As A.T. Perry waited for the snap, the New Orleans Saints wide receiver was thinking of a mistake he made weeks earlier against the very same team in the Atlanta Falcons.
Back then, the rookie failed to correctly run his route because he thought he committed a false start penalty — leading quarterback Derek Carr to badly overthrow the pass deep down the field. But now, lined up in a similar situation, Perry knew he couldn’t mess up again.
He didn’t.
Perry hauled in an 18-yard touchdown on a contested back-shoulder fade in Sunday’s 48-17 win over the Falcons, the first of two scores for the sixth-round wideout. Perry finished with three catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns — serving as a much-better showing for the 24-year-old this time around.
“When I lined up, I had a feeling DC was going to throw it,” Perry said, “so I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve got to make this one, make this opportunity count.’ I just went up and made a play. It was fun today.”
Carr said the throw was an example of Perry’s growth. Back on Nov. 26, when the Saints first met the Falcons this season, Perry got his first extended look in New Orleans’ lineup as he filled in for an injured Michael Thomas. He was ultimately held to one catch for 7 yards, but he would learn from that disappointment.
Over the next four games, Perry emerged as a deep threat for Carr and the Saints. He hauled in 30 and 44-yard catches against the Detroit Lions and the Carolina Panthers. Then on Dec. 21 against the Los Angeles Rams, Perry scored the second touchdown of his career when he hauled in a 35-yard pass from Carr.
Perry’s first season concluded with 246 yards on 12 catches — and four touchdowns. Despite the yardage not being stellar, Perry’s ability to haul in contested catches and find the end zone could prove useful for the Saints in the future.
At the very least, Sunday’s performance is something to build on.
“It is a process” said Saints coach Dennis Allen, who called Perry’s contested catches “big” after the win. “It’s not an overnight occurrence. I was pleased with some of the things I saw him do.”