What was supposed to be a celebration of a moment was instead a national exposure of a team that failed to meet it.
On a night the New Orleans Saints honored the 20-year anniversary of the famed “Domecoming” game, when Steve Gleason’s punt block reverberated throughout a region recovering from Hurricane Katrina, the current iteration of the team was out-classed by the rival Atlanta Falcons.
The final score: Atlanta 45, New Orleans 24, a brutal loss that dropped the Saints to 1-3 on the season. In an ironic twist of fate, the 45 points the Saints allowed to Atlanta represented the most it had given up to the Falcons since a 45-32 loss Sept. 26, 2016 — the 10-year anniversary of the Domecoming game.
A sellout crowd was on hand to witness the Saints’ first home appearance on "Monday Night Football" since November 2021. Those fans were whipped into a frenzy shortly after the coin toss when several members of the 2006 team, including quarterback Drew Brees, met Gleason on the field to lead the pre-game Who Dat chant.
But all those good vibes were almost instantly neutralized by the best player on the football field Monday night.
On the third play from scrimmage, Falcons superstar running back Bijan Robinson squeezed through a hole in the left side of the line and hit the afterburners when he saw a wide open lane in front of him. His 59-yard lighting strike touchdown gave Atlanta a 7-0 lead before the game was even 90 seconds old.
It was a sign of what was to come.
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Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) celebrates celebrates after scoring against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
Atlanta bullied a New Orleans defensive front that was without injured linebacker Kaden Elliss and edge rushers Carl Granderson and Anfernee Jennings. Robinson had 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half alone, finishing with 145 yards on the ground. His backup, Brian Robinson, scored three of his own touchdowns while tallying 62 yards rushing.
The Falcons finished the game with five rushing touchdowns and 207 total rushing yards. It was the first time a Saints team allowed five rushing touchdowns in a single game since the Carolina Panthers did it against New Orleans in Week 17 of the 2012 season.
Three of those rushing touchdowns came in the first half, powering a 24-7 halftime lead for Atlanta that had a surly home crowd booing the Saints as they jogged into the tunnel to regroup in the locker room.
And, unlike previous weeks where they’d found themselves in a big deficit, New Orleans didn’t have a second-half surge ready.
The Saints offense never found a consistent footing. Quarterback Tyler Shough strung together a couple nice drives, finishing with 286 passing yards and a touchdown, but it was not nearly enough for New Orleans to overcome its costly early miscues.
There were two big early mistakes. The first came with New Orleans in scoring position after getting a stop on Atlanta’s second possession, when on third and 8, it dialed up a tight end screen to Juwan Johnson. The Falcons snuffed the play out for a minimal gain, and kicker Daniel Carlson’s 52-yard field goal sailed wide left of the upright.
The second came on the opening play of the Saints’ next possession, when Falcons corner C.J. Henderson stripped the football from running back Kendre Miller’s hands, giving the Falcons the ball at the Saints’ 22-yard line.
Atlanta took advantage of the short field and scored again after a defensive holding penalty on Kool-Aid McKinstry negated a fourth-down stop and the Falcons went up 14-0.
The Saints had one last chance to really make a game of it late in the first half after Atlanta jumped out to a 24-7 lead. They were getting the ball back with 3:07 to go in the half with an opportunity to score on consecutive possessions because they were set to receive the opening kick of the second half.
They pushed the ball to Atlanta’s 41-yard line but the drive stalled after the Falcons dropped Shough for an 8-yard loss on a sack. Rather than attempting a 60-yard field goal or going for it on fourth and 11 from the Falcons 42, the Saints opted to punt.
On the opening drive of the second half, they pushed the ball to the Atlanta 8-yard line, but again opted to be conservative after Shough’s third-and-3 pass was batted down. Carlson kicked a 27-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14.
Atlanta, meanwhile, went on 70-plus yard touchdown drives with each of its first two possessions to start the second half, the second of which culminated in a 31-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Michael Penix to Jahan Dotson, effectively putting the game out of reach.
The Saints have now lost six of their past seven appearances on "Monday Night Football," and worse, they have now lost three in a row to the rival Falcons.