NEW ORLEANS — Ten years ago, the Falcons traveled to New Orleans for the third game of the season, having been summoned by the NFL to play the role of homecoming patsy.
It was on that Monday night in 2006 when the Superdome reopened, just as the city was emerging from its post-Katrina trauma. The Saints advanced the healing by crushing their long-time division rival. They blocked a punt early, returned it for a touchdown – a moment frozen in time with a bronze sculpture that stands outside the Superdome – and went on to humiliate Falcons on national television 23-3.