"I'm going to keep it 100 with you all. I got a little teary eyed during the National Anthem. I've been away from the game for so long…"
It's been almost a year since Jason Verrett took to the field. But that all changed Saturday night as Verrett saw game-action for the first time since tearing his ACL last October.
But it wasn't just any regular return to action. The cornerback had an interception.
"It felt good," Verrett said. "(It was) a chance to get my feet wet and move around and make some plays. Coach always talks about (turnovers) coming in bunches. Melvin (Ingram) got a turnover earlier in the game and I got another one, man. It was good to be out there."
"Jason's a playmaker," Head Coach Anthony Lynn added. "I thought he showed that today. First day back, (he got) an interception. It was nice to see him out there today."
That play was big. Mainly because the offense turned the turnover into points on their ensuing drive.
"It was good for Jason to get back out there," Philip Rivers mentioned. "I know the interception only adds to his confidence. Plays like that are big."
With just under seven minutes to go in the first quarter, Rams quarterback Jared Goff stepped back and lobbed a pass in the direction of Sammy Watkins. Chargers defensive tackle Darius Philon got in Goff's face right as the quarterback threw. Due to the pressure, his pass was short, and it fell into the arms of number 22.
"(Being on the field) was a chance for me to make a few plays," Verrett said. "That was the first kind of target I had out there, and I was excited to be able to get an interception."
He called the play a little mix of a read on his part as well as a bad pass by the quarterback. However, as he said, "Any time the quarterback makes a mistake, we'll try to capitalize on it."
Overall, along with his performance, Verrett was pleased with the defense as a whole. While most of the starters will rest next week, he was happy with how the unit performed hoping to continue that play Week 1 at Denver.
"It was solid. I feel it was solid. We started pretty fast and were able to get two turnovers. Overall (we did) just a better job finishing this week. We always talk about creating turnovers in practice and we got two of them out there today."
