WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — There's a little friendly competition brewing in the Rams secondary.
"I think a little bit," cornerback Trent McDuffie said when asked if there's a friendly competition between him and safety Quentin Lake. "He got one (interception), I had to get one."
To this point in the season, McDuffie and Lake have been essentially neck and neck when it comes passes defended and interceptions, as both sit near the top of the NFL in both categories. McDuffie has eight passes defended (tied for sixth-most in the NFL) and two interceptions (tied for 11th) while Lake has 11 passes defended (second) and three interceptions (tied for second).
For the first time since Week 5, the two captains in the secondary finally shared the field again. And last Sunday afternoon against the Chargers became a busy day for the McDuffie and Lake duo.
McDuffie returned in Week 8 after missing the previous two weeks with a groin injury. He set the tone early, recording a tackle on the Chargers' first drive that ended in a three-and-out. The very next drive he added a tackle for loss on a screen pass. By the end of the afternoon, McDuffie led the team with nine total tackles and was one of six Rams defenders to have at least one tackle for loss.
"It felt great being back out there," McDuffie said. "I feel like anybody who plays football can kind of understand, you gotta get that first hit in. So, shout out to (defensive coordinator Chris) Shula for calling all those nickel pressures, corner pressures. I know I was loving it. ... I was able to just fortunately enough be in the right place at the right time and make sure I got the guy on the ground."
A two-minute touchdown drive at the end of the first half and a touchdown on the first drive of the second half flipped the game on its head as the Rams offense started to gain a rhythm. However, the offense stalled out momentarily with a punt on the next drive before McDuffie gave the offense the ball in plus territory.
McDuffie, sitting in the middle of the defense, had a ball essentially throw right his way as he hauled in the interception and returned it 26 yards to the Chargers' 22-yard line.
"I kind of like hid behind the d-lineman, so I don't know if (Chargers quarterback Justin) Herbert didn't see me or anything, but shoot, threw it right to me," McDuffie said. "Caught it. I wanted to touch that box. I wanted that touchdown, my first pick-six, but didn't happen. So hopefully, it will happen next time. Definitely just felt good, just having an impact again on the game, especially my first game back. I know that was big for me, and just another confidence booster going into next week."