NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell requested a Falcons-Saints Monday night game in New Orleans around the 20th anniversary of the Saints’ return after Hurricane Katrina, with the league placing the matchup in Week Four of the 2026 schedule at the Superdome.
One of the most vivid chapters in Monday Night Football history came in Week Three of the 2006 season. when the Saints beat the Falcons in their return to New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.. Twenty years later. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made sure that memory would matter again—pushing for a Falcons-Saints Monday night game in New Orleans on the 2026 slate.
NFL VP of broadcasting planning Mike North said the Week Four arrangement is directly tied to the anniversary window.. He explained that Goodell wanted the matchup slotted “around the time of the 20th anniversary. ” specifically referencing a “three-week window” in which the game could be placed.. North said it “wasn’t a requirement it had to land in a special week. ” but that it was a direct instruction from the commissioner to have Falcons at Saints on Monday night during that period.
Some in New Orleans hoped the 2026 game would land in Week Three, matching the original 2006 timing of the landmark return.. North said the decision to move it to Week Four came down to what best fit the NFL’s broader schedule.. He noted that the league’s goal was to be close enough to the exact anniversary date—“if we were within a couple of weeks. we were in good shape”—because fans still “remember that moment. the electricity. the excitement.”
North also pointed to practical considerations beyond the calendar.. He said there are “a lot of events going on in that region. ” adding that he does not have “the stadium availability off the top of my head. ” but that the Superdome area includes “the arena across the street. ” with “concerts. there’s basketball games. there’s other things going on at times.” That broader schedule pressure. he said. meant the league wasn’t treating one specific week as non-negotiable.
The 2006 game is remembered most for Steve Gleason’s blocked punt, recovered by Curtis Deloatch, which led to the Saints’ first touchdown. The league’s upcoming plan is to give New Orleans a chance to celebrate that moment again when Falcons-Saints returns to the same stage on Monday night in 2026.
The scheduling logic is straightforward in the league’s own explanation: Goodell requested the Falcons-Saints Monday night matchup be placed around the 20th anniversary within a three-week window. New Orleans pushed for Week Three because the original game was there. and the league ultimately chose Week Four because it believed being within a couple weeks of the anniversary and fitting other events better preserved its strongest overall schedule.
Roger Goodell Falcons Saints Monday Night Football Katrina anniversary 2026 schedule Mike North Superdome Steve Gleason Curtis Deloatch
So they picked Week 4 instead of the actual 20th anniversary like… why not just do Week 3? Feels kinda weird to me.
Goodell loves making everything a “moment.” Still though, New Orleans deserves the recognition. Steve Gleason memory + MNF always hits.
I swear I saw somewhere it was gonna be the Falcons vs Saints in 2026 like right on the anniversary day, but now it’s “within a couple weeks.” So which is it lol. Also wouldn’t they just reserve the stadium? concerts and basketball sounds like an excuse.
Katrina anniversary + football is gonna be emotional, I get it. But also… isn’t that when the league should be doing like real charity stuff instead of just scheduling? Half of this is probably just TV ratings and “electricity” quotes. Still I’ll probably watch.