Talib runs past idol in record books, seals Broncos win on pick-6
Sep 17, 2017, 9:50 PM
There was one thing Aqib Talib wasn’t about to do as he raced 103-yards down the field to seal a Denver Broncos win with a pick-six.
“I wasn’t running out of gas. That’s the one thing I wasn’t going to do,” Talib said.
He didn’t. And he shook off Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley to get into the end zone, giving the Broncos a 42-17 lead with just more than a minute left in the game.
The pick allowed Talib, a Dallas native, to save a little face with his friends and family in attendance.
“I was anxious. I was so anxious to get to the end zone,” Talib said. “I kept looking straight to the end zone. I’m glad I got my hands on that last one.”
It also moved the Broncos cornerback ahead of his idol, Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, on the list of most interceptions for touchdowns in NFL history.
“That’s my idol,” Talib said of Sanders. “I talked to Deion all offseason. I talk to him all the time, and I’m about to go talk to him and get on the phone with him right now.
“I grew up watching that dude, and being mentioned in the same sentence as him is wonderful.”
Talib slides into sole possession of fourth place all-time with 10 pick-sixes, trailing only Darren Sharper and Charles Woodson with 11 and Rod Woodson with 12.
The 103-yard return also ties former Miami Dolphin Louis Oliver for the third-longest in league history.
Safety Justin Simmons said after the game that Talib had learned from an earlier play what Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was going to do on the play and read it perfectly for the pick.
“He dropped two earlier, so he caught that third one and brought it to the house,” Simmons said. “He wanted it bad. He kept talking about it.”
After the game, head coach Vance Joseph called the play “huge” for a “Dallas guy” like Talib.
“… To finish a game with that, versus the Cowboys, it’s huge for him,” Joseph said. “He played well all day. He’s a great matchup for (Cowboys wide receiver) Dez (Bryant), obviously. They’re two big guys and two experienced guys.
“He played very, very well tonight.”
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
