Only in the NFL: Best Head-to-Head Battles of Week 12

The Peyton Manning prime-time tour rolls on in Week 12.

One week after handing the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season, Manning and the Broncos are headed east for another Sunday night meeting. This time it's old nemesis Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

That matchup will no doubt dominate the headlines this week. However, there are plenty of other big games this week, including a big NFC East matchup and a showdown between playoff contenders in Arizona.

Yes, Arizona.

Those games will be decided by dozens of smaller matchups within each contest, and here's a look at some of the most pivotal.

Antonio Brown vs. Joe Haden

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The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers meet Sunday for the 122nd time in the Turnpike Rivalry, which dates back to 1950.

It's a huge game for both teams. At 4-6, neither team can afford another loss. It's win or watch whatever lagging playoff hopes they may have go up in smoke.

The Steelers are the hotter of the two teams, after winning their second straight by downing the Detroit Lions in Week 11.

The stars of that game were quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who topped 350 passing yards with four touchdowns, and wide receiver Antonio Brown, who caught the first two of those scores.

Brown has starred in his first season as the Steelers' top receiver. The fourth-year pro leads the NFL with 74 receptions, and his 952 receiving yards ranks fifth.

There's little question Brown will be targeted with regularity. The question is what he'll do with those targets against Cleveland cornerback Joe Haden.

If last week's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was any indication, not much. The Browns may have lost that game, but Haden stifled Cincy wideout A.J. Green, holding the AFC's leading receiver in terms of yardage to two catches for seven yards and returning an Andy Dalton interception for a touchdown.

Darrelle Revis vs. Calvin Johnson

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A couple of years ago, this matchup would have been huge. The NFL's best wide receiver against the league's top cornerback.

Detroit's Calvin Johnson still holds his title as top wideout, but in his first year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Darrelle Revis has scuffled a bit.

That was as at least partially due to the rather bizarre decision by the Tampa coaching staff to play Revis in zone coverage early in the year, despite the fact that it's man/press coverage where Revis made his hay with the New York Jets.

However, over the past few games (including two straight wins by the Bucs) Revis has played a lot more man coverage. The result? The seventh-year pro retook his spot as the NFL's top corner, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

If the Buccaneers are going to pull off the upset and win their third straight, then Revis is going to need to play his best game of the season.

Eddie Lacy vs. Chad Greenway and Erin Henderson

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It's a testament to just how good the Green Packers have been in recent years, that a three-game losing streak is enough to inspire panic attacks in Titletown.

The last time the Packers lost three straight was back in 2008, but after falling to the New York Giants in Week 11, Green Bay finds itself in a similar skid.

The easy explanation for the losses has been the absence of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and the Packers won't have him back in the fold when they host the Minnesota Vikings Sunday.

That's going to put extra pressure on rookie running back Eddie Lacy, and it's pressure Lacy hasn't handled well the past couple of weeks.

After gaining 150 rushing yards against the Chicago Bears in Week 9, Lacy has managed only 100 yards total in the two games Rodgers has missed.

Granted, some of that is the stacked fronts Lacy is seeing, but until Rodgers comes back those fronts aren't going away. If the Packers don't get a win soon, it may not matter if Rodgers comes back at all.

Hosting a two-win Vikings team would seem to be just what the doctor ordered for Lacy and the Packers, especially since the former Alabama star had a good game against Minny in Week 8.

However, the Vikings are a respectable 14th in the NFL against the run, and both Erin Henderson and Chad Greenway rank inside the top 10 in the NFL in tackles.

Look behind the stats, though, and part of the reason why the Vikings have two wins becomes evident.

Henderson ranks 40th among inside linebackers at Pro Football Focus. Greenway is dead last at his position.

Tamba Hali and Justin Houston vs. King Dunlap and D.J. Fluker

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The Kansas City Chiefs were knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten in Week 11, due in large part to their inability to harass Denver quarterback Peyton Manning even a little bit.

Not only did the Chiefs fail to sack Manning, but they didn't knock him down once. It's the second straight game in which the Chiefs have failed to register a sack.

It's imperative that outside linebackers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, who have combined for 20 sacks on the season, get the Chiefs pass rush back on track, especially with another tilt with the Broncos on tap in Week 13.

It isn't going to be especially easy against the Chargers. After struggling mightily in 2012, the Chargers have done much better in pass protection this year, allowing only 19 sacks in 10 games. Only six of those sacks have been allowed by starting tackles King Dunlap and D.J. Fluker.

San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers is also enjoying great improvement in 2013, and if he's given time to throw, there's a real chance the Bolts could steal this game.

Zac Stacy vs. James Anderson

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The St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers have something in common this year. With both teams missing their starting quarterbacks, both squads have turned to rookie tailbacks to carry the offense.

In the Gateway City it's been Zac Stacy, who has averaged nearly 90 yards a game on the ground in six starts this season.

This week, Stacy and the Rams welcome in a Chicago Bears team that, while 6-4, is a hollow shell of its former self on defense.

Some of their struggles can be attributed to the loss of key players such as linebacker Lance Briggs and cornerback Charles Tillman to injury, but the fact remains that the Bears have been bad against the run in 2013.

Like 31st in the NFL bad. Like just gave up over 170 yards on the ground to the Baltimore Ravens bad.

The more that St. Louis can run the ball, the longer it will stay in this game, making it crucial that veteran linebacker James Anderson rally his younger cohorts and get after Stacy on the ground.

Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson vs. Tyson Clabo and Bryant McKinnie

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The Miami Dolphins were able to put the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin affair aside long enough to win a football game in Week 11, but the spectre of the situation still looms large over the team.

Mainly, it's the impact that the whole mess has had on the offensive front. No team in the NFL has allowed more sacks than the Dolphins, who are short two opening day starters on top of all the distraction.

This does not bode well heading into a matchup with a vastly improved Carolina defense.

The Panthers rank ninth in the NFL with 31 sacks. Ends Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy have 14.5 between them.

It's the Carolina defense that has propelled the team to a 7-3 record. It's the defense that spurred the team to a win over the New England Patriots in Week 11.

That defense is going to get the Panthers into the playoffs, and its motor is Hardy, Johnson and the front seven.

Usually, when one team's strength is matched up against another's weakness, things get ugly.

Geno Smith vs. Terrell Suggs

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If the 2013 NFL season ended today, the New York Jets would make the playoffs. The defending Super Bowl champions would not.

For reals.

After falling to the Chicago Bears at rain-soaked Soldier Field a week ago, the Baltimore Ravens sit at 4-6, fresh out of margin for error.

The Ravens' struggles this season haven't been the fault of outside linebacker Terrell Suggs. After losing much of the 2012 season to a torn Achilles, Suggs is back in the form that won him Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2011.

For the Jets, it's been a roller-coaster ride. In Week 9, the Jets downed the New Orleans Saints in their biggest win of the year. They followed that up after the bye by getting drubbed by the Buffalo Bills.

Those struggles have been mirrored by rookie quarterback Geno Smith. In five Jets wins this year, Smith has seven touchdown passes and four interceptions. In five losses it's 12 interceptions and a single touchdown pass.

If Suggs and the Ravens are going to keep their season alive, they have to rattle Smith. Plain and simple.

Coby Fleener vs. Daryl Washington

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The Indianapolis Colts have the AFC South in a choke hold, but there are still a number of questions surrounding the team.

The run game has struggled with consistency. The entire offense has to an extent, especially since wide receiver Reggie Wayne was lost for the season to a torn ACL.

However, things picked up in the second half of last week's win over the Tennessee Titans, due in large part to a career night from second-year tight end Coby Fleener, who caught eight passes for 107 yards.

The sledding won't be easy for Fleener this week. The 6-4 Cardinals boast one of the NFL's best defenses, and at its heart is one of the league's top coverage linebackers.

In fact, Pro Football Focus ranks inside linebacker Daryl Washington fourth in the league in that regard, while Washington ranks 10th at the position in yards allowed per coverage snap at 0.65.

Victor Cruz vs. Dallas Cowboys Secondary

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The NFC East is just weird this year.

Despite the fact that the New York Giants lost their first six games, four wins in a row have the Giants back into contention in a division where the first-place team is only 6-5.

Half a game back of those division-leading Philadelphia Eagles sit the Dallas Cowboys, whom we last saw allowing an NFL-record 40 first downs to the New Orleans Saints in Week 10.

The Cowboys have also had all sorts of problems defending the pass this year. Dallas ranks dead last in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 313 yards a game.

Quarterback Eli Manning and the New York passing game have struggled this year, but Manning has righted the ship somewhat of late, at least where turnovers are concerned.

However, Manning has only three touchdown passes over the past four games, and his 279 passing yards last week against Green Bay were Manning's most since Week 5.

That coincided with Victor Cruz's first 100-yard game since Week 4. As goes Cruz, so goes the Giants passing game.

That puts a great deal of pressure on the Dallas secondary to contain Cruz, and it's a good bet that whoever draws Cruz in coverage Sunday is going to get plenty of help over the top.

Hopefully they'll do better than Week 1, when Cruz caught five passes for 118 yards and three scores.

The Cowboys did win that game, though.

Alfred Morris vs. Frank Gore

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Monday night's contest between the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins features a pair of talented yet frustrated running backs.

With San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick and Washington's Robert Griffin both having awful seasons under center, it has fallen to Frank Gore and Alfred Morris to carry more of the load for their respective offenses.

For all the good it's done them, both backs have played well. Morris ranks third in the NFL with 918 rushing yards. Gore ranks inside the top 10 at his position, according to Pro Football Focus.

It's a pretty even matchup defensively as well. One would think that the 49ers run defense would be significantly better than Washington's, but the Redskins are only allowing about 11 more yards a game on the ground.

Given the struggles of their respective quarterbacks, whichever back has the better game may well determine who wins this matchup between desperate playoff teams from a year ago.

Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady

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Yes, I know that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning won't exactly be playing against one another Sunday night, but I'm cosmically required to mention the pair as a pair when they lock horns.

As well we should. The two have combined to form one of the great quarterback rivalries of all time. They have met 13 times down through the years, including twice with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

They split those AFC Championship Games. However, it's Brady who owns the clear edge in the series, having defeated Manning eight times while he was with the Indianapolis Colts as well as the last time the two met a year ago.

This game is a can't-miss affair, with Manning on pace to break Brady's single-season record for passing touchdowns and Brady and the Patriots trying to rebound from a loss at Carolina that left the Golden Boy dropping f-bombs on the officials.

Sure, there are other big matchups in this one. How will the New England defense handle the return of Wes Welker and the Denver wide receivers? How will Denver's defense handle the matchup nightmares that are Rob Gronkowski and Shane Vereen of the Patriots?

Still, all those offensive stars have one thing in common.

The passes they'll be catching will be coming from either Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

Wait until a commercial to use the facilities, or you'll miss two scores.