Saints Clips
Veteran pass rusher Marcus Davenport didn’t request his release from the Bears’ practice squad so that he could sign with another team’s practice squad.
Via NFL Network, the 30-year-old Davenport will retire.
He was a first-round pick of the Saints in 2018 (14th overall). He spent five years in New Orleans, one in Minnesota, and two in Detroit before joining the Bears.
Davenport has 78 regular-season appearances with 43 starts. He hasn’t played much since leaving the Saints — 19 regular-season games and 11 starts in four seasons. He also has four postseason appearances and one start, all of which came with the Saints.
Davenport has 25.0 career sacks, with a career-high of 9.0 in 2021.
Saints fans were ready to party like it’s 2006. Bijan Robinson, though, has reigned over their parade.
The Falcons running back has 12 carries for 103 yards and two touchdowns, and Atlanta leads 24-7 at halftime.
The pregame celebration had barely cleared the field from their “Domecoming” when Robinson broke a 59-yard touchdown run. It came on the third play from scrimmage.
He later added a 4-yard touchdown run.
The Falcons scored on four of their seven first-half possessions, and they outgained the Saints 255 to 147 yards.
Brian Robinson scored the Falcons’ third touchdown on a 4-yard run, and he has nine carries for 35 yards.
Michael Penix has completed 10 of 15 passes for 125 yards, with Drake London catching four for 82.
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough is 12-of-19 for 139 yards, with Chris Olave catching three for 62. The team’s only touchdown came on Alvin Kamara’s 3-yard run.
The Saints, though, have only 15 yards rushing on seven carries.
Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews made his 199th consecutive start on Monday night. But he watched the Falcons’ 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive from the sideline.
Matthews left in the first quarter with a groin injury that has him questionable to return.
He does not look as if he will.
Matthews’ starting streak is the longest active streak in the NFL.
Michael Jerrell has replaced Matthews, and Jerrell helped Brian Robinson score on a 4-yard run. The Falcons lead 21-7.
The Falcons have ruled out pass rusher Za’Darius Smith with a concussion. Smith took a knee to the head from a teammate early in the first quarter.
The Saints needed a touchdown. They got a touchdown.
Running back Alvin Kamara scored on a 3-yard run, pulling the Saints to within 14-7 of the Falcons.
It was his first rushing touchdown of the season and the 62nd of his career.
The Saints started their fourth drive from their own 46 after Falcons cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the kickoff. Tyler Shough then hit Chris Olave for 44 yards to the Atlanta 10 on the first play from scrimmage on the drive.
Shough has completed 7 of 10 passes for 100 yards.
Bijan Robinson has a career-high 78 yards in the first quarter. He also has two touchdowns.
The Falcons have a 14-0 lead.
Saints running back Kendre Miller fumbled at his own 22, when cornerback C.J. Henderson punched it out. Officials did not rule a fumble on the field, forcing the Falcons to challenge. Replay reversed it to a fumble.
The Falcons scored five plays later on Robinson’s 4-yard run.
The Saints were called for two defensive holding penalties in the drive, including Kool-Aid McKinstry’s on Jahan Dotson on fourth-and-4 at the New Orleans 8.
Robinson had seven carries in the first quarter, and Michael Penix completed 3 of 6 passes for 30 yards.
Falcons defensive end Za’Darius Smith took a knee to the head with 12:57 left in the first quarter.
He remained on the ground, and after the Falcons’ medical personnel checked him out, they called for a cart. Smith, though, waved it off and walked off the field.
Smith is in the training room being evaluated for a concussion and a neck injury and is questionable to return.
He was blocked to the ground by Saints left tackle Asim Richards, and while lying on the ground, Falcons defensive end Brandon Dorlus’ left knee connected with Smith’s helmet.
Smith leads the team with 2.5 sacks.
Meanwhile, Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts did not start and has played only one snap in two series. The team told ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge that Pitts is healthy.
Charlie Woerner, Nick Muse and Austin Hooper have played more snaps and Pitts so far.
The Saints had barely finished celebrating the 20th anniversary of their emotional post-Katrina return when Bijan Robinson crashed the party.
The Falcons running back took the air out of the “Domecoming” game with a 59-yard touchdown run.
He followed the hole created by left tackle Jake Matthews on Chase Young and went untouched down the left sideline.
Michael Penix completed passes of 12 and 9 yards before Robinson’s jaunt.
The Falcons lead 7-0 only 1 minute, 26 seconds into Monday Night Football.
The Saints will not have tight end Noah Fant for Monday Night Football.
Fant is among the team’s inactives.
He was questionable to play with an abdominal injury.
Rookie Oscar Delp should see more snaps behind starter Juwan Johnson.
The Saints’ other inactives are quarterback Zach Wilson, cornerback Decamerion Richardson (shoulder), edge rusher Anfernee Jennings (knee), defensive lineman Christen Miller (toe), linebacker Kaden Elliss (calf) and edge rusher Carl Granderson (ankle). Wilson is the emergency third quarterback.
The Falcons will have linebacker Divine Deablo and edge rusher Samson Ebukam. Both were questionable with hamstring injuries.
The Falcons’ inactives are quarterback Cooper Rush, quarterback Jack Strand, offensive tackle Ethan Onianwa, defensive lineman Jared Ivey, cornerback Robert Longerbeam and cornerback Malcolm DeWalt IV. Rush will serve as the emergency third quarterback.
The Falcons elevated safety Jammie Robinson to the active roster for Monday Night Football.
It makes Robinson eligible to play against the Saints as long as he is not inactive.
Robinson, 25, entered the league as a Panthers’ fifth-round pick in 2023. He spent time on the Falcons’ practice squad last season and appeared in six games, seeing action on 121 special teams snaps.
He has played 27 games with two starts in his career.
Robinson has 21 career tackles.
The Saints are dealing with several injuries at linebacker, so they brought a pair of healthy ones up from the practice squad for Monday night’s game against the Falcons.
They announced that they have elevated Fadil Diggs and Jackson Sirmon on Monday afternoon. Both players will revert back to the practice squad after the game.
Kaden Elliss, Carl Granderson, and Anfernee Jennings were all ruled out on the team’s final injury report. Pete Werner is listed as questionable to play due to a shoulder injury.
Diggs was a 2025 seventh-round pick and he played in five games during his rookie season. Sirmon played in one game for the Jets last season and joined the Saints in the offseason.
