In what's arguably considered the premiere matchup of the day, the New England Patriots (2-2) will face off against the Denver Broncos (2-2) in Week 5 of NFL action. Although most of the chatter has been about the offensive battle that will take place between future Hall of Fame QB's Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, the outcome of the game should ultimately be affected by a couple of key matchups.

In terms of his short game, Manning will look to effectively hit WR's Brandon Stokeley and Eric Decker. However, if he's looking to go deep, his primary target should be Demaryius Thomas, who has two touchdowns and is averaging five catches and 81 yards per game. To combat against Manning's deep passing game, the Patriots will most likely use either Devin McCourty or Kyle Arrington.

New England will be without the injured star TE Aaron Hernandez, but will still bring a strong offense against the Broncos. QB Tom Brady will most certainly look to fill some of the void by utilizing their other star TE Rob Gronkowski, who is also one of the most dangerous threats on the team. With his massive size and speed, he can become a huge problem really quickly for the Denver defense really. Gronkowski already has 19 receptions this year and 14 of them have resulted in first downs.

Although the Broncos looked impressive overall in their 37-6 Week 4 win over the Oakland Raiders, they did suffer a considerable loss at center when J.D. Walton went down for the year with a broken ankle.

Luckily for Denver, they do have a talented backup in former Patriot, Dan Koppen, who played solid in the remainder of Sunday's game against the Raiders. However, Koppen will have his work cut out for against New England's Vince Wilfork, who's widely considered one of the most brutal defensive linemen in the NFL today.

In order for the Broncos to utilize their running game, they must effectively keep Wilfork away from the football. Also, Denver will need guards Manny Ramirez and Zane Beadles to step up alongside Koppen for the Manning and his offense to maximize their yardage.

CLICK HERE to watch the Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots via live stream. Coverage will begin at 4:25 PM ET.

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NFL., Television