How A.J. Terrell Jr. Shut Down the NFL’s Most Productive Receiver

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Falcons knew the challenge they faced with Puka Nacua on Monday Night Football, but they were clearly up for the challenge. The Pro Bowl wideout leads the NFL in receptions (119) and yards (1,639), but the Falcons held him to some of his lowest totals of the season in their outstanding 27-24 win.

On a per-game basis, Nacua has averaged 7.9 catches for 109.3 yards per game, with nine touchdowns. On Monday, the Falcons held him to 5 catches and 47 yards. He did break through in the second half, scoring a game-tying touchdown, but it was all well below his typical output.

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A lot of that came down to some outstanding play from cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr.

According to NextGenStats, A.J. Terrell forced seven tight-window targets against the Rams, tied for the most by a defender in a game this season. He allowed just 4 rec (9 targets) for 27 yards, two passes defended.

In his 10 matchups with Puka Nacua, he was targeted five…
— Garrett Chapman (@gchapatl) December 30, 2025

“We knew going into the week that we had to slow down 12 [Nacua], and we executed,” Terrell said after the game. “Just gotta reset after each play, and that’s what we did.”

The veteran corner had clamps on the Rams' wideouts all night, forcing seven tight-window throws (the most in the NFL in a single game this season, per NextGenStats). Terrell allowed just four receptions on nine of his targets for 27 yards and a pair of passes defended.

Terrell does not often travel with receivers, but he lined up with Nacua 10 times on Monday. Quarterback Matthew Stafford targeted his favorite receiver 10 times against the Falcons’ Pro Bowl corner, and he allowed just a pair of catches for 17 yards. He was pushed into tight window throws on four of five targets.

“I’ve got so much respect for Puka and what he's able to do, how he can catch the football anywhere, how he's dangerous at all levels,” Morris said about the performance against the Pro Bowl receiver. “His running catch is phenomenal, to watch A.J. [Terrell Jr.] and all these guys go out there and really hold up in a big way and really do a nice job of limiting his production, I thought was great.”

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A perfect moment that exemplified the battle between these two players came on the game's final possession. Nacua was targeted several times, but Terrell was there to slam the door on the Rams and put the final nail into a tremendous Falcons victory.

"We know who Puka is. He's a contested-catcher killer," Morris said. "To watch A.J. go up there and not panic and be able to play the football at the highest point so we can have incomplete passes right there is absolutely outstanding."

Terrell finished just outside of the 2025 Pro Bowl, but finished as the No. 4 alternate for the exhibition, despite missing nearly a month’s worth of games this season. Performances like this one under the lights of Monday night will only help his case in the years to come.

The corner entered Monday’s game having been targeted on just 11.5% of his coverage snaps (4th-lowest total in the league this season), and this is a good illustration as to why. Terrell received a game ball for his efforts in the win, a well-deserved honor for the veteran defender.