It seemed as if the Los Angeles Rams were dealt a significant blow when Aqib Talib was placed on injured reserve with a rib injury. Losing a key veteran starter is never something a team wants, but Talib’s replacement has actually been somewhat of an upgrade recently.
Troy Hill played extremely well on Sunday against the Bengals, continuing what’s been a solid stretch for the cornerback. He was recognized by Pro Football Focus for his performance in Week 8, making the site’s Team of the Week with an overall grade of 85.5.
He was predictably joined by Cooper Kupp, who went off for 220 yards on seven catches, absolutely torching the Bengals secondary in London.
No cornerback was targeted more than Los Angeles’ Troy Hill in Week 8, and he still finished second in overall grade at his position in Week 8. He allowed just three receptions from 11 targets for 45 yards, zero touchdowns and two first downs. He also recorded three forced incompletions and zero missed tackles in coverage.
Hill had a key pass breakup along the goal line and was in coverage on an incompletion the following play, helping keep the Bengals out of the end zone. As PFF pointed out, he did allow three catches for 45 yards, but eight of the passes that came his way were incomplete.
As for Kupp, he earned an elite 91.3 receiving grade and 91.1 overall grade, forcing one missed tackle in the open field.
Kupp was unstoppable in the Rams’ win over Cincinnati. He caught seven of his 10 targets for 220 yards, six first downs and one touchdown in the contest, earning an elite 91.3 receiving grade in the process. He also forced one missed tackle and caught one of his two contested targets.
The Rams need strong play from both players moving forward with Brandin Cooks suffering a concussion and Talib still on IR.
