Falcons turn ‘Domecoming’ night into dud for Saints
NEW ORLEANS — “Monday Night Football” was supposed to be all about the Saints. As far as their fans were concerned, the Falcons were there to help them create new memories.
The Saints celebrated 20 years since the “Domecoming” game on Sept. 25, 2006. That was the first game at the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. The Saints beat the Falcons in that game, and they were favored to win this one.
Except the Falcons didn’t play along with the script.
They turned the mood sour from the start with Bijan Robinson’s 59-yard touchdown on the third play of the game and never let up against their bitter rivals.
The Falcons won, 45-24. It was their most lopsided victory against the Saints since beating them 35-12 at home in 1999. It was the largest winning margin for the Falcons at New Orleans since a 41-10 victory here in 1981.
The Falcons were faster, more physical and just better than the Saints in every way.
“For us, it was a rivalry game,” Falcons safety Jessie Bates III said. “We knew what it was about. Obviously heartfelt for what this means to them.
“But we got to take care of business. That’s what it is at the end of the day.”
The Falcons lost their first two games of the season with No. 3 quarterback Cooper Rush as the starter. They’ve been rejuvenated since quarterback Michael Penix Jr. returned from injury last week.
The Falcons followed their 35-14 victory at Lambeau Field with an even better performance at the Caesars Superdome. Robinson’s touchdown run was the start of the Falcons ruining the festivities.
“When we got the ball first, we were like, ‘We’ve got to score on the first drive,’” Penix said. “Because it was loud out there. Whenever you score and have a big play like that, you kind of quiet it down a little bit.”
The home fans had few chances to cheer. They’d turned on the Saints by the time the Falcons led 24-7 at halftime. Many of them left the building after Brian Robinson Jr. scored a touchdown for a 31-10 lead late in the third quarter.
Soon, the only cheers in the Superdome were “A-T-L” chants by Falcons supporters. It was a drastic change from the Falcons getting booed by their fans at home during the 34-3 loss to the Panthers in Week 2.
“We just wanted to show the world who we can be,” Bates said. “The first two weeks were not up to our standards. Obviously, when you’ve got No. 9 (Penix) back there dealing, it’s a whole different team.”
Penix passed efficiently while never putting the ball in danger: 223 yards on 20 attempts with a touchdown. Coach Kevin Stefanski credited Penix’s decision-making at the line of scrimmage for helping the Falcons rush for 205 yards on 35 carries with five touchdowns.
The Saints couldn’t handle Bijan Robinson. He ran for 145 yards on 19 carries with two scores. Brian Robinson added 62 yards and three touchdowns.
The Saints couldn’t cover Drake London. He had five catches for 96 yards and set up a touchdown by drawing a holding penalty in the end zone on fourth down.
The Saints couldn’t sustain drives. That was difficult to do with the Falcons in their backfield all night against runs and passes.
The Falcons held the Saints to 2.6 yards per rush. They sacked quarterback Tyler Shough twice and hit him 10 other times. Falcons cornerback C.J. Henderson forced a fumble and recovered it to set up a touchdown.
The Saints took their last gasp on the first drive of the second half.
Shough moved them down the field with quick, efficient passes until they had a first down 15 yards from the end zone. Shough dropped back to pass on third-and-3, but he had to quickly throw the ball away.
Daniel Carlson made a 27-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 24-10. Saints fans booed the decision. They could see that the Falcons weren’t done scoring touchdowns.
They were right.
The Falcons responded with a nine-play, 74-yard touchdown drive to lead 31-10. The Saints scored a touchdown on their next possession, but they had no hope of catching up to the Falcons because they couldn’t stop them.
Penix’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson on the next drive started the party for Falcons fans.
“I know this is a great place to play,” Stefanski said. “Our guys love playing here. It’s an awesome atmosphere here under the lights. As much as we loved that, we just focused on our job.”
The Falcons scored the most points since they beat the Panthers 48-33 on Oct. 2, 2016 (they scored a defensive TD in that game). The Falcons scored their most offensive points since tallying 49 in a 56-14 victory over the Bucs on Sept. 18, 2014.
In the end, the Saints generated more boos from their fans than scoring plays. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
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The “Domecoming” celebration built to a crescendo of emotion before kickoff.
Steve Gleason was on the field before kickoff. He was the hero of that 2006 game and now is a champion for finding a cure for ALS, the disease he was diagnosed with in 2011. Drew Brees and other members of the 2006 team were there, too.
The Saints even had Irma Thomas sing the national anthem before kickoff. She was one of the anthem performers during the 2006 “Domecoming” game.
Video clips from that night played during the game. New Orleans will always have those fond memories.
The Falcons didn’t allow them to create new ones 20 years later.
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