Zach Cunningham will finish the 2020 regular season as the NFL's leading tackler with 159 total tackles (104 solo) through 16 starts.
The Houston Texans starting inside linebacker finished Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans with a team-high 13 tackles (eight solo), one tackle for loss and one forced fumble.
With 2:59 left in the third quarter against Tennessee, Cunningham forced a fumble on Titans running back Derrick Henry. Teammate Carlos Watkins recovered at the Titans' 28-yard line and the takeaway led to a one-yard touchdown run by David Johnson just three plays later to get the Texans within three points of Tennessee, trailing 31-28.
"Zach is an incredibly instinctive football player," defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. "I've said it over and over again. There's so many things that he does on the football field that you just can't teach. He finds the ball. He's aggressive. While he looks slight of build, he plays with physical power that you just don't see. I say that he's got ligament strength because you don't see it in terms of pure muscles."
In his fourth NFL season, Cunningham led the NFL with a single-season career-high in total tackles while also setting single-season career highs in sacks (3.0) and quarterback hits (four). Cunningham also posted seven tackles for loss and two passes defensed.
