When Aqib Talib picked off Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott with just over a minute left on Sunday, it didn’t have much of an impact on the outcome of the game.
The Broncos were already up 35-17 when Talib stepped in front of a pass intended for Dez Bryant three yards deep into the endzone. Had Talib either not decided to return the interception for a touchdown or been tackled in the process, it really wouldn’t have made a difference.
Talib did return that interception, though, the second one Prescott tossed on Sunday, 103 yards for the final score of the game. It didn’t matter on the scoreboard, but it mattered to Talib.
“Once I get my hands on it, I only got one thing in mind,” Talib said postgame about the return, which set a Broncos franchise record for longest INT-TD, “end zone, baby.”
Coming into Sunday’s game, Talib was in a four-way tie with Ken Houston, Deion Sanders and Aeneas Williams with nine career pick-sixes. Because Talib was able to take his late-game interception the distance, he not only moved into fourth place on the list, but he also moved one pick-six closer to first place Rod Woodson‘s 12 career interceptions returned for touchdowns.
Talib knew what he was doing when he made the decision to run that ball out of the endzone. Much of the chatter around the UCHealth Training Facility during training camp this summer surrounded the Hall of Fame résumé Talib has built as he enters the tenth year of his career. Now that Talib stands alone in third place, it’s getting more and more difficult to deny him a spot in Canton.
Talib is 31 year old and continues to play at a very high level, earning his first first-team All-Pro nomination last season. Three more pick-sixes is no small task, but if he can muster up enough to either tie or break Woodson’s record, Talib would most certainly be a lock for pro football’s highest honor.