If you watched the pregame show prior to the Atlanta Falcons' Week 4 clash with the New Orleans Saints, you saw that no one outside of the greater Atlanta area was rooting for them to win. Tonight marked the 20-year anniversary of the Saints' return to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, and ESPN was all in on New Orleans to prevail given they were motivated to make their city proud.
However, the Falcons were just as motivated on primetime, and they made sure to spoil the emotional evening. Just like the 10-year anniversary of the Domecoming, Atlanta gave their archrivals belt on national TV, as they rode the run game and defense to their second straight win by a score of 45-24.
For anyone who was worried that the luck would run out after last week's win in Green Bay, you can't doubt the Falcons proved Week 3 was no mirage. They improved to 2-2 and the Kevin Stefanski era suddenly looks real good in A-Town now that they're tied with the Panthers atop the NFC South.
So with Monday night football in the books, let's dive into the immediate reactions from the Big Easy...
The Atlanta Falcons impressed in several areas in the Week 4 victory
Bijan Robinson is an absolute cheat code
As if this isn't something we already knew, Bijan Robinson is not human. Every single time we watch him he continues to prove that. Every single time he touches the football you know there could be fireworks, and we saw him rack up 145 rushing yards and two scores, including a 59-yard touchdown on his first touch of the game.
BIJAN GETS THINGS STARTED EARLY@ATLvsNO on ESPN⁰Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/2WkWScWreu
— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2026
It's like the idea of playing on primetime just awakens something in him as if he was The Winter Soldier. No player in NFL history has more career scrimmage yards per game on Mondays than Bijan Robinson (181.0) or on primetime (145.4). Not Emmitt Smith. Not Barry Sanders. Nobody.
Every single week, the debate about who the best running back in the NFL will teeter-totter between Bijan and Jahmyr Gibbs, but you have to give the edge to No. 7 given the run he is currently on. And he has earned every penny of his new deal--and Brian Robinson Jr. was just as dominant.
What is going on with Kyle Pitts?
The Falcons' usage of Kyle Pitts has been the weirdest storyline throughout the first four weeks of the season. Entering the Week 4 clash, Pitts has caught just two passes for 20 yards. He's been a ghost in this offense, and we've just been waiting for the game where he would turn things around.
And a favorable matchup made things even weirder. On the opening drive, he did not see the field once, as the Dirty Birds instead opted to run with Charlie Woerner and Austin Hooper as their two starting TEs in 12 personnel, and while he got more run throughout the game, seeing Woerner, Hooper, and Nick Muse enter the game before him is straight-up bizarre.
Even still, his three receptions for 47 yards both marked season-highs, but things are certainly weird here because he hasn't been an every-down player the way they anticipated. And given they made him one of the highest-paid tight ends in NFL history this summer, that is a bit of an issue.
Jeff Ulbrich got the better of Tyler Shough once again
In two matchups against Tyler Shough last season, the Falcons got the better of the young signal-caller. Not only did they sweep the Saints, they picked him off in both matchups, and Jeff Ulbrich's defense continued to have his number as it felt like this defensive line was living in the backfield.
The Saints had no answer for whatever Ulbrich dialed up. They stifled New Orleans' run game, the secondary held up against the pass for the most part (Chris Olave still went crazy), and since they had nothing else to take pressure off of him, Atlanta was able to make Shough's life awfully difficult.
They got pressure on him 34 times, sacked him twice, and would have picked him off if DeMarcco Hellams was able to hold on, so you have to give a defense that's been the calling card of this team credit- especially to a pass-rush that lost Za'Darius Smith early and is still without James Pearce Jr.
Yasir Abdullah is becoming a secret weapon no one knows about
And as far as the pass-rush went, Yasir Abdullah was one of the stars of the night. The linebacker who Atlanta claimed off of waivers before the season started has carved out a niche role for this defense as a LB/edge hybrid who's athleticism clearly caught Ulbrich's eye as a Kaden Elliss replacement.
Abdullah's four pressures were tied with Brandon Dorlus and Gervon Dexter Sr. for third-most on the team (behind Cameron Thomas and Samson Ebukam's six), and unlike them, he's not playing virtually every down. He did all of this on just 30 snaps on the game.
Safe to say he's earned a larger snap share going forward.
The Falcons-Saints rivalry is second to none
This isn't necessarily a game takeaway, but if you're upset, that's a shame. The game itself was sweet, but we got to see Falcons and Saints fans throw chop shots at each other on Twitter leading up to this game, and it's clear that there is no other team in football these fans hate more than each other.
This is like an old-school sports rivalry, or like a college rivalry. There is no love lost and the fans hate each other just as much as the teams do. This feels like the NFL's equivalent of Ohio State- Michigan or Alabama-Auburn, but it's gotten overshadowed since these team's haven't been competitive in a whle.
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