Bijan Robinson, ESPN, New Orleans triumphant – but Saints fail – in 'MNF' winners, losers - USA Today

Twenty years ago, the Atlanta Falcons were the perfect party guests – accommodating the reopening of the New Orleans’ Superdome in 2006, a year after it was savaged by Hurricane Katrina, by getting doused 23-3 by the hometown Saints in what was arguably the most important night in that franchise’s history.

But Monday night, the Dirty Birds crashed the anniversary reunion.

While the Saints celebrated their "Domecoming" and "Rebirth" from two decades earlier, the 2006 game reaffirming the team's Big Easy roots, the Falcons were unwilling to play the part of homecoming fall guys this time − especially with so many of the former Saints heroes on hand to revel. Behind an unrelenting ground game and stifling defense, Atlanta snuffed their archrivals 45-24 on Oct. 5 to win the final game on the NFL’s Week 4 calendar.

The pregame atmosphere in this uniquely American town was unsurprisingly electric as the Crescent City exulted in happier times than the adverse ones it was still coping with in 2006 – though that was also the year new Saints coach Sean Payton and QB Drew Brees arrived. The city’s arc has generally mirrored the team’s since then, and it was nice to see Brees, Steve Gleason, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Scott Fujita, Curtis DeLoatch and so many other Saints alums on hand to participate in the festivities. And here’s hoping for several more decades of Saints stability in the Big Easy, which is as closely tied to its NFL team as any community in the league.

The Falcons' All-Pro, do-it-all back entered the night averaging 145.4 yards from scrimmage in prime-time games, the most by any player since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. All Robinson did was go untouched for a 59-yard touchdown run down the left sideline on his first touch of the game – Atlanta’s third snap – and the Falcons basically never looked back on a night in which they never trailed. Robinson finished with 147 total yards and two touchdowns.

Bijan’s backup – no relation – rushed for three TDs and 62 yards himself as the Falcons tied a franchise record with five rushing touchdowns.

Look who’s suddenly tied atop the NFC South after winning both games since Michael Penix Jr.’s Week 3 return. And while the quarterback’s personal numbers Monday night were unremarkable (15-of-20 passing for 223 yards and a touchdown), his presence has certainly helped to unlock this offense from a macro perspective and Bijan Robinson specifically. And the Falcons could catch another break this Sunday night, when they’ll host the Baltimore Ravens in prime time … but maybe not injured two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson.

From excellent pre-game features reflecting on New Orleans’ post-Katrina challenges, to interviews with former ESPN "Monday Night Football" play-by-play man Mike Tirico, who called the 2006 Domecoming, and Trombone Shorty, to a fantastic piece that reunited Gleason and former Atlanta punter Michael Koenen – the key figures in the blocked punt that spawned the “Rebirth” statue outside the Superdome – the Worldwide Leader did a nice job setting up the night. If only it had been able to showcase a better game.

Atlanta’s Ironman left tackle made his 199th consecutive regular-season start Monday, the longest active streak in the league, but suffered a groin injury that cut his night short. Matthews raced from Charlotte to Atlanta and back in 2022 to experience the birth of his first child while getting back to North Carolina in time for a night game against the Panthers to keep his streak intact. Whether he’ll be able to go against Baltimore on “SNF” remains to be seen.

A banged-up unit got run over by the Robinsons and is emerging as the weak spot of a team had hoped to emerge as a playoff dark horse this season. The Saints are now winless in two 2026 home games and have been marched all over – surrendering at least 30 points in three of their four outings.

The 2006 rout of Atlanta helped launch the first iteration of the Payton-Brees Saints to the franchise's first-ever appearance in the NFC championship game. Three years later came the "Lombardi Gras," the team's first − and still only − Super Bowl victory. Many Saints fans were likely banking on a 3-1 start this season, capped by a win Monday, not an uneven 1-3 showing that involved getting embarrassed by the hated Falcons. It's certainly premature to break out the brown paper bags, but Saints fans were forced to cry into their Abitas on Monday rather than guzzle down victorious Hurricanes on Bourbon Street.