Los Angeles Rams: Aqib Talib return critical for stretch run

The Los Angeles Rams defense will get a huge boost in Week 13 as cornerback Aqib Talib is expected to return after being out since Week 3.

Few teams have qualified as must-watch TV every week than the Los Angeles Rams. The second season under head coach Sean McVay has produced even more entertaining results than what we witnessed in the 2017 season. And, much to the delight of fans, that has resulted in monumental success as the Rams sit at 10-1 coming off of their bye week.

With the offensive guru at the helm of the team, that’s where the majority of their success has come from this season. In fact, their defense has been quite lackluster at times, at least in terms of giving up points.

Make no mistake, the Rams defense has made splash plays and been opportunistic, forcing timely turnovers, generating pressure and so on. In terms of consistency, though, the defense has been lacking. After all, they’ve allowed 20 or more points in each of their last nine games, even if they’re 8-1 over that stretch.

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However, the Rams are about to get a major boost in that regard. For their Week 13 matchup against the Detroit Lions, veteran cornerback Aqib Talib will likely make his return (per ESPN). The corner, who the Rams traded for this offseason, has been out and on IR since having ankle surgery after Week 3.

It’s worth noting that the Rams’ best defensive performances this season came in their first three weeks of the season when Talib was on the field. Granted, that could have had something to do with the level of competition, but having Talib on the field is huge.

In Talib’s absence, the Rams secondary has struggled a great deal, specifically Marcus Peters, who has been dealing with minor injuries himself for much of the year. However, when you have two cornerbacks of that caliber on the field at the same time, the defense is sure to benefit.

With the pass rush that Aaron Donald, Ndamukong Suh and the edge rushers in LA can bring, having that kind of talent in the secondary is going to be huge for the stretch run and into the postseason. They may not be the 1985 Chicago Bears in terms of their defensive prowess now, but they won’t be having to win shootouts every time that they play at this point.

It’s unknown how much Talib is going to play in Week 13, but his return in itself is massively important for the Rams. This is a team with Super Bowl aspirations and, with Talib in the fold, those chances become even more realistic.