5 winners and losers from the Carolina Panthers win vs. Texans in Week 8

Winner No. 2

Frankie Luvu - Carolina Panthers LB

It's hard to put into words how special Frankie Luvu was against the Houston Texans. The Carolina Panthers haven't had such a dominant performance from a linebacker since Luke Kuechly was flying all over the field, which lent further support to the claims he should be extended at the earliest possible opportunity.

Luvu was nothing short of sensational. He seemed to be around the football almost constantly, coming up with countless important tackles and displaying the sort of energy that's made him a fan favorite since joining the franchise in free agency from the New York Jets.

This is reflected in Luvu's statistics. The Washington State product secured 12 tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, one pass defended, and one quarterback hit - inspirational numbers from an integral part of Carolina's defensive strategy.

Speculation about whether Luvu might be traded before the deadline was always an asinine thought, although nothing could have been ruled out if the Panthers had lost this game. This is the sort of player everyone feeds off and looking at his current trajectory, he could end up being Carolina's next great second-level presence.

That's a high bar from which to aim. But switching Luvu to the inside within Ejiro Evero's 3-4 base scheme was a masterstroke by the coaching staff and hopefully, these strong performances can continue throughout 2023 and way beyond.