5 most interesting matchups to watch Week 1

4. New England’s wide receivers versus Miami’s corners

Cam Newton is going to get all of the headlines heading into his team’s opener against the Dolphins. The reality is that Newton needs his wide receivers to win one-on-one battles against Miami’s corners if he’s going to have a big day.

New England will likely line up with Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry as their starters on the outside. On paper, that’s one of the weaker starting wide receiver duos in the league. Tom Brady made them look better than they actually were in 2019.

The problem for Edelman and Harry this week is that they’re playing against arguably the best group of cover corners in the NFL. Xavien Howard and Byron Jones both have big contracts, but they are both Pro Bowl-caliber corners. Throw in talented rookie Noah Igbinoghene as the Dolphins’ third option and it’s easy to see how this secondary can cause New England serious problems.

The good news for the Patriots is that they should be able to run the ball well enough to overcome this issue. It still shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if Miami really holds down Newton’s passing numbers in the opener. Their advantage on the outside is going to make it difficult for New England’s offense to produce big plays through the air.