Monday Night Football was a happy homecoming for Atlanta Falcons rookie linebacker Harold Perkins Jr.
It came at the expense of a sad "Domecoming" for the New Orleans Saints (1-3), as Atlanta (2-2) thrashed the NFC South arch rival 45-24 to spoil the 20th anniversary of the Caesars Superdome reopening after Hurricane Katrina .
"It was a surreal feeling," said the New Orleans-born Perkins. "I was just trying to do my part and not let my teammates down. I was taking it all in."
Perkins finished the primetime game tied with cornerback CJ Henderson for a team-high and career-high 10 tackles on the night. He notched his first career sack by getting half credit with safety Xavier Watts as they brought down Saints quarterback Tyler Shough in the backfield. Perkins added a quarterback hit.
The highly versatile six-round NFL Draft pick out of LSU was also active in pass coverage, breaking up a pass.
"I thought Perk was outstanding," Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski said of the 6-foot-1, 223-pounder. "Really excited for Perk coming home. I thought he was really good."
Perkins was just 11 months old when Hurricane Katrina tragically destroyed the city of New Orleans in August 2005. It forced his family to uproot and move to the greater Houston area, settling in Cypress, Texas, where he became a football star at Cypress High School.
Twenty-one years after disaster struck, a "beaucoup" number of Perkins family members watched him play his fourth career NFL game, and first in the Superdome. The Falcons linebacker said that around 30 family members, including his grandmother, were in the building to watch his standout performance.
Some were draped in Falcons gear, while some stayed loyal to their Saints fandom.
"It means a lot, just coming out there, coming back home," Perkins, 22, said. "Not even just playing the Saints - be able to just be around my family, and they get to see me ball."
With Perkins leading the way, Atlanta's defense beleaguered the Saints all night.
New Orleans was held to 320 total yards: 270 passing and 50 rushing.
Shough was sacked twice, but spent the entirety of the game getting chased out of the pocket by the Falcons.
"We were out our top," Perkins said. That means the Falcons unit was rabid and fierce.
"We played like some savages," he added.
Per ESPN, Atlanta ranks eighth among the 32 NFL teams in total defense after Monday's game.
Led by defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich , the Falcons have the league's top run defense, as was evident in New Orleans.
"Credit our defense as a whole, our coaches for setting us up and putting us in the right positions to win," Perkins said. "We just went out there and executed."
The Falcons have a short, six-day turnaround before their next game.
They will finish their three-game primetime run at home against the Baltimore Ravens (3-1) on the Oct. 11 edition of Sunday Night Football.
Baltimore's two-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson has an outside chance of playing after spraining his left ankle in the second quarter of the Ravens' Week 4 win against the Tennessee Titans. Jackson was in a protective walking boot and may miss extra games.
Tyler 'Snoop' Huntley will likely start against Atlanta if Jackson isn't good to go.
Falcons-Ravens is set for an 8:20 p.m. kickoff from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. NBC will televise the game.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/falcons/onsi as Homecoming or Breakout Party? Inside Falcons LB Harold Perkins Jr.'s Big Night .
