The 10 best NFL player matchups of Week 3
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- Plenty of strong showdowns on Monday night: Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. Marlon Humphrey and Aidan Hutchinson vs. Ronnie Stanley are top-flight battles.
- A playoff rematch with rare implications: Jordan Verse was one of the few edge defenders to get the better of Jordan Mailata last year, and now the two face off yet again.
- Unlock your edge with PFF+: Access Premium Stats, dominate fantasy with in-season tools and projections and make smarter bets with the new PFF Player Prop Tool.
Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes
What made NFL Week 2 so exciting is true of every fresh slate of action: Watching individual star matchups. The ability to analyze some of the NFL’s brightest and most burgeoning stars clash with one another nearly every snap shouldn’t be taken for granted. Indeed, while one play can alter an entire game flow, the victor of Week 2’s top individual wars swayed the arrow of victory in their team’s direction.
Below are 10 head-to-head collisions to circle as you determine which games to prioritize watching and/or following this weekend.
After we were treated to a Super Bowl 59 rematch in Week 2 which lived up to the billing, Lions-Ravens on “Monday Night Football” should present another potential crystal ball look into a Super Bowl 60 matchup. When the Lions have the ball, all eyes will be on this duel.
Over the last few seasons, St. Brown has established himself as one of the NFL’s preeminent wide receivers. Since 2022, the Lions star leads all wideouts in PFF Wins Above Replacement, and he’s been just as dynamic in 2025. So far, St. Brown has registered an 87.0 PFF receiving grade, including an 83.3 mark in the slot — the sixth-best among qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Humphrey assembled a resurgent 2024 campaign, posting an 81.0 PFF coverage grade while playing 330 coverage snaps in the slot. This season, Humphrey has started a bit slower, generating a 55.1 PFF coverage grade and allowing a 140.1 passer rating when targeted in the slot, albeit with only 12.8 snaps per reception.
St. Brown will be Humphrey’s second difficult assignment in the young 2025 season. In Week 1, the 2024 All-Pro clashed with Bills receiver Khalil Shakir, yielding only one catch for 17 yards across 19 head-to-head coverage snaps.
Eagles-Rams features not only another playoff rekindling, but also a showdown between two of the best teams in the NFL. Part of what makes this game so intriguing is Nacua vs. DeJean.
For as prolific as St. Brown has been, Nacua has played even better. Over the last two years, Nacua’s 93.3 PFF receiving grade is the best in the league. The Rams standout especially excels in the slot, with his 90.9 PFF receiving mark leading all qualified wideouts on the interior this season.
DeJean was one of the umpteen excellent players on Philadelphia’s championship-caliber defense a season ago, producing an 86.3 overall PFF grade with an 84.2 PFF coverage grade. Since he broke into the NFL, the second-year cornerback sits in the 90th percentile in coverage grade from the slot (84.4).
Although Nacua’s slot usage rate sat near 30% in his first two seasons, that number has skyrocketed to 61.1% of his total snaps to begin 2025. When these squads battled during the 2024 divisional playoff, DeJean contained Nacua to one catch for 16 yards across eight coverage snaps. With no more Cooper Kupp on the inside in LA, expect these two wunderkinds to square off even more in Week 3.
It’s difficult to ask for much more than this in a trench — or really any — matchup, although the health of Darrisaw does put its existence into a bit of jeopardy.
Hendrickson, the NFL’s sack leader a season ago, has been just as disruptive following his sinuous contract drama this past offseason. The Bengals star leads the NFL with 14 pressures and sits fifth with a 29.0% pass-rush win rate, not displaying any signs of slowing down.
Darrisaw has quietly rounded into one of the NFL’s more underrated offensive tackles. Since the start of 2022, he ranks 12th in PFF WAR at the position, securing an 81.4 overall PFF grade in every campaign. When Darrisaw endured a torn ACL and MCL in Week 8, his loss proved to be one of the demises during the Vikings’ tremendous 2024 season.
After missing the inaugural two games of 2025, Darrisaw practiced this week, making this clash seem more probable. How well the Minnesota left tackle holds up for backup Carson Wentz will be critical as the Vikings — who, shockingly, sit 31st in EPA per play — search for offensive rhythm in the early stages of this season.
Jets-Buccaneers doesn’t present as an awfully entertaining contest in Week 3, especially with Justin Fields being sidelined with a concussion. Still, this micro-battle between two of the game’s best should be theater.
Evans, one of the NFL’s top receivers of this generation, remains an ageless wonder. The Tampa Bay stalwart hasn’t plateaued despite arriving at his age-30 seasons; if anything, he’s improved, reaching a 90.2 PFF receiving grade in 2024 — his best since 2016. Still, Evans has been a bit less productive to begin this season, churning out a 70.7 PFF receiving grade with 1.43 yards per route run and 107 total yards.
Following a bit of a down 2024 campaign, Gardner has rebounded to play like arguably the best cornerback in football. Gardner’s 85.2 overall PFF grade and 86.8 PFF coverage grade both rank no worse than second among qualified corners, and he also paces qualified corners in limiting separation rates.
In Week 1 against the Steelers, Gardner wholeheartedly accepted the challenge of shadowing D.K. Metcalf for the entire game — lining up against him on 27 snaps but surrendering only one catch. Expect another physical and regular war in Week 3.
Week 3’s “Sunday Night Football” showdown is a significant game for both winless teams, particularly the Chiefs. It also should spotlight two of the better interior players in the NFL.
Lawrence has been a force to be reckoned with over the past three years, in which he sits second among interior defenders in PFF WAR. After playing only 551 snaps in 2024 due to an elbow injury, Lawrence has returned in earnest, generating three pressures on a 78.0 PFF pass-rushing grade to begin 2025.
On the other side of the line of scrimmage sits Humphrey, who’s comfortably established himself as the league’s best center. For context, Humphrey has only permitted eight pressures and zero sacks across his last 856 opportunities.
If the Chiefs want their stagnant offense — which sits 18th in EPA per play and 15th in passing EPA per play — to reignite, they’ll need Humphrey to mitigate Lawrence up the middle. After all, the perimeter of Kansas City’s offensive line could have a tough task in handling Brian Burns and Abdul Carter.
This matchup proved to be one of the most resonant over the 2024 season, displaying the growth of one of the league’s ascending defensive players against a seasoned standout. Now, we’re presented with it a year later.
Verse turned in a monstrous rookie season with the Rams, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year via his 89 pressures, 85.5 PFF pass-rushing grade and 19.7% pass-rush win rate. The Florida State product has been nearly as good to start 2025, registering an 80.2 PFF pass-rushing mark with seven pressures on a 22.0% pass-rush win rate through the first two contests.
En route to his own decorated season, Mailata proved nearly untouchable against both the pass and run, finishing with a herculean 95.2 overall PFF grade. Philadelphia’s anchor has been just as tremendous as a run blocker in 2025, although he has already yielded four pressures and two hits through 61 opportunities.
Last season, Mailata only allowed three pressures in three separate games, and one of them came against the Rams and Verse in the postseason. Indeed, across 12 pass-rushing matchups between the two forces, Verse produced two pressures and a 16.2% pressure rate. Los Angeles will need an encore if it wants to move to 3-0 on the road in Philadelphia.
The two encounters between the Broncos and Chargers last season were each down-to-the-wire, spirited games. Now, the two teams battle in Week 3, presenting an excellent edge rusher-tackle matchup.
Bonitto announced his emergence in a major way last season, totaling 61 pressures with a 77.0 PFF pass-rushing grade. Fresh off of his four-year, $106 million extension, the 25-year-old has been even more unblockable. Through two games, Bonitto’s 33.3% pass-rush win rate is the highest in football among qualifiers, and he’s paired it with a 90.7 PFF pass-rushing grade.
Waiting across the formation will be Alt, who’s lived up to expectations as a top-10 pick at tackle. After playing almost exclusively right tackle in 2024 — to the tune of a 75.9 overall PFF grade — the Notre Dame alum switched sides following Rashawn Slater’s season-ending injury. That hasn’t proven any obstacle, as Alt has permitted only one pressure through 73 games against the Chiefs and Raiders.
In 2025, 68 of Bonitto’s 78 snaps have arrived along the right side of the defensive formation. To translate, we should see plenty of these two clashing heads in Week 3.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the chess match that is this game extends when the Lions have the ball, too.
In his return from a season-ending leg injury, Hutchinson has slowly but surely returned to his dominant self. Through two games, the Lions stud has compiled seven pressures on a 20.0% pass-rush win rate.
Stanley has demonstrated that he is one of the NFL’s strongest pass-protecting tackles, securing a 75.9 PFF pass-blocking grade or better in all of the past three seasons. However, he did have his hands full against Myles Garrett and the Browns in Week 2, allowing five pressures and two sacks on a 39.5 pass-blocking mark — his second-lowest since the start of 2024.
Hutchinson does rotate a bit around Detroit’s defensive formation more, playing 43 or more snaps across both sides of the line of scrimmage thus far in 2025. Still, that means that he and Stanley should lock arms throughout what figures to be a high-intensity affair Monday night.
Cardinals-49ers may be the sleeper game of Week 3, pitting two undefeated teams in the NFC West against one another. The flow of the contest could very easily be defined by this individual war.
Bosa, the NFL’s third-best edge rusher by PFF war from 2022-24, hasn’t skipped a beat to open 2025. The former Defensive Player of the Year has accrued nine pressures and two sacks through two games, featuring an 80.3 PFF pass-rushing grade and a 21.1% pass-rush win rate.
Johnson was one of the breakout stars of 2024, posting an 80.8 overall PFF grade with a 97.2 pass-blocking efficiency score. The former sixth overall pick has been just as effective in pass pro this season, yielding only one pressure on an 87.7 PFF pass-blocking grade.
While pass protection will be key in this matchup between former Ohio State stars — especially with uncertainty surrounding the 49ers’ quarterback situation — the run game is also one to watch. Bosa’s 61.7 PFF run-defense grade is well below his mark in the last three seasons, and Johnson’s 57.4 PFF run-blocking grade is nearly 20 points south of his grade in 2024.
Even when the Giants possess the ball on Sunday night, there should still be a high number of snaps in which two talented and competitive players frequently duel.
Nabers has seemingly elevated his game from a terrific rookie season. Through two weeks, the former LSU stud sits sixth in PFF receiving grade among qualifiers, compiling 2.70 yards per route run. Nabers was magnificent in Dallas in Week 2, earning an 84.3 PFF receiving grade during his 167-yard, two-touchdown performance.
Likewise, the All-Pro McDuffie has been solid to begin this year. McDuffie has allowed a catch on six of his 10 targets so far but has compiled a 67.4 PFF coverage grade, plus sits in the 91st percentile in single-coverage grade. He’s also added two pass breakups over 64 coverage snaps.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has utilized a swath of looks to open this new campaign, including 29 of his 125 coverage snaps coming in either Cover 1 or Cover 0. Even in Kansas City’s zone-dominant defense, expect McDuffie to align in man coverage with Nabers at least several times.
