Without J.J. Watt (injured reserve) and Jadeveon Clowney (trade to Seattle Seahawks), the Houston Texans’ defense needed to see productivity out of the rest of their front-seven. The two inside linebackers that played behind the two are doing just that.
Benardrick McKinney, a Pro Bowler in 2018, and Zach Cunningham, the team’s leader in tackles in 2018 (107), have emerged as one of the NFL’s better duos at the position.
“The inside backers are playing as good as anybody in the league,” said Texans coach Bill O’Brien on Wednesday. “I mean, B-Mac (McKinney) and Zach are really having good years.”
McKinney — who wears the “green dot,” indicating that he calls defensive plays and adjustments — has amassed 79 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, two pass deflections and a half-sack in 2019. According to Pro Football Reference, he has lowered his missed tackle rate by 3.9%.
Cunningham sits 10th in the NFL in total tackles (95). He has five tackles for loss, a pass deflection, quarterback hit and sack to boot. The third-year linebacker leads the Texans in tackles. Like McKinney, he has cut down on his missed tackles, dropping his rate by 2.2%.
“They’re very active, they’re very physical, very athletic,” said O’Brien. “Both are a little bit different in what they do, but — and I think that’s really important in this game.”
McKinney and Cunningham make for one of the NFL’s elite run-stuffing duos. The two take turns blitzing through multiple gaps. However, they aren’t quite widely considered to be the NFL’s best duo, in large part due to their coverage abilities.
McKinney and Cunningham have allowed 129.2 and 103.9 passer ratings in coverage in 2019, respectively, per PFR. Quarterbacks have thrown a 90.3% completion rate McKinney’s way, while Cunningham has allowed an 80% and 229 of 233 total receiving yards after the catch.
The two have shown improvement as coverage linebackers in 2019. If they can continue to build on it, the 27-year-old McKinney and 24-year-old Cunningham may grow from a very good pairing to an elite one.