Football Focus, and the duo are a large part of the reason why Carolina's pass rush is ranked sixth in the NFL at Football Outsiders.

The Patriots, on the other hand, have scuffled a bit in pass protection. New England has allowed 26 sacks, and the Patriots' offensive line ranks a so-so 14th in the league in pass protection at Football Outsiders.

Carolina's secondary is the weak spot in their defense, and the best way to avoid Tom Brady exploiting that is to get in the Golden Boy's grill.