The Los Angeles Rams (9-6) have been clicking as a team and becoming more and more dangerous each and every week, but getting veteran tight end Tyler Higbee back from injury for the first time this season may be the missing piece that will complete this team as one of the elite groups of the NFC.
In a limited role in his season debut against the New York Jets (4-11), Higbee caught just one pass for 11 yards, but that one grab was a touchdown. Higbee has been sidelined all season with a knee injury that he suffered in the Rams' Wild Card playoff loss at the end of last year.
That score would break a 9-9 tie and the Rams would coast to a 19-9 victory, their fourth-straight win and fifth-straight on the road. It was expected that Higbee was going to assume a more limited role in his first week back, but still came through when it counted most.
"It was awesome. I’m so happy for him," Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said postgame after tossing him his first touchdown pass of the year. "Just happy for him to get out there and play. And then be able to cap it off with a touchdown with a great effort at the end to get in. It was awesome. Great to have him back. Just a tone setter for us. It was awesome."
Not taking anything away from Higbee who shined in his first game of the season, but the guys that picked up the slack at the tight end position deserve a ton of credit. Backups Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen, and Hunter Long all contributed in some capacity and kept that position dangerous.
The ability to have several receiving threats is a huge deal for this Rams team come playoff time. Adding Higbee to an already scary passing offense that includes Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Demarcus Robinson, and others, will only get better bringing Higbee back into the fold.
With two games left in the regular season, Higbee will surely see more action as he continues to work back from injury. By the time the playoffs roll around and the Rams are playing in the first round, he will be counted on in big moments and only gives his team a better chance at victory.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Higbee Immediate Impact, Missing Piece is Back For Rams.