The Falcons felt the force that is Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly in the previous meeting.
He was all over the field as he rushed the passer on blitzes and dropped back in coverage. He finished with five tackles, one quarterback hit, a pass breakup and an interception.
The analytics crowd loves Kuechley.
He’s the No. 1 rated inside linebacker in the NFL by profootballfocus.com.
Kuechley has missed only three tackles this season and has the highest combined tackling efficiency of any inside linebacker in the NFL.
Kuechly, who starred at Boston College, is rated eighth in coverage snaps per reception at 12.2. So basically, he allows just one reception every 12.2 snaps he’s in coverage.
He’s also a terror when blitzing. He’s fifth in pass rushing productivity.
“I think, as a group, our defensive unit is playing very well,” Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. “I think, obviously with Luke in the leadership role, it has been very good for us. I think that he has really continued to grow as that middle linebacker for us. I think again, there are a whole bunch of guys that are playing very well for us right now.”
Kuechly leads the Panthers with 101 tackles. He has 65 solo tackles and 36 assists with a sack and two forced fumbles. He also has four interceptions.
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