No one will dispute that Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is a disruptive force of nature, but against the Carolina Panthers, his performance was pedestrian at best. He finished the game three tackles (one solo), one tackle for loss, and one QB hit.
To his credit, the quarterback hit was a huge play that forced a key interception in the third quarter.
Including the four plays that were ultimately wiped out by penalties, Suh saw a lot of action against the Panthers. He was on the field for 62 of 72 defensive snaps (including two field goal attempts and one two-point conversion attempt).
To limit Suh's impact on the game, the Panthers employed two strategies. First, they double-teamed him a lot. Factoring out the field goal attempts, Suh had to deal with at least two Panthers' blockers on 38 snaps (63.3 percent). Suh was still able to get some penetration against the double-teams, but rarely put the quarterback under duress.
When the Panthers were doubling down on Suh, the Lions didn't do enough to capitalize on other defenders facing single-coverage. Cliff Avril, the defensive end typically to Suh's side, got little pressure on Panther's quarterback Cam Newton. Defensive tackle Corey Williams, who generally lines up besides Suh, picked up a nice tackle for loss on running back DeAngelo Williams because Suh absorbed the double-team on the play, but it was Williams lone tackle on the afternoon.
When the Panthers didn't commit a second blocker on Suh, it was usually because they had a run called to the opposite side of the field or they were using the defensive tackle's penetration against him with screens and quarterback runs to his vacated spot.
Both of Newton's touchdown runs were in Suh's area. On the first, an 11-yard scramble in the second quarter, Suh bullied his blocker into the backfield with ease, but Newton was able to sneak by the pass rush into the open lane. In the fourth quarter, Suh was unable to make a play despite being unblocked as Newton followed his center and guard on a QB sneak for the four-yard score.
Note, Suh didn't have a bad game, just a quiet one. It was clear the Panthers focused on limiting his impact, and did so quite effectively.
On the other side of the coin, rookie Nick Fairley had a quality performance. Playing less than half the snaps of Suh (29), Fairley posted identical stats (three tackles, one QB hit) as his teammate. Fairley was very disruptive, closing down running lanes and pressuring Newton in the backfield on a number of occasions.