"Don would always say, 'DJ, daddy doesn't want to be this way, but I have to do it. You have to make the most of things,'" said Tami. "DJ has had to learn from not making the roster [out of training camp]. He's had to figure out what he's supposed to learn from this. Instead of getting all mad and giving up, he keeps working harder. My husband was always thinking about what he could do, not what he couldn't do. And he made it happen."

In the hours leading up to the Falcons' contest vs. the Panthers, Tami kept thinking about a piece of encouragement Don would frequently tell DJ: "You be ready when they call your number." DJ was never the most athletic guy on his team, but Don knew his son could go as far as he wanted in football as long as he was prepared.

DJ has thought about that sentence every day since his father died. It helped him persevere on the nights he slept on a basement floor. It sharpened his focus as he worked two jobs for 15 hours a day. It kept his confidence intact as he went undrafted and patiently waited for Atlanta to call him up.

Tami knew Don would have reiterated that message if he could have been in Charlotte on Saturday, so when the family met up before opening kickoff, she shared it once more.

And DJ was nothing if not ready. With 5:42 left in the second quarter, on a 3rd and goal from Carolina's one-yard line, he corralled a Matt Ryan pass in the end zone to give the Falcons a 19-3 lead. He didn't think Ryan would target him on that play, but he was ready when, finally, someone called his number.

Naturally, his mother and siblings, who hopped on a plane last-minute to be in attendance, went wild.

"When DJ played, we just watched him. I felt like I had to be like my husband and only watch just how he did. So, of course, we saw exactly when he made the touchdown," Tami said. "We were around a bunch of Panthers fans, but we just started screaming and screaming. Everyone was turning around looking at us, but I was saying, 'That's my son!'"