Three thoughts off the Carolina Panthers’ 45-21 shellacking of the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.
1. The NFL—but most importantly, Carolina—is much better when Luke Kuechly is on the field. He’s the best middle linebacker in football (Bobby Wagner is second) and has been since his second year in the league. With 47 seconds left in the first half, Jay Cutler looked deep to the sideline for Julius Thomas as the Dolphins attempted to get into field-goal range and tie the game at 10 before half. Kuechly, having clearly seen this route combination on film, rode Thomas to the sideline and then jumped the route to pick off Cutler.