A.J. Terrell has quietly been one of the NFL's best cornerbacks since he was drafted in 2020. He has been surrounded by all sorts of organizational turmoil, yet he has consistently put his head down and shut down opposing receivers.
The Atlanta Falcons, per usual, went into this season putting a lot of pressure on Terrell's shoulders. They don't have the depth to survive without him, so seeing him limp off the field on Sunday was alarming.
Now, the Dirty Birds are in big trouble, as they lack depth to survive without him for any period of time.
A.J. Terrell's uncertain injury is worst-case scenario for the Falcons
The Falcons' roster had two positions where they couldn't have injuries: offensive tackle and cornerback. So, naturally, they managed to suffer costly injuries at both positions. A.J. Terrell pulled up when in coverage right before half on Sunday with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. He immediately limped off the field and never returned.
While the Falcons did continue dominating on defense (minus the play after the injury), it won't always be that way. Fortunately, they play a Panthers team next that has had all sorts of trouble on offense. In addition, the pass rush should be able to get to Bryce Young quickly.
However, things get more difficult from there. They play the Commanders and Bills with a bye week sandwiched in between. Not having Terrell for those games would be catastrophic. At worst, they need to get him healthy coming out of the bye week, so he can help slow down Josh Allen.
For now, they will rely on Mike Hughes and Billy Bowman Jr. even more, with Dee Alford and Natrone Brooks filling in for the superstar. While those guys did play excellently in the second half on Sunday, they won't be going against J.J. McCarthy anymore.
We saw last year that Bryce Young is fully capable of carving up a defense, and we all know how good Jayden Daniels and Josh Allen are. Not having that true shutdown cornerback could ruin games for the Falcons.
Hopefully, this is a short-term injury and we can get A.J. Terrell back around the bye week (or earlier). This Falcons' defense could run into some trouble without their top defender.