FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Parker Romo earned the first game ball handed out after his first-ever appearance with the Atlanta Falcons.

The kicker made five field goals in the Falcons' Week 2 prime-time road win against the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday. He had signed with the Falcons just five days prior. Technically, he joined the team's practice squad. But Romo showed enough in the lead-up to be elevated.

"It's special," Romo said. "It's super special for me to be able to put on for the city of Atlanta because I spent 17 years of my life in Georgia."

The 28-year-old is from Peachtree City and attended McIntosh High School. He went out of state for college and ultimately played for three different schools before signing with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He made his NFL debut, though, in 2024 with the Vikings.

Romo played in four games for the Vikings last season, making 11 of his 12 field goal attempts and seven of his eight point-after attempts.

The Falcons brought in Romo as competition for Younghoe Koo after a rocky Week 1 in which the veteran missed a 44-yard field goal that would have given Atlanta shot against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime.

"My mindset was always that I was going to play," Romo said. "Once they told me, it just confirmed OK, let's go. Take it and run with it."

Romo's five field goals marked the most made by a Falcons kicker in his debut. They're also the reason Atlanta held a lead over Minnesota for the entirety of the "Sunday Night Football" matchup. The Falcons didn't score a touchdown until the 3:22 mark in the fourth quarter. The Vikings never did.

So, Romo was responsible for 16 of the Falcons' 22 points — 73% of their total output.

"I'm impressed with what Parker did tonight, coming in on a short week like he did and going 5-for-5," said punter Bradley Pinion, who's also the holder on kicks. "I kind of think it's just God's timing. He had a great night, and he honestly kind of won the game for us."

Said long snapper Liam McCullough: "Parker is a really good guy. I didn't really know much about him before we signed him. He came in and immediately was very confident in his abilities. He's very outspoken. He's a fun guy, fun to be around in the locker room, on and off the field. He brings a really good energy."

Pinion and McCullough have worked together since they both arrived in Atlanta in 2022. Apart from the final three games last season, when Koo was on injured reserve with a hip injury and Riley Patterson was signed as a temporary fix, they've only ever known Koo as their kicker.

Patterson made four of his seven field-goal attempts but never had a zero-miss game.

That Romo was perfect in his first live game with Pinion and McCullough is noteworthy, especially considering the expedited timeline and the eventual quantity.

"It speaks to the pros that they're after," said Falcons offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom, who does field-goal coverage. "(Special teams coordinator Marquice Williams) does such a great job with them. So much of the NFL is predicated on operation time. Snap, hold, kick. I don't know the number, but those guys do. It has to be off in a certain amount of operation time to beat, a lot of the time, the defender that's rushing outside the wing. You're barely blocking that guy. You're saying operation time is going to beat that guy. So, obviously the fact that they were able to do that with a short week together was impressive."

Romo's first four kicks were within 40 yards, so not too difficult. But his fifth and final was a 54-yarder, just one yard short of his career-long distance.

The Falcons don't necessarily have to make an immediate decision about their long-term kicker. Romo has reverted back to the practice squad, and Atlanta can elevate him another two times before he must be on the active roster in order to play again. However, while on the practice squad, Romo can be signed by another team to its active roster. So, there is a slight risk in keeping both Koo and Romo in their current positions.

"There is about a 90% chance that Romo is our kicker for next week," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said. "There's no doubt about that. I wouldn't even sit here and ask like it's an open competition because the guy just went 5-for-5. You want to see it again. You want to see it in a different atmosphere. You want to see those all things. He did a heck of a job, and I want him to go out there and do it again."