These are the games Tarheeb Still used to dream of.
They are now a reality for the Chargers rookie cornerback.
On a day where Sunday's game turned into a defensive slugfest, it was a handful of game-changing plays from the rookie fifth-round that made the difference in Sunday’s road win against the Falcons.
"I used to daydream about stuff like this," Still said after the game.
Still later added: "You just dream about making plays at this stage, at this level. Coming up watching guys do it and then now it's my turn to do it, it just feels great, I'm just truly blessed."
The rookie continues to put up a career-best game seemingly every week.
Still's final stat line in Week 13 was eye popping: two interceptions — including a go-ahead pick 6 — along with three passes defensed and three tackles.
He might be a rookie, but Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh continues to be impressed with so much more than the big plays he makes on Sundays.
"He's so locked in," Harbaugh said after the game. "The thing that impresses me the most is how locked in he's been. Young players, that can get a little drifty in their preparation as the season goes on. He's just been locked in.
"As cool as the other side of the pillow, as Stuart Scott used to say," Harbaugh added. "He's been tremendous."
The rookie deflected some of the praise, however, as he credited those around him for having him prepared to make plays.
"I'm getting all the praise, but you really got to give the thanks to the coaches and my teammates because really, they just do a good job preparing me every day," Still said. "Without them, I really can't do none of this."
Part of what stuck out from Still's performance? The seemingly perfect timing of each play he made.
Still's first impact play of the game came in the first play of the second quarter.
With Atlanta in Chargers territory, the Falcons looked to air it out and take a shot in the direction of the rookie.
But once Still saw the ball come his way, he made a great jump in front of the intended receiver Darnell Mooney to undercut the pass and secure the first Bolts interception of the day.
It was the first turnover for the Bolts defense in a couple of weeks, and it opened the well in Week 13.
"Once you get that first one you got a good feeling," Still said.
Still later added: "They say like the olive jar. Once the first turnover happens, it just keeps flowing."
And flow it did.
Still then made the game's play of the game as Atlanta went for it on a fourth-and 5 in Chargers territory.
Still once again perfectly read Cousins' eyes and jumped another route — but this time there was nothing but green grass in front of him.
Still took it 61 yards the other way for the touchdown, one that would give the Chargers their lead back and ultimately, the win.
"Really just getting set up, reading the quarterback's eyes," Still said about his second interception. "He let go of the ball, he went to go throw it, so I just went to go make a play. It feels good to get in the end zone."
"Last time I had a pick 6, I couldn't even tell you," Still later added. "I didn't have one in college, so been a long time."
Still became the second rookie in Bolts history to record a multi-interception game and return one for a touchdown, joining John Hendy who did so in Week 13 of the 1985 season against Buffalo.
His pick 6 was also the first by a Chargers rookie since 2017.
According to Pro Football Focus' initial data, Still finished with the highest grade on the team with a 94.3 after giving up just two receptions on five targets.
One of the receptions was a chunk play of 60 yards on the following drive that would lead to a Falcons field goal, but he responded to it with yet another big play when the lights were the at their brightest.
On a third-and 12 with 52 seconds left in the game, Cousins had seemingly found his receiver Drake London for what would have been a first down.
Only it wasn't, as Still managed to fight through the play and get a break up the pass to set up a fourth down where Derwin James, Jr., would notch the game-sealing pick.
It's the type of sequence that has let the rookie shine in Year 1.
"That's the thing people need to notice about him, not one play affects him," linebacker Daiyan Henley added. "Whether or not it's a bad pass breakup, or a missed tackle, he is a fighter and he's going to continue.
"He went out there and did exactly what he said he was going to do, talked about he was going to make a play on the ball and made two plays on the ball," Henley continued.
"Even three, I think that play at the end, I think that's as big as the pick-six because it's crunch time and he made those plays," Henley added. "He's a young dude, he continues to prove it doesn't matter what your age is in this league, you just got to be a baller."
Veteran safety Tony Jefferson echoed the sentiments about the rookie's even-keel approach.
Not that he's surprised about it though, as he remembers watching Still in college last year when he was a scouting assistant in Baltimore.
"Nothing really gets too high or too low for him. Somebody catches the ball, he stays the same, it's onto the next play," Jefferson said. "The lights aren't too big even in big moments and big games."
Jefferson later added: "This dude, when I was scouting last year I watched him in college and he's always been a guy who's been around the ball. That's kind of his thing, he's a playmaker. I'm happy for him, got to keep building on it."
Even when the lights get bright, the Bolts defense knows the rookie isn't worried about that.
And it continues to hold true in the biggest moments of the season so far.
"He don't look at the moment," James said about Still. "It's not like it's fourth quarter and he's looking at the moment. He's looking at it as the next play.
"I promise y'all, he's confident, he's smiling in the fourth quarter, he's ready, locked in," James added. "He said he was going to make the plays and he did it today."
