Falcons Corner AJ Terrell Picked Off A Kirk Cousins Pass With His Legs

There is a bit of a misconception about cornerbacks. Some believe that if a corner could catch, they’d play wide receiver, but because they can not, they play corner. There’s a lot more that goes into it than that, but in the case of rookie Atlanta Falcons cornerback AJ Terrell, his issue appears to be that he doesn’t use his hands when he reels in passes.

Terrell and the Falcons traveled to Minnesota to take on the Vikings on Sunday afternoon, and in the first half of action, Atlanta’s defense forced three picks en route to a 20-0 halftime lead. The most impressive of these picks came via the former Clemson standout, who reeled in a Kirk Cousins pass intended for fellow rookie Justin Jefferson.

The thing that made this so impressive was that Terrell snatched the ball with his hands, but lost his grip on it. He had to improvise, and eventually, he used his legs to secure the ball and give the Falcons the ball on the Viking 40.

This was one heck of a way for Terrell to pick off an opposing quarterback for the first time in his NFL career. Still, while this was a great play, I assume his coaches would prefer he doesn’t need to use his legs next time.