Five Key Matchups: Broncos at Cardinals

This year's fifth-overall pick, Bradley Chubb, and the 10th-overall pick, Josh Rosen, got to know one another throughout the NFL draft process. Fresh off a three-sack performance, Chubb hopes to get to know him a little better on Thursday by burying him in the backfield. Chubb leads all rookies with 4.5 sacks, and according to Von Miller, this is only the beginning: "I've been telling him every week, 'This is going to be the week. This is going to be the week,' and this week was the week," Miller said Sunday. "Next week is going to be the week as well for him, and the week after that. He's just now getting started. I'm proud of him."

With a combined 11 Pro Bowl selections between them, Demaryius Thomas and Patrick Peterson's battle on the outside pits two of the most accomplished players over the past decade. Thomas caught another touchdown against the Rams — his team-leading third this year and second in two games — and also reeled in a 45-yard heave from Case Keenum up the sideline. But Peterson will certainly challenge the Broncos' big wideout. Peterson has been a Pro Bowler in each of his seven seasons — six times selected as a cornerback and once as a returner — and has already secured an interception and a fumble recovery this year. Peterson's combination of size and speed is what makes him one of the game's best, but Thomas has shown over the past couple of weeks that he's still a big-play threat at any time.

It's been a tough few weeks for the Broncos' run defense, and if that's going to get fixed, Todd Davis will likely be a key part of it. The team captain leads the team with 40 combined tackles, and he has his hands full again with David Johnson lining up in the Arizona backfield. A versatile player, Johnson led the league in total yards in 2016 before missing nearly all of the 2017 season. This year he's registered five touchdowns on the ground and another one through the air. On Thursday night, expect Davis to be covering a lot of ground as he hopes to get this run defense back on track.

It doesn't get much better than this: two veterans at the top of their respective positions going toe-to-toe. Fitzgerald is off to a bit of a slow start this season, but the 11-time Pro Bowler can make a clutch catch at any time, as opposing defenses have learned over his Hall of Fame-worthy career. Fitzgerald is yet to find the end zone this year, but with his big frame, Josh Rosen could look his way in the red zone on Thursday. But nothing comes easy against Chris Harris Jr., who leads the team with six passes defensed. Harris has been as steady as ever while often defending other teams' top receivers. He's yet to bring in his first interception, but it could come against a rookie quarterback.

Garett Bolles' task of facing some of the league's top defenders won't get any easier this Thursday when he faces off against Chandler Jones. With 5.5 sacks, Jones is tied for fifth in the league one year after an NFL-best 17.0 sacks last season. Jones, who came to the Cardinals from New England ahead of the 2016 season, is one of the game's best sack artists and has terrorized opposing offenses for the past several seasons. He has at least one sack in five of the Cardinals' six games this year. Bolles, alongside new left guard Max Garcia, will need to be up to the task.