The Atlanta Falcons are headed into an absolutely critical game this weekend where they need a win in the worst kind of way, sitting at 2-4 and losing ground in the NFC South standings.

Unfortunately, that need for a win comes against potentially the best team in all of football with the San Francisco 49ers coming to town with a perfect record and hungry to stay unbeaten. To beat a team like this, all hands are going to have to be on deck, and it sounds like Atlanta has a real chance of getting one of the most important hands back in the lineup this week.

Star cornerback A.J. Terrell has been on injured reserve since suffering a groin issue in a Week 2 loss, and his presence has been sorely missed. On Wednesday though, the Falcons opened the 21-day practice window for him as the Pro Bowler returned to the field and is not yet being ruled out to play this weekend by Kevin Stefanski.

Atlanta has been banged up in the secondary as C.J. Henderson, who had been doing an incredible job filling in for Terrell missed last week's game against the Chicago Bears after a groin injury of his own the week before. Avieon Terrell, A.J.'s brother moved to the outside as a result and this threw things off a bit for a secondary which was having a nice year as Caleb Williams had a great day through the air.

Both Terrell and Henderson are trying to push to come back this week, and while they will have to clear a ton of hurdles, it does not seem all that unrealistic that this could wind up being the case.

Terrell is one of the best outside cornerbacks in football, and getting him back would offer a massive boost going up against a 49ers offense which has been absolutely lethal through the air with Brock Purdy having an MVP type campaign.

Fans will eagerly await the statuses of both Terrell and Henderson, and getting the two standouts back on the field could have the potential to make this defense start playing at an elite level once again. Without them, it would be a whole lot tougher to win any game let alone one against San Francisco, so the injury report is worth monitoring closely as both corners work their way back.