INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- In the week leading up to the Los Angeles Rams' 27-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, coach Sean McVay was asked about Tutu Atwell's usage in the offense.
The 2021 second-round pick, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract in March, had just one catch for 4 yards in the first three games of the season.
"Tutu's doing everything that's being asked within the framework of each and every single play," McVay said prior to Sunday's game. "For the first three weeks, I couldn't ask for more in the way he approaches it and what he does. Now, I know the stat sheet doesn't show it, but I do think he's been extremely valuable in other ways right now and in the pass game because of the threat that he poses.
"...We are at the start of this marathon right now and you guys have all seen Tutu perform at a high level. His time is going to come. I don't know when, but it will come. I believe in that guy and more importantly, his teammates do."
That time came in a big way on Sunday, with an 88-yard catch and run down the sideline for the go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes remaining. The speedy receiver ran "a great route" and has "the gas to be able to finish," but that play also showed "his mental toughness" and "resilience," McVay said after the game.
"I almost cried, to be honest with you," Rams veteran receiver Davante Adams said. "Just being on the sideline, you could just feel the emotion. ... Obviously the team, everybody in this building just loves 'Tu' and what he brings."
Atwell said he has learned to be patient by being around his teammates and knowing that he needed to maximize the opportunities he did receive. Atwell had two targets on Sunday, finishing with the touchdown pass, an incompletion and drawing a defensive pass interference penalty in the fourth quarter.
"Since '21 and coming up to now, that's what I had to do," Atwell said. "I had a lot of good receivers in front of me -- a lot of great receivers -- and it's all about waiting your turn. So that's why I do stay patient and when the time has come, you ready for it."
Now in his fifth season, Atwell has 101 catches for 1,1435 yards and five touchdowns. His touchdown on Sunday was his first since the 2023 season.
Atwell's touchdown was the second-longest go-ahead passing touchdown in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime since the 1970 merger and the longest touchdown pass of quarterback Matthew Stafford's career, according to ESPN Research.
"We see those plays during the week," Rams receiver Puka Nacua said. "It may not show up every week on Sunday, but those are the plays that he makes Tuesday through Saturday, so we expect those from him and it was good to see him get a big smile on his face after making a big play that we needed."
Stafford, who has been with the Rams since Atwell was drafted in 2021, said he was "so proud of [Atwell], so happy for him."
"He's been practicing really well," Stafford said. "We've dialed it up for him a couple times and it just hasn't been the look a few times. And like Sean [McVay] said, I'll reiterate it, he's done everything we've asked him to do and just so happy for him, proud of him. That's the guy he is. He just comes to work every day no matter what's going on around him, ready to work and practice and play and [he] made the biggest play in the biggest moment today."