NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Bijan Robinson ensured there would be no punt to block this time — and the Atlanta Falcons were off and running.
Robinson rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns — starting with a 59-yard scoring run on Atlanta's third play — and the Falcons routed the New Orleans Saints 45-24 on Monday night, dampening celebrations commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Superdome's reopening after Hurricane Katrina.
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Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, middle right, approaches former player Steve Gleason, middle foreground, before an NFL football game between the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs against Atlanta Falcons cornerback C.J. Henderson (26) during the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough passes against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ella Hall)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) passes against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, right, runs against New Orleans Saints safety Jonas Sanker during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ella Hall)
Robinson said the Falcons wanting to silence the crowd early “and make sure that pin drop happens in the first quarter.”
“For it to come after that third play was pretty special,” Robinson said. “We just went back to the sideline and said, ‘That’s what we talked about — make sure that we put it on them early so the crowd doesn’t become an issue.'”
Brian Robinson Jr. ran for three short touchdowns for the Falcons (2-2), who never trailed and controlled the line of scrimmage while outgaining the Saints (1-3) on the ground, 205 yards to 50.
Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who returned from a major 2025 knee injury last week for a 35-14 victory at Green Bay, was an efficient 15 of 20 for 223 yards and a touchdown. His 31-yard scoring strike to Jahan Dotson in fourth quarter sent Saints fans toward the exits.
“Mike played well; he took care of the football and made some really good throws,” Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I really like his demeanor and how he is operating.”
New Orleans fans booed at times and Saints QB Tyler Shough didn't blame them, calling his team's performance “embarrassing.”
“Fans understandably are upset," said Shough, who passed for 286 yards and a late touchdown to Devaughn Vele. ”You’re playing the Falcons and you lose like that? I’d boo, too.”
Saints running back Alvin Kamara scored his first two touchdowns of the season, the second cutting Atlanta's lead to 31-17 early in the fourth quarter.
“We're all frustrated, all disappointed with where we’re at,” Saints second-year coach Kellen Moore said.
“This was a special night," said Moore, who had gathered the team to watch videos about Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Superdome's reopening on a Monday night against the Falcons in Week 3 of the 2006 season.
“We understood the opportunity and I thought there was great energy,” but the Falcons "were able to get things going early and we weren’t able to catch up,” Moore said.
Ignited by Steve Gleason’s punt block for a touchdown on the 2006 game’s opening possession, the Saints beat the Falcons 23-3.
Like that meeting two decades ago, the Falcons, wearing red, received the opening kickoff. The similarities ended soon after.
For a fourth time in four games, the Saints were playing from behind early — a challenge made more difficult by Daniel Carlson’s missed 52-yard field goal attempt and running back Kendre Miller’s lost fumble on the New Orleans 22-yard line one possession later.
Atlanta cashed in on the turnover when Bijan Robinson made it 14-0 on a 4-yard power run, set up in part by cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry’s third-down defensive holding penalty.
Brian Robinson Jr. summed up the Falcons' past two games, during which they've scored 80 points, as “the most fun I’ve had in my career.”
“We can be as good as we want to be,” he said.
Wearing white jerseys, retired players Drew Brees, Scott Fujita, Scott Shanle, Deuce McAllister, Devery Henderson and Curtis Deloatch joined Gleason on the field before kickoff to lead fans in the club’s familiar “Who dat!” chant. Gleason, using a wheelchair because of ALS, was joined by his son, Rivers, who raised his father's arm and then pulled it down to signal the start of the chant.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell attended, spending pregame warmups on the home sideline conversing with Saints owner Gayle Benson and other dignitaries.
Falcons: Defensive end Za’Darius Smith received several minutes of attention on the field, but was able walk to the sideline after a stretcher had been brought out for him. He was placed in the concussion protocol. Left tackle Jake Matthews (groin) left the game in the first quarter.
Saints: The Saints began without two key defensive starters: Ed Carl Granderson (ankle) and linebacker Kaden Ellis (calf), who were ruled out on Saturday. Tight end Noah Fant (abdomen) was a game-night scratch.
Falcons: Host Baltimore on Sunday night.
Saints: Host Minnesota on Sunday.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, middle right, approaches former player Steve Gleason, middle foreground, before an NFL football game between the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs against Atlanta Falcons cornerback C.J. Henderson (26) during the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough passes against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ella Hall)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) passes against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, right, runs against New Orleans Saints safety Jonas Sanker during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ella Hall)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The pesky Rays put all the pressure on the big, bad New York Yankees.
Richie Palacios hit a two-run single in a four-run fifth inning and Tampa Bay took advantage of New York's sloppy defense, beating Cam Schlittler and the Yankees 5-2 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their AL Division Series.
The Rays are one victory from reaching the American League Championship Series. Game 3 in the best-of-five playoff is Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
“That’s a byproduct of having a really good clubhouse and a bunch of selfless teammates,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “They don’t care who gets it done. They just want to get it done. The biggest cheerleaders are coming from the guys within the dugout. Good teams do not rely on just one or two people. We rely on all nine in the lineup, the guys on the bench and certainly our entire pitching staff.”
Ben Rice homered twice for the Yankees, who are on the verge of elimination — which would extend their drought without a World Series championship to 17 seasons. They were dominated by Drew Rasmussen in the series opener and have scored just two runs in two playoff games against the AL East champion Rays with three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge out of the lineup due to a calf injury.
“Well, we’ve got to win. We’ve got to play the first inning of Game 3,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got to come out and play well. So we’ve responded all year. We need to do it again. Obviously, we need to play better and it starts with just one at a time. I don’t even get ahead of myself and win three. We’ve got to go win one and we’ve got to play better Wednesday night to make that happen.”
The small-ball Rays chased Schlittler, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner, in the fifth aided by New York's defensive miscues.
Jonathan Aranda lined a single to start the inning and Junior Caminero ripped a double to right-center. With the infield drawn-in except second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who was standing several feet further back on the dirt, Liam Hicks hit a slow bouncer to second that scored Aranda for a 2-1 lead. Chisholm's only play was at first because he wasn't all the way in like the rest of the infielders.
Chandler Simpson then hit a grounder that shortstop George Lombard Jr. flubbed, scoring Caminero to make it 3-1. It was initially ruled a hit and then changed to an error and eventually a fielder's choice. Brent Headrick replaced Schlittler and struck out Victor Mesa Jr. After Simpson stole second, Jonny DeLuca reached on a grounder when Lombard's throw to first was wide for New York's fourth error.
Palacios followed with a hard single to center that increased Tampa Bay's lead to 5-1.
“It was just one of those games things kind of compiled and stacked up on top of each other," Lombard said. “It wasn't ideal. We put ourselves in a bad spot.”
That was plenty of support for one of the best bullpens in the majors.
Freddy Peralta allowed one run and three hits in 4 2/3 innings, Cam Booser pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and Ian Seymour gave up one run in three innings. Bryan Baker finished with a perfect ninth for his second save in two games.
Schlittler, who was 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA and dominated Boston in the opener of the wild-card round, lasted 4 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs — two earned — and six hits while striking out only two.
Rice sent a 2-2 changeup into the right-field seats to tie it at 1 in the fourth, ending New York's scoreless drought in the ALDS. Rice hit 41 homers in the regular season. His drive awakened Yankees fans in the ballpark, who were drowned out by Rays fans until that point.
But a sellout crowd of 40,226 was mostly full of cowbell-ringing Rays fans who reveled in New York's misery.
Peralta retired the first two batters in the fifth before Austin Wells ripped a double and Ryan McMahon walked. Booser replaced Peralta and walked Rice to load the bases, but the lefty escaped when Cody Bellinger flied out to the warning track in center.
The Yankees made three errors in the first inning but Schlittler limited the Rays to one run. New York became the first team to commit three errors in the first inning of a postseason game since the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1975 AL Championship Series against Boston, according to Sportsnet Stats.
Yankees rookie Spencer Jones hit a towering flyball off a catwalk at quirky Tropicana Field that was caught by Mesa for an out in the second inning. Jones kept running around the bases as the ball rattled around and fell to Mesa, who ran over from right field to make the catch in center. DeLuca thought he was camped under it in center but started pointing upward when the ball hit one of the two rings high above the field and below the roof. Mesa caught it several feet in front of DeLuca. Umpires conferred and confirmed the out, per the stadium’s ground rules.
Yankees LHP Max Fried (5-5, 2.80 ERA) and Rays RHP Nick Martinez (15-6, 3.10) are the projected starters for Game 3.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Tampa Bay Rays' Jonathan Aranda celebrates hitting a single during the fifth inning in Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game against the New York Yankees Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler leaves Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fifth inning Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack)
Tampa Bay Rays' Jonathan Aranda, right, scores past New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells during the fifth inning in Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Bryan Baker celebrates a victory over the New York Yankees in Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack)
Tampa Bay Rays' Junior Caminero celebrates after hitting a single as first base coach Corey Dickerson (10) watches during the third inning in Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game against the New York Yankees Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
New York Yankees' Austin Wells slides into second for a double during the fifth inning in Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack)
New York Yankees' Ben Rice watches his solo home run during the fourth inning in Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Victor Mesa Jr., right, catches a fly ball hit by New York Yankees' Spencer Jones that hit the ceiling of Tropicana Field for an out as Rays second baseman Richie Palacios (1) watches during the second inning in Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios celebrates after hitting a two-run single during the fifth inning in Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game against the New York Yankees Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
