Welcome to All-32, a game-by-game preview of every matchup on the NFL slate each week. The goal is to provide a look at the most critical part of each game with a marriage of data and film study. As the season rolls along, the focus will narrow in on the specifics, but for this week, many of the featured players and units are big-picture projections for the teams in question.

If you're interested in our game picks, you can find them on this page.

Let's get to it. All times listed as Eastern.

Key Player/Unit: NYG RB Saquon Barkley

This is not the first time Saquon Barkley has been spotlighted here, and it will not be the last. Barkley only ranks 13th in rushing DYAR, a bit lower than some of the other lead backs in run-centric offenses, but it's clear how much better the Giants offense looks this year when he is rolling. The offense simply does not generate explosive plays without him.

Four of New York's five plays of at least 25 yards have been handoffs to Barkley. Two of those were in the opener against the Titans, but he ripped off his third against the Cowboys in Week 3 and his most recent one against the Bears last week. Moreover, Barkley has 12 runs of at least 10 yards, a figure that trails only Nick Chubb. All of that is true despite Barkley being hit before or at the line of scrimmage on 46.4% of his carries, the fifth-highest mark (min. 50 carries) according to Sports Info Solutions.

A big play was bound to happen with Barkley seeing 31 carries last week. Running at a defense that many times with a runner as explosive as Barkley forces the defense to be perfect rep after rep, and the Bears defense isn't perfect. In this clip, Al-Quadin Muhammad (55) and Eddie Jackson (4) have a miscommunication about who is taking which gap. Both of them end up in the A-gap (between guard and center). It would be pretty bold to send a safety through the A-gap, so I am more inclined to believe Jackson was either wrong or going rogue, but the unforced error still makes the point that one mistake in a run fit versus someone of Barkley's caliber can turn into an explosive play in an instant.

Through four weeks, the Packers defense ranks dead last in adjusted line yards and 28th in run defense DVOA. Their run defense issues are more about giving up consistent gains rather than being gashed for explosive plays repeatedly, but Barkley will still get his chances versus this unit. If Barkley can rip off a couple of long runs, the Giants might have a chance to hang around in this game.

Key Player/Unit: PIT QB Kenny Pickett

Last week's All-32 speculated that the Jets game would be make-or-break for the Steelers' quarterback situation. Well, it broke, and now Kenny Pickett is being fed into the woodchipper that is the Bills defense for his first NFL start.

Pickett got one half versus the Jets to warm up for this game. The Jets were the worst pass defense by DVOA through the first three weeks of the season. The pass rush has not been as good as the investments at the position suggest, while everyone but rookie cornerback Ahmad Gardner looks lost on the back end. Pickett had a ripe opportunity to show up big in his first outing, but he fell flat.

Pickett's second interception captured all of what should have been concerning about his profile coming out of college. On the second-and-15 clip above, Pickett shows no interest in stepping up into the pocket. Both edges are getting beat around the edge, but the interior of the pocket is spacious enough for an NFL quarterback to move into, be that to hit the receiver crossing over the deep middle, to check the ball down, or take off to scramble. Pickett chooses the fourth, very bad option of shuffling backwards and panic-throwing a late pass to the flat, which every quarterback in the history of the sport has been told explicitly to not do. It's not Pickett's fault the bounce off Pat Freiermuth's hands produces an interception, but putting the ball in that position in the first place is a huge sign of Pickett's unreadiness right now.

To his credit, Pickett made a couple of nice throws at different points in the game, like one middle-of-the-field throw to Freiermuth that required him to take a hit in the pocket. Mitch Trubisky was not doing much of that through three and a half weeks. Still, Pickett needs to shape up quickly, not just for this week, but for the gauntlet the Steelers have to run over the next month or so to keep their season alive.

Key Player/Unit: CLE DL

If the Browns defensive line cannot play respectably in this matchup, they never will. The Chargers rushing offense ranks 30th in DVOA and they are the only team in the NFL averaging less than 3 yards per carry. Lead back Austin Ekeler has done his best to manage an injured offensive line, but still ranks 30th out of 39 qualifying running backs in success rate and only has four carries of over 10 yards.

The Browns have been as bad, if not worse, at defending the run. Cleveland ranks 30th in run defense DVOA. Part of that can be attributed to their scheme—the Browns love to play quarters on early downs, which are more often run downs—but it goes beyond that. The Browns defensive line is putrid, as evidenced by their spot at 31st in adjusted line yards. They went into the season with Taven Bryan, Jordan Elliott, and Tommy Togiai as their core interior players, none of whom hold the point of attack or handle double teams very well. Even the rookie they drafted in the third round, Perrion Winfrey, is more or less the same player as Bryan: a gap-shooter with no real game sense or changeup.

Injuries at linebacker have only made things worse. In this clip, backup Jacob Phillips (50), filling in for an injured Anthony Walker, lets the fullback get the jump on him and box him inside. When playing an eight-man box like this, the linebacker should always know his help is inside and should do what he can to force the play to where his help is. Phillips should be playing full steam ahead to the fullback's outside shoulder, forcing the play to cut back inside to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Phillips instead stops his feet, allows the fullback to have his way, and lets the running back spring free for a new set of downs.

Stopping the run may not be enough to slow down the Chargers offense overall since Justin Herbert is a superhuman, but this defensive front needs to pass this bare-minimum test or else their defense will not have any hope of figuring itself out this season.

Key Player/Unit: HOU S Jalen Pitre

The Jaguars offense is at its best when it is targeting the intermediate-to-deep middle area of the field. Whether it's Christian Kirk on over routes, vertical throws to Jamal Agnew and Zay Jones, or in-breakers to Marvin Jones, the offense thrives when Trevor Lawrence can showcase his anticipation and arm strength between the numbers.

Rookie safety Jalen Pitre is Houston's best weapon for neutralizing that aspect of the Jaguars passing attack. Through four games, Pitre has been a menace, both against the run and the pass. Pitre is a sharp processor with an itch to fly downfield and hit people, which makes him uniquely equipped to handle all of the Jaguars' middle-of-the-field routes.

Pitre flashed that ability in Week 1 versus the Colts. In the clip above, Pitre (5) is playing as the weak safety in quarters. After the tight end breaks outside to the flat and the wide receiver starts to bend his route outside, Pitre knows he does not have any threats to worry about to that side of the field anymore. Pitre is free to "poach" back to the middle of the field. He does just that, taking out Alec Pierce over the middle before the receiver could haul in the pass. Pitre was (unfairly) penalized for the hit, but it's hard not to appreciate the rookie's processing in his debut.

The Texans need Pitre to be on high alert all game to help take away Lawrence's preferred area of the field. It won't be an easy task, especially with a middling linebacker corps supporting him, but Pitre has the potential to make it happen.

Key Player/Unit: CHI CB Kyler Gordon

Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye was the subject of last week's "throw at him" spotlight. Now another NFC North corner follows in his footsteps: Bears rookie nickelback Kyler Gordon.

Among the 79 cornerbacks to be targeted at least 10 times this season, Gordon's 2.4 yards allowed per snap ranks dead last (per Sports Info Solutions). Gordon is also allowing 0.82 EPA per target, second-to-last behind Jalen Mills. Moreover, Gordon has surrendered at least 1.0 EPA on half of his 18 targets, comfortably the highest mark in the league. No matter what angle you look at the numbers from, Gordon ranks at the bottom or close to it.

Unfortunately for him, the Vikings can test slot cornerbacks better than anyone. Justin Jefferson, arguably the best receiver in the league, leads the team with 25 routes run from the slot, per Sports Info Solutions. Adam Thielen and KJ Osborn each have at least 10 routes from the slot this season as well. Thielen is still as slippery as ever and Osborn's speed can be devastating at times, like it was when he worked Lions cornerback Mike Hughes repeatedly at the end of the game in Week 3.

Expect Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell to base his entire game plan around getting favorable matchups and scenarios for whomever he puts in the slot against Gordon.

Key Player/Unit: NE Rushing Offense

New England's quarterback situation is up in the air this week. Either a hobbled Mac Jones will re-enter the lineup or third-string rookie Bailey Zappe will make his first NFL start. Regardless of who gets the nod, the Patriots won't be at full strength at the position. The Patriots run game is going to need to continue the excellence they have shown through the first month of the season in order to carry the offense.

More specifically, the Patriots must lean into their gap running schemes. Per Sports Info Solutions, the Patriots have run 37 plays of duo, wham, or anything with a puller, the seventh-highest mark in the league. Not only do they rank fourth in EPA per attempt on those rushes, but they have been stuffed at the line on just one of those 37 plays, which speaks to the team's consistency on those runs.

The Lions, conversely, have been terrible against those same run concepts, which is odd considering how much of it they must see in practice against their own offense. Opposing offenses have only run 18 such plays at the Lions defense this season, the fifth-fewest in the league, but they have been highly effective. The Lions defense is dead last in both yards per attempt allowed (8.6) as well as EPA per attempt allowed (0.39) on those runs, per Sports Info Solutions.

Just last week, the Seahawks hit the Lions with seven of those runs and netted 108 yards and two touchdowns. Neither Damien Harris nor Rhamondre Stevenson are as explosive as Rashaad Penny, but the Patriots offensive line should still have little issue blocking up good, consistent gains with gap running schemes.

Key Player/Unit: SEA OTs Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas

The Saints pass rush finally came alive for the first time all season in last week's game against the Vikings. They earned 16 pressures, good for seventh most in Week 4 and accounting for nearly half of their 35 pressures on the season. Granted, the Vikings offensive line is not the toughest challenge, but it was still a much-needed "pick me up" game for Dennis Allen's defense.

Seahawks rookie tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas will be put to the test if the Saints can carry their momentum into this week. Geno Smith, for all his success this season, is still a quarterback who wants to hang onto the ball. He is more than willing to hang in the pocket, exhaust his progressions, and take a hit to deliver a pass, sometimes to his detriment. Smith's 2.84s average time to throw is the ninth-highest mark in the NFL right now, sandwiched between Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, Marcus Davenport suffered a foot injury last Sunday that will keep him out for the rest of the year, so at least they can avoid him. Cam Jordan was a terror last week, though, and the Saints are getting rotational player Carl Granderson back from an eye injury. Cross and Lucas need to keep the Saints' power rushers at bay to allow Smith the time to pick apart a good-not-great secondary.

Key Player/Unit: NYJ QB Zach Wilson/NYJ OL

The Dolphins defense loves to crowd the line of scrimmage, then drop some of those players out to cover. What is gained in pass-rush manipulation by doing that is lost in coverage soundness. Players have to sprint to their spots in zone rather than slowly work to them while eyeing the quarterback. Some linebackers, as well as edge players, just are not comfortable doing that consistently.

While the Dolphins have had success pressuring the quarterback with those looks, they also tend to get gashed when they do not get home right away. It's a high-risk, high-reward concept and the Dolphins have seen both sides of it. The volatile play style, on top of a shaky cornerback group, has the Dolphins pass defense at 31st in DVOA.

In order to beat the Dolphins' chaotic style, the offense has to be able to get into the right protections and/or get the ball out of the quarterback's hands quickly. Teams have largely struggled to do the former against the Dolphins. For example, the Bills and Patriots regularly blew protections against the Dolphins in their matchups, especially on clear passing downs. The Ravens, on the other hand, did a proper job in Week 2 to keep extra bodies in protection and fend off Miami's pressure packages.

Zach Wilson and the Jets offensive line have to prove they can handle that. Lucky for Wilson, Mike LaFleur's under-center, Shanahan-style scheme naturally helps pass protection with all of its play-action and bootlegs out of the pocket, but the Jets will inevitably end up in clear dropback passing situations this game. Wilson needs to show he has the mental side of the game down a bit better in his second season and the offensive line needs to do its part to carry out those protection calls effectively.

Key Player/Unit: ATL QB Marcus Mariota

The Falcons probably won't win this game, but their offense matches up exceptionally well with the Bucs defense, at least in theory. Todd Bowles' defense is centered around being in nickel personnel and creating havoc up front with an assortment of unhinged pressures and blitzes. The best offensive counterpunch is to stay in base personnel and run the ball. Staying in base personnel puts heavier bodies on the field and limits some of Bowles' creative pressure coverages, while running the ball from 12/21 personnel, especially from under center, can limit how creative defenses get with their fronts and dissuade them from chaotic early-down calls.

Arthur Smith has been doing that to defenses all season. The Falcons offense plays out of heavier personnel sets as much as they can and have run the ball exceptionally well, currently sitting at second in DVOA. The offensive line looks much quicker and more explosive, especially at center, on top of the chemistry benefits of having another year in the system for the unit to gel. The Bucs are no slouches on run defense, but the Falcons should be able to stick to their game plan.

The second part of the equation is that Marcus Mariota needs to make the most of the opportunities afforded to him, especially down the field. Mariota's numbers to this point in the year have been fine—he ranks 18th in DYAR and 15th in QBR—but he regularly leaves yards on the field when he tries to push the ball vertically.

This can't happen for legitimate starting quarterbacks in the NFL. The Browns are playing an aggressive quarters coverage with the weak (bottom) safety pinning down on the crossing route coming from right to left. That's exactly what the Falcons offense wants as it gives Damiere Byrd (14) a free one-on-one with access to an open middle of the field on a post route. Mariota should leave this ball up the left hash for the receiver to run under. Despite the perfectly clean pocket, he struggles to control his delivery as he musters all of his strength to heave it down the field, leaving the ball in an impossible position to track over the receiver's outside shoulder.

With the way Smith is calling plays right now, opportunities down the field will open up. Mariota needs to hit them if the Falcons want any chance of beating the Bucs. That will be especially true if tight end Kyle Pitts, who has been battling hamstring issues, misses Sunday's game.

Key Player/Unit: TEN DL

Carson Wentz is the most sackable quarterback in the NFL besides Justin Fields. Wentz plays as if passes don't count unless he takes a hit, which means he has no problem standing around in the pocket. Wentz will wait endlessly for someone to come open while two or three pass-rushers swarm in unbeknownst to him.

The Titans pass rush is good enough to take advantage of that. Despite losing Harold Landry early on, the Titans still rank 10th in pressures and 16th in adjusted sack rate. Neither figure is elite, but between Jeffrey Simmons, Denico Autry, and all the funky pressure packages defensive coordinator Shane Bowen sends, they still have the tools to be an annoying pass-rush unit.

If the Titans can get home versus Wentz a few times early, as well as get their own running game going when they have the ball, they may be able to get out to a strong lead in the first half and choke the Commanders out of the rest of the match.

Key Player/Unit: CAR QB Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield is making a strong case as the worst starting quarterback in the league. Even backups such as Cooper Rush and Joe Flacco have outplayed Mayfield. The only quarterbacks close to matching Mayfield's putrid blend of film, stats, and vibes are Justin Fields and Mitchell Trubisky. Fields at least has the excuse of relative inexperience and a receiver corps worse than a handful of college teams, but Trubisky just got benched. Mayfield may follow soon if things don't shape up.

The most common pushback against Mayfield's struggles is that he's playing behind a poor offensive line, and that's fair. The Panthers offensive line is bad. Rookie left tackle Ikem Ekwonu has struggled, Pat Elflein is a bottom-tier center, and right guard Austin Corbett hasn't quite been what they thought they paid for this offseason. They have put Mayfield in plenty of compromising positions.

Mayfield is still bad when he isn't pressured, though. Per Sports Info Solutions, Mayfield's -12.9 EPA on non-pressured dropbacks is the worst in the NFL (min. 50 attempts). Sports Info Solutions also has stats called "Boom%" and "Bust%," which are the percentage of plays in which the offense gains 1.0 EPA on a given play (Boom) or loses 1.0 EPA on a given play (Bust). It's effectively a way to measure explosive plays through the lens of EPA. Through four weeks, Mayfield has the lowest Boom% and the highest Bust% on non-pressured dropbacks in the league.

Now Mayfield gets a frenzied 49ers squad, the leader in defensive DVOA through four weeks. Demeco Ryans is going to put Mayfield through hell with and without pressure, and it will be on Mayfield to step up for the first time this season and prove he's actually better than Sam Darnold … or else whomever is coaching next week's game might give Darnold his job back.

Key Player/Unit: ARI Defensive Line

I don't think this game will be close. The Eagles are one of the best and most complete teams in the sport right now, while the Cardinals constantly look like they are being run by a high school senior throwing together a science project on the morning it's due. The vibes and level of stability radiating from each franchise could not be any different.

However, if the Cardinals are going to stand a chance, it will start with creating havoc in the run game. Just like last season, the Cardinals are a net-good run defense which lacks consistency but generates explosive plays. Per Sports Info Solutions, the Cardinals allow a positive run (EPA higher than 0.0) 44.4% of the time, 10th-highest in the league. They also rank second in stuff percentage (30.9%) as well as second in percentage of plays in which the offense loses at least 1.0 EPA (9.9%), which speaks to the chaos Vance Joseph loves to generate up front.

It's more likely than not that the Eagles just steamroll them anyway. The Eagles rank sixth in rushing DVOA, which feels like it still undersells how effective and versatile their run game has been. The offensive line is blocking their butts off on every concept you can think of and Jalen Hurts is supplementing the run game in a way only two or three other quarterbacks in the league can.

Still, if the Cardinals are going to have a shot, it will be by putting the Eagles behind the sticks with tackles for loss in the run game.

Key Player/Unit: DAL WR Michael Gallup

Michael Gallup was a godsend for the Cowboys offense in Week 4. That seems like a ridiculous thing to say after a 2-24-1 performance, but Gallup offered so much more beyond the basic box score.

For one, Gallup was moving the chains by picking up penalty calls. Gallup earned a defensive pass interference call at the end of the third quarter, moving the Cowboys from their own 27-yard line to Washington's 35. Cooper Rush fired a touchdown to CeeDee Lamb two plays later. Midway through the fourth, Gallup got another 27-yard defensive pass interference call that moved the Cowboys offense to midfield on the first play of the drive.

More importantly, Gallup's presence frees up Lamb to work from the slot and be the move-around piece. In previous matches, Lamb was often having to sacrifice slot snaps for the Cowboys to get their best receiver outside or non-threatening options would line up outside, offering very little to attract attention away from Lamb. That's not as much of an issue with Gallup back in the lineup to be the offense's X receiver.

Key Player/Unit: CIN TE Hayden Hurst and WR Tyler Boyd

Ravens defensive coordinator Mike McDonald is not as unhinged as Wink Martindale, but he still has a few screws loose. McDonald has committed to a pressure-heavy defense in Baltimore, a style of defense that often features a ton of moving pieces before and after the snap. While the Ravens are better than they were a year ago, all the commotion they opt into up front has left them susceptible to easy completions at times.

To be more specific, the holes in that style of defense tend to be in the short-to-intermediate area between the numbers. That's where all the moving pieces start or end up. Naturally, holes in zones can be left open for a bit depending on where the zone dropper is coming from, or the zone dropper can be someone who normally should not be covering, like an edge rusher. The Ravens have typically done this a lot with Tyus Bowser, but Odafe Oweh has taken on the burden as of late.

In the clip above, the Ravens are rotating late to a three-deep, three-under coverage. The three "under" defenders are the safety rolling down to replace the blitzing safety to the top of the screen, linebacker Patrick Queen (6), and Oweh (99) off the edge. Either Oweh forgets he is supposed to drop for a second or is trying to sell himself as a pass-rusher before getting depth. Either way, tight end Dawson Knox (88) has no issue sliding past Oweh to give Josh Allen an easy target.

Naturally, the players best equipped to beat that kind of defense that way are the ones already lined up there. Bengals tight end Hayden Hurst and slot receiver Tyler Boyd should get plenty of chances to maneuver funky coverage rotations like this. If Joe Burrow can keep his cool and manage the pressure looks, the Bengals have a shot to pick apart the Ravens defense over the middle.

Key Player/Unit: KC DL Chris Jones

Chris Jones has been obliterating offensive lines week after week as a pass-rusher this year. Through four weeks, Jones leads in ESPN's pass-rush win rate at 26%, barely edging out Aaron Donald (of course) at 25%. Jones' 11 pressures are also tied for fourth among defensive linemen alongside Atlanta's Grady Jarrett, another interior pass-rusher who got some shine in this column a few weeks ago. As a cherry on top, Jones is the only defensive tackle in the league with two passes swatted down at the line of scrimmage.

That is not the kind of matchup a triaged Raiders interior offensive line wants to deal with. Besides giving up on 2021 first-round pick Alex Leatherwood before the season, the Raiders have shuffled around their interior offensive line a lot. Andre James missed Weeks 2 and 3 at center, forcing rookie guard Dylan Parham to fill in for him before moving back to guard for Week 4. Guard John Simpson was replaced by Alex Bars in Week 3.

No combination the Raiders can trot out will have very much chemistry together, nor do any of them have the individual talent to battle with Jones for four quarters. Derek Carr has generally done well to get the ball out quickly this year and help his offensive line, but he can only do so much. There will be plays where Carr needs to hang onto the ball, which in turn means his guards will be holding on for dear life as Jones rampages his way to the quarterback.

This article first appeared on Football Outsiders and was syndicated with permission.

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