Falcons Run Past Saints 45-24 on Monday Night Football and Spoil the Superdome's Domecoming Anniversary
Two Robinsons combined for five rushing touchdowns and Michael Penix Jr. never turned the ball over as Atlanta went from the NFL's lowest-scoring offence to its highest in two weeks.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026/2 min read
New Orleans had planned a party. Twenty years after the Saints walked back into a rebuilt Superdome following Hurricane Katrina, the building was set for a "Domecoming" celebration on Monday night, and the Atlanta Falcons spent the evening running through it.
Atlanta won 45-24 at Caesars Superdome, its most points in a game since 2 October 2016, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Bijan Robinson set the tone on the third snap of the game with a 59-yard touchdown run, and the Falcons never let the Saints back into it.
How did the Falcons score 45 points?
On the ground, mostly. Robinson finished with 145 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. His namesake Brian Robinson Jr. added 14 carries for 62 yards and three more touchdowns, according to Pro Football Talk. Atlanta gained 420 yards, around 205 of them rushing, and led 14-0 after one quarter and 24-7 at halftime.
Michael Penix Jr. barely had to do anything and did it cleanly: 15 of 20 for 223 yards, a 31-yard touchdown to Jahan Dotson and no turnovers. Drake London caught five passes for 96 yards. The AJC notes that Robinson ranked first in NFL records for primetime scrimmage yards per game, at 145.4, among players with at least five appearances before the night began, and he went out and rushed for 145.
The turnaround is the bigger story. Atlanta scored only 16 points in its first two games, the fewest in the league, PFT notes. In the two games since Penix returned it has scored 80, the most in the NFL: 35 against Green Bay on a Thursday night in Week 3, then 45 here.
What went right for the Saints?
Not much on defence, though the offence kept moving. Tyler Shough threw for 286 yards on 30 of 48 attempts despite hurting his left hand. Chris Olave caught eight passes for 116 yards before taking a hard hit to the knee late in the game. Alvin Kamara scored on runs of 3 and 5 yards, the 14th multi-touchdown rushing game of his career, tying a franchise record held by Deuce McAllister. Devaughn Vele caught a 3-yard touchdown with 1:13 left to make the score look closer than the game had been.
The problem was the ground game at the other end. New Orleans ran 19 times for 50 yards, 2.6 per carry, and could not slow the Falcons' backs once they were moving.
Where does that leave the NFC South?
The Falcons are 2-2 and level with Carolina at the top of the division. The Saints are 1-3. Atlanta now leads the all-time series 59-56 and has beaten New Orleans three times in a row.
The win came at a price. Edge rusher Za'Darius Smith left with a concussion and left tackle Jake Matthews with a groin injury, both in the first half, PFT reports. Both will be watched this week, because the schedule does not wait: Atlanta hosts the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football in Week 5, on a short week and with two starters to monitor.
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