Falcons: A.J. Terrell has been incredible over past three games

A.J. Terrell has been a great player for the Atlanta Falcons. Since being drafted, he has been the only stable player for the Falcons' secondary.

Terrell had a historic 2021 season but then struggled at times in 2022. This year, he has been much more stable and he is currently on a phenomenal stretch which has proven he is still one of the best shutdown corners in the NFL

Falcons CB A.J. Terrell is still one of the best CBs in the NFL

When the Atlanta Falcons traveled to Tampa Bay and took down the Buccaneers, A.J. Terrell, frankly, did not have much to do with that win. He has always struggled against Mike Evans and that certainly continued in that game.

However, Terrell has bounced back in a big way in the three games since (although, the rest of the team hasn't been able to).

Against the Tennesee Titans, he was excellent outside of a major offensive pass interference that was not called on DeAndre Hopkins on a long touchdown pass. And then against the Vikings and Cardinals, he has allowed just three catches for a total of ten yards.

Here are his coverage stats in those three games, according to Pro Football Focus:

• Wk. 8 @TEN: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 53 yards, 1 TD, 1 PBU
• Wk. 9 vs. MIN: 2 targets, 2 receptions, -4 yards, 0 TD, 0 PBU
• Wk. 10 @ ARI: 6 targets, 1 reception, 14 yards, 0 TD, 2 PBU

Those are great stats but when you look at them with some context, they become absolutely ridiculous.

Hopkins, without a shadow of a doubt, should have been called for OPI. That would have negated one catch, 47 yards, and 1 TD. Then in week 10, Terrell allowed one catch on a play where Terrell had excellent coverage and the receiver somehow managed to make a strong catch. In most cases, that target would have ended up in an incompletion.

With that context, Terrell has allowed 3 catches for 2 yards and zero touchdowns since week 8. That is special and I don't care who he was matched up against. This is the NFL, every receiver can make plays, yet Terrell has been able to shut all of them down.

This just proves that Terry Fontenot must sign Terrell to an extension ASAP. He is a key piece to this defense that has been improved this season.