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One of the most common things players and coaches talk about is winning one-on-one assignments. Yes, football is an 11-on-11 sport, but really, it's a series of one-on-ones. Lose too many of them, and the math is immediately against you. Win most of them, and your advantages grow exponentially.

With the NFL down to just eight teams, there are a ton of the league's best players prepared to shine on the biggest stage -- to turn the math in their team's favor. It may be just a key play here or there. It may be an advantage a team tries to capitalize on over and over. Either way, these are five of the most important individual battles to watch as the field narrows from eight teams to four.

(Note: All stats are from the regular season unless otherwise noted.)

Patriots OT Will Campbell vs. Texans EDGEs Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter

  • Campbell (No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft): Six sacks allowed, 4.7% pressure rate allowed (seventh among 35 tackles)
  • Anderson: 12 sacks (T-8th in NFL), 70 hurries (first), 21% pressure rate (first)
  • Hunter: 15 sacks (third in NFL), 59 hurries (fourth), 17.7% pressure rate (10th)

There's an argument about the "best" defense in the NFL, but the Texans have a straightforward path to being declared the "scariest," and it starts with Anderson and Hunter. We saw it in Houston's 30-6 wild card romp over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Anderson had a half-sack and forced fumble on Sheldon Rankins' scoop and score that broke the game open, and Hunter had a sack as well. They combined for 11 pressures.

Campbell has been mostly solid as a rookie blindside protector -- no easy task -- but he had a rough go of it in the Patriots' wild card win over the Los Angeles Chargers: five pressures and one sack allowed. It was just his second game back from a late-season knee injury, but that won't earn him any sympathy from Anderson and Hunter, who switch sides of the formation a decent amount and will be the toughest test this offensive line as a whole has faced. Drake Maye took five sacks against the Chargers.

Rams WR Puka Nacua vs. Bears CB Jaylon Johnson

  • Nacua: 129 receptions (first in NFL), 1,715 receiving yards (second), 666 yards after reception (third)
  • Johnson: 47.9 passer rating allowed as primary defender (16th in NFL); 0 rec TD allowed; PFF's No. 67 CB (out of 113)

This section could really read "Nacua vs. any Bears cornerback," considering how much Sean McVay moves his star wide receiver around. He'll line up on the right side, the left side and in the slot. It's an enormous challenge for Chicago.

Johnson will take on at least some of that challenge. A Pro Bowler in 2023 and 2024, Johnson played in just seven games this regular season after suffering two different groin injuries, including one that required surgery. His return has been up and down, as the numbers above indicate. He's given up a lot of big plays, but he's also made some of his own. Nacua will be his toughest test yet, not just in a coverage sense but in a tackling sense, too.

49ers WR Demarcus Robinson vs. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon

  • Robinson: 22 receptions, 276 yards, one touchdown (regular season); six receptions, 111 yards, one touchdown (playoffs)
  • Witherspoon: 8.9 yards per completion allowed (third out of 107 CBs); Pro Football Focus' No. 1 CB

That Robinson, a journeyman veteran on his third team in four years, is even on this list speaks volumes about the 49ers' injury issues. It's also a testament to both Robinson and the 49ers. Robinson showed impressive explosiveness and route running downfield, beating Eagles All-Pro Quinyon Mitchell multiple times.

Of course, Mitchell had plenty of success as well, picking off Brock Purdy twice. Purdy is willing to push the envelope on what he can and can't get away with, meaning there could be opportunities for Witherspoon. The second-team All-Pro will line up on both sides of the field, and Robinson has emerged as San Francisco's top non-running back target with Ricky Pearsall, Brandon Aiyuk and now George Kittle out.

Robinson and Witherspoon matched up just four times in the regular season. Robinson caught his only target against Witherspoon, but Witherspoon actually won the rep, stopping Robinson for a 1-yard gain on a crucial third-and-2.

Bills RB James Cook vs. Broncos EDGEs Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper

  • Cook: 1,621 rushing yards (first in NFL), 12 rush TD; 1,912 yards from scrimmage, 14 TD scored; 39 rushes of 10-plus yards (second)
  • Bonitto: 14 sacks (fifth in NFL), 19.4% pressure rate (second); PFF's No. 42 rush defense EDGE (out of 65)
  • Cooper: 8.0 sacks; PFF's No. 24 rush defense EDGE (out of 65)

Bonitto and Cooper are one of the NFL's premier pass-rushing duos, but the more important aspect Saturday could be how they hold up in the run game. The Bills are going to want to lean on their running game as much as possible, not only to limit Denver's fearsome pass rush but also to avoid having their underwhelming pass-catching group face a terrific secondary (more on that in a bit).

Cook has been terrific this season. He gashes teams between the tackles and outside of them. Cook had 149 carries out wide (behind the tackles or around the edges), the most in the NFL, and his 45.6% success rate on those carries was fourth-highest (minimum 100 carries).

Denver, meanwhile, ranked just 19th in defensive rushing success rate from Weeks 11-17. Bonitto and Cooper aren't weak run defenders by any stretch of the imagination -- Cooper in particular is active against the run -- but it's not their main strength, either. If they can hold up against the run, though, they'll get opportunities to attack Josh Allen.

Bills TE Dalton Kincaid vs. Broncos LB Alex Singleton

  • Kincaid: 39 receptions, 571 yards, five touchdowns
  • Singleton: 135 tackles, 1.0 sack; PFF's No. 31 coverage LB (out of 66)

It'd be easy to drop in Patrick Surtain II against a Bills wide receiver here, but the Bills are so injured at wide receiver that it's not a fair fight. Right now, it looks like it'd be 32-year-old Brandin Cooks vs. the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year. Cooks has had some nice moments, but pinning the responsibility of "winning" the matchup vs. Surtain isn't relevant. The Broncos' secondary is going to have a huge advantage pretty much across the board.

Rather, Kincaid vs. Singleton could be a more telling matchup. Kincaid battled a variety of injuries throughout the season, but he's a big, fast athlete who provides a vertical element to the Bills' passing game and can line up in a variety of spots. He and Dawson Knox could be the focal points of the passing attack; they combined for six catches for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It remains TBD how the Broncos will deal with this. Could they move Surtain onto Kincaid when he lines up as a wide receiver? Or slot cornerback Jahdae Barron? Singleton has been the Broncos' most-targeted primary defender against tight ends, though, so for now, we'll settle there. He's solid in this aspect and showed impressive range and recovery speed on this deep ball to Zach Ertz earlier this season.