It appears that both Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib will be unable to go when the Minnesota Vikings take on the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
It’s been a week of bad news for the Minnesota Vikings, but in advance of their Thursday Night Football matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, there appears to be some good news on the horizon.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Rams are expected to be without cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib when they take the field on Thursday evening due to injuries suffered in their 35-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
The loss of Talib and Peters is a significant one for a Rams defense that got an overhaul this past offseason. Both were functioning well as the top two corners for Los Angeles and were lynchpins in defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ defense that was allowing just under 200 passing yards and 12 points per game through Sunday.
The news is terrific on the other side of the fence after the Vikings struggled mightily against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3.
Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins finished with a respectable line of 296 passing yards, one touchdown, and an interception. But it also took Cousins 55 passing attempts to do so against a Bills team that had been steamrolled during the previous two weeks.
The Rams’ injuries will likely mean that Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen will be going up against fourth-year corner Troy Hill and veteran Sam Shields.
If Cousins and the rest of the Vikings’ offense can find their footing better than they did a week ago, it will be a major matchup for them to exploit.