Being PJ

Ever have one of those days when it feels like everyone in the worlds is watching every single thing you do and it all makes them very very disappointed? So disappointed, in fact, that even when it is you who does the one or two good things that make all the difference for everyone, hardly anybody notices.

This time, the defense made the play. Or actually two.

First, Alex Anzalone and P.J. Williams combined for a tackle that caused a momentum-shifting fumble in the second quarter.

Then Williams returned an interception for a touchdown that all but sealed the redemptive 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

That's our boy PJ Williams last night. PJ Twitter (still trending as we type this morning) has been a wild ride.  But as happy as the ending may seem, let us also recognize that even congratulations come with qualifications.

Looks like PJ Williams will live to get yelled at by us another day.

— Megrim Reaper (@meganromer) October 29, 2018

And in the moment of even our greatest triumph over adversity, the universe is bigger than merely ourselves and the struggles of one Williams can seem trivial compared to those of the next. 

Marcus Williams walked out of the visitors' locker room at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday clutching a football.

It was the game ball, presented to him after the Saints' 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

It was Williams' return to the place where his missed tackle on a Stefon Diggs catch ended New Orleans' season last year in the playoffs. But for Williams, this game wasn't about redemption.

This game was about his grandfather, Richard Glennon Boyd, who died of cancer on Tuesday. Boyd was 79.

"I know he's proud," Williams said. "He told me he was proud of me before he left and I know he's still looking down on me and watching over my shoulder."