With one play and one game, Michael Mauti proved why he belonged in the NFL, and how a debilitating medical condition could take it all away.
The date was Oct. 15, 2015. It was Mauti's sixth game with the New Orleans Saints, a "Thurday Night Football" matchup against the archrival Atlanta Falcons. With 2 minutes, 6 seconds left in the first quarter and the Falcons facing 4th-and-14 from their own 16-yard line, the 6-2, 243-pound linebacker and special teams ace gashed the middle of the Falcons' punt protection, dived toward the punter with his arms outstretched and hit the football as Matt Bosher tried to kick it.