NEW ORLEANS – Tutu Atwell knew the ball was coming his way the moment the playcall came in.
Seconds later, the Rams wide receiver was running into the endzone for a 62-yard touchdown against the Saints.
It was the first touchdown of Atwell's NFL career, and a reminder of the explosive playmaking his speed makes him capable of.
"It was man coverage. I already told (quarterback Matthew) Stafford during the week, 'Man, I'm gonna go get it, just throw it out there,'' Atwell said postgame. "And that's what we did."
Atwell began the play lined up on the right side of the formation before motioning left. Facing single coverage, he took off running and beat his defender deep down the left sideline. The safety help over the top from the Saints' Tyrann Mathieu didn't arrive in time, allowing Atwell to reach the endzone virtually untouched.
"I'm happy for him," said quarterback Bryce Perkins, who worked with Atwell a lot this summer. "I know how bad Tutu wants it. Just his journey so far, last year to this year. We knew one of those was going to pop. He's the fastest guy out there, and we know that 'Hey, man, you get a shot, he's gonna let it go.' And Matthew (Stafford) did a great job ripping it. I'm not sure how far it was, maybe like 60, 65 (yards), but man, everybody was happy for him. You can see on the sideline, everybody jumping up and down, meeting him before he came off."
While it was only Atwell's second catch this season, both have resulted in big gains. His first catch went for 54 yards against the Cowboys in week 5 with Cowboys star cornerback Trevon Diggs in coverage.
The Rams could use those kinds of big plays again this week as they face off against a Chiefs team that entered Week 10 as NFL's highest scoring offense at 30 points per game. In the meantime, it will serve as an important moment for Atwell moving forward.
"It actually gave me more confidence, man," Atwell said. "I go on the field every day, talk to myself, ask God to be with me. Just come that way, we catch that if that's thrown my way."
