The Los Angeles Rams sit at 9-1, on the verge of clinching the division before December. Yet the record belies the underlying fact that the defense hasn't been nearly as dominant as expected heading into the season.
Outside of Aaron Donald destroying offenses, the Rams' defense has struggled with consistency. L.A. has been gashed on the ground and pillaged by big plays.
Corner Marcus Peters has been the player most picked on by opposing quarterbacks, allowing a 143.7 passer rating in coverage, 83rd of 86 cornerbacks with at least 30 targets, per Pro Football Focus.
Despite getting picked on, Peters' teammates have stuck up for the corner.
"He's good," injured Aqib Talib said, via the team's official website. "M.P. is good. What do they say? It's a marathon not a sprint? He is good, he's perfectly fine."
Talib -- who continues to rehab an ankle injury and reiterated he's targeting a Week 13 return -- said Peters' struggles come with the territory of covering dynamic pass-catchers.
"That's just part of playing DB... I don't even know one DB who is perfect all the time -- that's 'Prime,'" Talib said, referring to Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. "That's part of playing DB, you're going to go through those stretches, but that's why we got short memories and why we play the toughest positions on the field."
Peters will need to employ that short memory Monday against the Kansas City Chiefs, his former team.
K.C. traded the dynamic corner in the offseason after several non-performance related issues. During his years with the Chiefs, Peters was a big-play cyborg. From 2015-2017, the corner ranked first in interceptions (19), first in total takeaways (24), first in passes defended (55), tied for second in fumble recoveries (5) and tied for third in defensive TDs (3).
Peters has always been a risk-taking corner who went for the big play. In the past, his game-changing plays usually made up for the ones he gave up.
In 2018, however, the 25-year-old has been more bust than boom. Along with giving up a 143.7 passer rating, Peters has allowed 12.0 yards per target (84th in the NFL), per PFF.
Peters with Chiefs: 54.4 completion percentage allowed; 7.0 yards per target; 15-19 TDs allowed to INT ratio; 66.8 passer rating
Peters with Rams: 72.5 completion percentage allowed; 12.0 yards per target; 6-1 TDs allowed to INT ratio; 143.7 passer rating
Monday's underlying subplot in what could be the game of the season is whether Peters will turn his season around against his former team, or get picked on by Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, et al.
