Aqib Talib injury: Patriots CB injures hip in 1st half vs. Texans

New England Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib was injured at the end of the first half of Monday night's game against the Texans. Talib hurt himself as he stretched out and dove across the middle of the field to break up a Matt Schaub pass intended for Andre Johnson. He appeared to land awkwardly on his left hip, but after some time down on the turf, he did jog off on his own. As Greg Bedard notes, Talib tore a tendon in his other hip in 2010 which resulted in a trip to the IR.

Talib did not return to the field for the Texans' last possession before the end of the half and was not on the sidelines at the start of the second half, but did eventually come out during the Pats' first offensive possession. He did not take the field, however, and went to the exercise bike for the Texans' first offensive possession, according to Mike Reiss. The team announced it as a hip injury and characterized his return as questionable.

The Patriots traded for Talib at the start of November, acquiring the veteran corner from the Bucs to bolster their weak secondary. He had to finish serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy against performance-enhancing drugs before he made his debut with the Pats in Week 11. The impact in the defensive backfield was immediate, as Talib returned an interception of Andrew Luck 59 yards for a touchdown in his first game with New England. He's certainly been an improvement in a defensive backfield that was the weak spot of New England's roster.

The Pats defense pitched a shutout in the first half against the Texans and they took a comfortable 21-0 lead into the locker room. New England, however, had the 29th-ranked pass defense in the league coming into the game, yielding nearly 280 yards per game through the air. Losing Talib for any portion of time would be a significant blow as they make a push for the top seed in the AFC.