NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Long-time Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan can be counted on to echo the sentiments of many New Orleans fans whenever the rival Atlanta Falcons are next on the schedule.
“You know the importance of this game," Jordan said, referring to the Falcons' visit to New Orleans on Monday night. “‘Can’tlanta’ comes to the dome. We have to turn them into ‘Trashlanta.'”
The Falcons (1-2) and Saints (1-2) have identical records, but New Orleans has played close in all three of its games, while Atlanta has been more erratic.
After being booed by their own fans during a 34-3 home loss to Carolina in Week 2, the Falcons stunningly routed the Packers in Green Bay just four days later.
They'll have had 10 days rest when they enter the hostile, emotionally charged Superdome on what is also being celebrated as the 20-year anniversary of when the Saints played their first game in the rebuilt stadium since it had been damaged while sheltering desperate residents during Hurricane Katrina.
That also was a Monday night game against the Falcons. It started with Steve Gleason's famous punt block and ended with the city celebrating a 23-3 Saints triumph.
“That’s the fun part for us,” Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said. “In this league, you go on the road; you get to experience some incredible crowds.”
Stefanski takes confidence from how well Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and his offense handled Green Bay's crowd, not committing one pre-snap penalty.
“That’s no small feat ... in some of these road environments,” Stefanski said. “Mike did an outstanding job both in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage the other night, and getting us in and out of the correct plays, making adjustments when necessary.”
The result was a number of impressive statistical lines for Penix (256 yards passing), running back Bijan Robinson (194 yards, two TDs rushing) and receiver Drake London (nine catches for 194 yards).
Last week, the Saints looked to be on their way to a victory that would have given them an early edge in the NFC South race, only to squander an 11-point, second-half lead to the Las Vegas Raiders, committing four turnovers in the process.
“We've only played three games. It's nothing to panic over," Saints tight end Juwan Johnson said. “We're playing really aggressive, really strong, really physical, really smart and really fast. There's just a few things we can clean up and we'll be fine.”
In New Orleans, a city oozing with mysticism, there are bound to be more than a few rituals, superstitious or otherwise, practiced up to and during the game.
Stefanski, though, sounds intent to just focus on the game plan.
“I’m not superstitious,” Stefanski said. “It’s bad luck.”
Atlanta (1-2) at New Orleans (1-2).
When/where to watch: Monday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, ESPN.
Latest odds: Saints by 2 1/2.
Against the spread: Falcons 1-2; Saints 2-1.
Last week: Falcons beat the Packers 35-14; Saints lost to the Raiders 35-27.
Last meeting: Falcons beat the Saints 19-17 on Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta.
Series record: Falcons lead 58-56.
Bijan Robinson, who rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns in Green Bay last week, against a Saints defense that ranks 27th in the NFL against the run, allowing about 129 yards per game.
The Saints allowed 113 yards rushing against the Raiders, including a 36-yard touchdown run by Mike Washington that ignited a Las Vegas comeback from down 11 points in the third quarter.
— The Falcons are coming off the best performance on run defense in franchise history. In their win at Green Bay, Atlanta allowed only 17 rushing yards. Thanks to that effort, the Falcons rank first in the league with 47.7 rushing yards allowed per game.
— Atlanta ranks second in rushing offense, averaging 173 yards.
— Since 2014, the Falcons are 9-2 when playing on Monday night.
— In the win at Green Bay, Robinson and London made the Falcons the first team in NFL history to have a player rush for 190 or more yards and another player with at least 190 yards receiving.
— The Falcons closed their 8-9 2025 season with a 19-17 home win over the Saints. The win completed Atlanta’s first sweep of the NFC South rivalry since 2016. The Falcons took a 24-10 win at New Orleans earlier in the season.
— Saints QB Tyler Shough passed for 255 yards and a career-high 4 TDs with 106.7 rating in Week 3, but also turned the ball over three times on two fumbles and an interception.
— New Orleans WR Chris Olave had nine receptions for 107 yards last week, his 14th-career game with 100 or more yards receiving. Through the first three weeks of this season, Olave ranks is tied for first in the NFL receptions with 27 and second in yards receiving with 375.
— All four of the Saints' touchdowns last week came on passes to tight ends, two each to Noah Fant and Juwan Johnson. It was just the second time that NFL tight ends on the same team each had two TD catches in the same game.
— Saints edge rusher Chase Young had two sacks last week, tying a career high for a game.
AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Atlanta contributed to this report.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (12) celebrates his catch for a first down during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Atlanta Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s governor appointed a special prosecutor Thursday to oversee an investigation into a woman’s allegations that she was gang raped at a Cornell University fraternity house, saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney’s ability to handle the case.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had signed an executive order appointing the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James as the special prosecutor to oversee the investigation, which had initially been closed without charges in 2024.
The woman's allegations got a rush of new attention when she filed a civil lawsuit last month. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation Monday, but has been battered by criticism that he'd abandoned the original investigation too quickly.
“Newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to prosecute an alleged sexual assault on Cornell University’s campus in October 2024,” Hochul said.
“This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time."
Hochul said the attorney general would oversee the investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury.
“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued," Hochul said. "This action will ensure that the matter is fully and thoroughly investigated without conflict or bias, and handled independently with the rigor that this matter demands.”
Messages left for Van Houten were not immediately returned late Thursday. Hochul, James and Van Houten are all Democrats.
Hochul's announcement came shortly after dozens of students and community members spent hours demanding transparency and accountability from university leaders at a forum sponsored by Cornell's student government. The case has roiled the Ivy League campus and raised questions about its response and the larger issue of how sexual assaults are handled on college campuses.
The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, reported the alleged assault to campus police in November of 2024, then discussed it with the university’s internal investigators as part of Cornell's disciplinary process.
The lawsuit against seven fraternity brothers, the university, the Chi Phi fraternity and others, alleges that she was plied with drugs and alcohol, then subjected to sex acts by a group of men while she was partially or entirely incapacitated. One of the men sent a social media message to other fraternity members alerting them to what was happening, and inviting people to take part, according to the lawsuit.
Lawyers for two of the men she is suing have denied they participated in a sexual assault. One said his client hadn’t touched the woman. Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the other men or their representatives have been unsuccessful.
When he reopened the investigation earlier this week, Van Houten said he would review new information in the woman's lawsuit. But he also issued a statement defending his initial decision not to prosecute, maintaining the woman’s first account to police didn’t include allegations that she was drugged against her will, incapacitated beyond the ability to consent, or forced into sex.
Under pressure from the public and politicians, including Hochul, Cornell agreed Wednesday to bring in outside lawyers to independently investigate how it handled the woman’s allegations.
Over more than 2 1/2 hours Thursday, students and other members of the Cornell community expressed anger, frustration and grief over the school's handling of sexual assault allegations in general, with several speakers sharing their own experiences of sexual violence.
Many criticized Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff and the university’s administration, calling for greater transparency and accountability in the handling of the case, stronger sexual assault prevention efforts and changes to Greek life.
Jane Wang, a sophomore, said at the forum that when she reported being sexually assaulted on campus a year ago, she was met with a slew of paperwork and little guidance or follow-up. After an initial email chain about starting the investigation, she got few updates and had to prod for answers, she said. The process left her feeling an “overall sense of helplessness within a broader institution.”
“My main message for Cornell here is that we can’t be treating these cases only with care and attention after it catches national news,” Wang said, calling for the university to improve the “seriousness and timeliness” of its response to sexual assault allegations.
There was no immediate response to a message seeking comment about the forum and Wang's case sent to the university late Thursday.
Cornell has said it took a series of actions after the woman identifying as Jane Doe reported being raped at the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024.
It announced publicly that it had opened an investigation, condemned the alleged behavior, indefinitely suspended the fraternity, and convened a university task force to study ways to more effectively protect students against sexual assault.
It also conducted a monthslong investigation, which ended with some students being disciplined or expelled, though it has declined to provide specifics, citing student privacy rules. The university issued a statement Monday saying it supported reopening the criminal investigation.
“I think what happened here is an American problem,” said Hayden Watkins, an undergraduate and executive vice president of the Student Assembly, which hosted the forum.
“People kind of put Cornell on this pedestal because we are an elite institution,” he added. “But if it’s happening at places like Cornell, it’s happening on college campuses all across the country.”
Associated Press reporter Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
Student Assembly President Eeshaan Chaudhuri speaks during a hearing on sexual assault on campus at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Cornell University students and ACLU student chapter members Jane Wang, left and Sophia Riley Sim, speak about sexual violence on campus during a student assembly meeting at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
FILE - New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, left, listens as Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference in New York, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Students walk across the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Students walk across the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Shown is the the Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
