Across the past few weeks, the Atlanta Falcons' secondary has been horrible, which has been partially due to the fact that A.J. Terrell has been among the worst cornerbacks in football. But in Week 17 against the Rams, he enjoyed perhaps his best game of the season against one of the NFL's best receivers.
The 27-year-old got torched by both Mike Evans and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, so he made it his mission to ensure Puka Nacua wouldn't do the same. And against arguably the best receiver in football this season, Atlanta's CB1 made his mark by holding him to just two catches for 17 yards when facing off.
Following up because these Next Gen Stats are sweeeet
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A.J. Terrell forced 7 tight window targets against the Rams, tied for the most by a defender in a game this season.
In 10 matchups against Puka Nacua, he was targeted 5 times and allowed 2 receptions for 17 yards. https://t.co/Jd7qa08Exr pic.twitter.com/tIonKEAdZ0
Terrell and Nacua were matched up 10 times and he was targeted on five, but the veteran corner got the last laugh. He also forced seven tight window throws against the Rams, which marked the most by a defender in any game this season, which has flown under the radar after an uber-impressive victory.
A.J. Terrell's lockdown coverage of Puka Nacua is the real reason the Falcons won
Nacua caught just five passes for 47 yards and a touchdown, and most of that came against Cobee Bryant and C.J. Henderson. His lone touchdown came on an 11-yard screen pass after a 41-yard touchdown he scored earlier on that same drive was called back by an offensive holding penalty.
Through 17 weeks, the Rams' star is second in the NFL in receiving yards behind Smith-Njigba, and missed a game this year. So there's a real world out there where the 24-year-old is leading the league in receiving, but instead, he was blanketed by Terrell and the Falcons somehow got the last laugh.
The Clemson product looked considerably better in the Dirty Birds' victory over the Arizona Cardinals, but the entire Atlanta secondary locked Matthew Stafford down on primetime. He threw three interceptions (one pick-six), despite entering the game having thrown just three all season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Terrell logged an 82.9 PFF grade and a 90.5 coverage grade, both of which marked season-highs. And his PFF grade tied Denzel Ward for fifth among all cornerbacks, while Carolina's Mike Jackson was the only CB who recorded a better coverage grade in Week 17.
He also wasn't called for a penalty in the victory, which is something that should excite Falcons fans given his struggles in that area this season. And given he went toe-to-toe with a receiver who's been nearly unguardable this season, he more than rose to the occasion.