Former Saints Legend Describes 2026 'Domecoming' in His Own Words

The New Orleans Saints have a massive game on Monday Night Football. It's bigger than even the typical Monday night game, as rare as they are for each NFL team.

Monday night is the anniversary of the Saints' return to the Superdome after the city and team were forced out of New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina. The Saints' 2006 Monday Night Football game against the Atlanta Falcons, a game they won 23-3, is perhaps the most memorable regular season game in franchise history.

The Saints get to relive that moment with a Monday night battle against the same Atlanta Falcons. Now, former players are weighing in on just how significant a game it was during the 2026 season.

Former Saints wide receiver Joe Horn is thinking of what the win meant when his team brought life to an entire city. WGNO's Jon Sokoloff recorded Horn's memories of one of the biggest regular season wins in franchise history. Here's what Horn shared of his memories of the game and the moments leading up to it.

"Whatever they had available that I could get to that would make a difference for someone in that city, that's what I was doing. I told Mr. Tagliabue, 'How could you fly, get off that plane, sit with your family to eat dinner while knowing that city needs us. You want to be known for leaving people in New Orleans to rebuild that city on their own when the Saints is almost all they have? How could you guys do that? I don't think it's right. Personally, I think we should go back to New Orleans.' I walked out of the room and slammed the door behind me. ...

For me to ride through the city and look to my right or left coming in and see the Dome, I have chill bumps when I ride by because I know in my heart of hearts, and I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I know I was part of that."

Since the game, the Saints organization has been one of the better franchises in the National Football League. New Orleans made the NFC championship in 2006 before taking home a Super Bowl in 2009. Through the mid-2010s, quarterback Drew Brees captained one of the most dominant passing attacks in NFL history.

One regular season game seldom has much more significance than the other 15 or 16 games. On that particular night, the win ushered in a new era of New Orleans football. The Saints were back and better than ever.

The 2026 Saints will hope to pay their respects to that game with another big win over the Falcons on Monday night.