Darius Leonard's Big Day Lands Him On Pro Football Focus' 'Team Of The Week'

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Leonard had a higher grade than any NFL defender in Week 14, also earning the highest single-game grade of his young career. He finished the game with nine tackles (one for loss), two interceptions (that he combined to return 91 yards) and the first defensive touchdown of his career. According to PFF, as a pass rusher Leonard had three quarterback hurries, and he earned four "stops," which they constitute as a play that's "failure" for the offense. In coverage, Leonard was targeted eight times, allowing five catches for 36 yards (7.2 avg.) and a passer rating 33.3 when targeted. Per PFF:


"Darius Leonard made the biggest defensive play of the game by dropping back from close to the line of scrimmage to intercept a Winston pass and take it back for a touchdown. That play was a highlight of an overall great day in pass coverage for Leonard... There wasn’t much that Leonard didn’t do against the Bucs. He picked off two passes, including a pick-six, and he collected a couple of stops in the run game. He also didn’t allow a single first down on eight targets in his coverage, and he only missed one tackle on 11 attempts."