There will be a lot of memories and emotion in the Caesars Superdome for Week 4. The eyes of the nation will be on New Orleans football for the first time in a long time. Can the Domecoming energy fuel the 2026 version of the Saints to a much-needed win?
We'll find out Monday evening, with the Falcons visiting for a Monday Night Football showdown and first place in the NFC South on the line. With all that in mind, scroll below for out top three things to watch (and some lagniappe) for Week 4.
THE GAME | Falcons (1-2) at Saints (1-2)
- When: 7:15 p.m., Monday, Oct. 5
- Where: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Series history: Falcons lead 58-56
- Last meeting: 2025, Week 18 ... Falcons 19, Saints 17
- Betting: Saints -1.5; o/u 47.5
- TV: ESPN
- Listen: WWL AM-870; FM-105.3 & the Audacy app
- Pregame: First Take with Steve Geller & Jeff Nowak, 3-5 p.m.; Countdown to Kickoff with Steve Geller & Bobby Hebert, 5-7 p.m.
1. CAN YOU HANDLE THE MOMENT?
It's tough to say exactly what the environment will be like in the Caesars Superdome for the 20th anniversary of the Domecoming. I'm certain the crowd will be hot. They'll be loud. It'll be emotional for many in attendance. But how will that resonate on the field?
To their credit, Saints coaches have done their best to impress upon the current group of players exactly what this game means to the franchise and the fanbase, the unique connection that the Saints and the city of New Orleans hold, and how so much of it connects to that game in 2006. That was how a significant portion of the bonus Wednesday was spent this week. Players were shown videos and clips from Katrina, the aftermath and the game itself. They heard from former players. They stood up and shared their emotions about the game itself. But that only goes so far.
Whenever we talk about and remember that Domecoming game, it's always the blocked punt. It's the image of Steve Gleason selling out to take the ball off of Michael Koenen's foot. The shotgun blast-type eruption from the crowd that followed. The silence from the broadcast crew as the crowd told the story. We'll even hear about U2 and Green Day and all the rest.
What gets talked about less is the fact that as the Saints utterly dominated that game 23-3, it was also the literal start of the Sean Payton and Drew Brees on-field legacy in New Orleans. It wasn't just the rebirth of a city, it was the birth of the golden era of Saints football. That all happened at the same time. It was the recipe for a moment that lives on forever.
What we don't talk about so much is the 10-year anniversary. Similar emotions went into that game, but it was one that the Falcons took down 45-32. The emotions are great. The result is how the memory is defined.
This time around there's no tragedy to rebuild from, but there is an opportunity to birth a new era of meaningful Saints football. Anniversary or not, this is the first time the Saints have been on a national stage since late in the 2024 season when they were being shut out by the Green Bay Packers on Christmas eve. Since then they've been shut out of nighttime kickoffs, at least in the regular season.
That game in 2006 was an opportunity for Payton, Brees and the Saints to announce to the NFL world that they were back and a force to be reckoned with. It's now 20 years later, and we have Tyler Shough and Kellen Moore with an opportunity to do the same thing.
How they handle this moment will tell us a lot, and it'll probably determine whether New Orleans can get back to primetime darling status, or if they get handed another sentence in primetime jail.
2. CAN THE BACKUPS BRING IT?
We've got a theme up and down the roster: Just how good is the depth?
On the offensive line, we're seeing a backup left tackle in Asim Richards with Kelvin Banks on IR. At the running back spot, it'll be Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller stepping into the lead tandem role with Travis Etienne on IR. On the defensive line it'll be Cam Jordan stepping into a bigger role, along with Tyree Wilson and probably Fadil Diggs in a rotational role.
The good news is we at least have an idea of what those situations will look like.
But the biggest question mark of the week comes at inside linebacker. Kaden Elliss has already been ruled out (calf) a bummer for a player who was assuredly looking forward to a matchup with his former team. That means we'll see Danny Stutsman taking over that strong side role. We've gotten a reasonable dose of Stutsman in a rotational role to this stage. He won't be overwhelmed by the moment. He knows a thing or two about rivalries. He was so into the Oklahoma-Texas grudge matches that he actually has a "horns down" tattoo. He's a juice bringer. He's always looking for big hits, though it has cost him with a pair of fines to this point. He won't change that about himself, but he does know he'll have to be a bit more careful as to where he finds them.
But there's also the question of Pete Werner, who is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. Head coach Kellen Moore said his status will likely be determined by the medicals over the next 48 hours, and it go right up until game time. Werner is a tough player. We've seen him go on the field with a broken hand before, but it'll come down to contact strength. Can that shoulder hold up to the big hits of an NFL game?
"It's the physical side of this thing," the head coach said, "not the mental side."
I expect Werner to at least push to play. But if he can't? Things get sketchy real fast. Jaylan Ford is still on IR (he'll be eligible to return as early as next week). That means the options on the active roster are:
- Isaiah Stalbird
- Chris Rumph
There's also Jackson Sirmon on the practice squad, who is likely to be elevated for the game, regardless. Stalbird is a converted safety who we've never seen get a full run in an NFL game. Rumph is a converted edge rusher who currently has one snap this season at the inside linebacker spot. Neither player has a middle linebacker skillset. Both are on the roster primarily for special teams prowess.
That's why I expect the answer to be Sirmon, the son of LBs coach Peter Sirmon. We saw a hefty dose of him in the preseason and he's fully capable of racking up tackles. I have questions in coverage. In reality I think the ideal split would be Rumph taking on heavy/goal line personnel snaps, while Stalbird handles passing third down situations, and Sirmon takes on everything else along with Stutsman.
It's an incredible opportunity for those players, but it's not an ideal matchup for experimenting. The Saints are continuing their star RB barrage this week with Bijan Robinson, fresh off his 213-yard explosion in Atlanta's win over the Packers and with an extra few days of rest. He's also a player that's feasted in primetime, with an averages of 150 yards and nearly a touchdown per game in his 10 primetime appearances. Three of those games have featured more than 200 yards, a feat that's only been accomplished by two other players (Derrick Henry and Jerry Rice) dating back to the NFL/AFL merger in 1970.
The Saints have handled him well, though, since Brandon Staley took over. In two games last season Robinson averaged just 70 total yards and didn't find the endzone. The Saints have also been among the NFL's elite in terms of tackling, something coaches have placed a heavy emphasis on. They go into every week with a "tackling plan" that's tailored specifically to the players being faced. It'll need to be especially on point for this matchup.
I expect a heavy pressure gameplan with the hopes of rattling Michael Penix in his second start coming back from a torn ACL, and his first in the Saints-Falcons rivalry.
3. CAN YOU PROTECT THE BALL?
I promise this won't be one of my keys to watch every week, but I will continue to call it out until it stops being so obvious.
Let's go ahead and update this stat ahead of Week 4, dating back to the start of the Kellen Moore era.
Here's the Saints' record when they...
- Win the turnover battle: 5-0
- Lose the turnover battle: 0-9
When that margin is even things tend to be closer to a tossup (2-4). Nowhere did we see that play out more distinctly than in the loss to the Raiders. They were leading the turnover battle 1-0 and that takeaway was a driving force in building a 26-15 lead midway through the third quarter. From that point on they turned it over four times and the Raiders dominated the game.
What's also worth noting is that the Saints defense has been elite at keeping teams out of the endzone when the opponents' drive begins after a punt or kickoff, with touchdowns allowed on just 6 of 25 opponents possessions (excluding kneeldowns). That's an allowed TD rate of less than 25%. When those drives begin off of a sudden change? They've allowed touchdowns on 4 of 7 possessions (57%).
Those drives aren't all created equally, but it's a clear issue, and one that you can avoid entirely by not putting them into that situation. Generally it wouldn't be fair to put all the blame for giveaways at the feet of the QB, but six of the seven were either a fumble or interception by the QB. Some are unavoidable, but the most damaging one that resulted in an interception return to the 4 yard line definitely was. The defense then allowed a go-ahead TD that they can hardly be blamed for.
As good as Shough has been -- he's enters Week 4 second in the NFL in passing yards and third in touchdown passes -- I think it's time for him to start trusting his legs a bit more. Ten sacks taken through three weeks is far too many.
It's a delicate balance and an odd critique to make. Most early-career QBs rely on their athleticism too much. That's a lot harder to train out than the alternative. When things are imperfect, as they are with a backup LT, the clock has to speed up. The priority has to be positive results. You might lose some big play opportunities, but that's a workable tradeoff to avoid major negatives. Shough will learn the balance over time, the important thing is he's shown the ability to do both.
And if you're wondering how this has played out for the Falcons:
Turnover margin in losses: -6
Turnover margin in win: even
We can make the game of football as complicated as we want to. The simple reality is often: Protect the ball, win the game.
LAGNIAPPE
One of the things the Saints were banking on going into this season was Kool-Aid McKinstry developing into a true No. 1 CB, and it sure looks like they've gotten that. He's played 100% of the snaps and been targeted a good bit. He's come up big in a few big moments, most notably with the PBU downfield late against the Ravens that gave the Saints the ball back with a chance to go win the game. Bust most notably: Zero penalties. He'd tell you it's his instincts built from playing a lot of receiver. To me, that's the biggest difference-maker between good and great CBs. You can make great plays, but if there's panic in big moments and you surrender a bunch of yards on a penalty, a lot of that good disappears. It also builds on itself. When you have a reputation of not being a foul-prone player, refs tend to give you the benefit of the doubt. ... The Saints have found a very specific role for CJ Donaldson through three weeks and it's been fun to watch. He's basically been a pass pro fullback, and he's excelled. I think as long as Etienne is out I'd like to see his 3rd and inches packages expand to a few more opportunities. I envision something like a 2nd & 2 package (could even be pony personnel) with two plays called, and Shough gets the decision based on the look. If the defense plays coverage, FB belly for the easy first. If they load up to stop it, max protect for shot play. Just my 2 cents. ... The Falcons don't have either of their first-round edge rushers from last year in Jalon Walker (torn ACL) or James Pearce (suspension). You'd think that'd have greatly limited their pass rush. It hasn't. They're currently second in the NFL with 57 pressures, and they've only blitzed on 19% of pass rush snaps, in the bottom five of the league. A hefty amount of that pressure has come from the interior. Falcons DT Gervon Dexter Sr. has 15 of those pressures on his own, which is in the top 10 of the NFL and tied with Chase Young. The Falcons do an excellent job of rushing as a unit, and the Saints interior linemen will have to be on point with how they pass off stunts. ... Barion Brown is back in action this week, and that's a good thing. With him missing last week, the Saints average starting field position after punts and kickoffs was the 26 yard line. In Week 2 that was the 33 yard line. ... Khristian Boyd has impressed coaches. Expect him to continue to get a significant workload moving forward. ... Tyler Shough has accounted for multiple offensive touchdowns in each of his past five games, the longest active streak in the NFL.
