The Saints Are Bringing Back the Hero of Their Most Emotional Win for Monday Night

New Orleans marks 20 years since its first game back in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, and the man behind that night's biggest play, Steve Gleason, has a role.

by Neal Coolong

Oct 2, 2026

New Orleans marks 20 years since its first game back in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, and the man behind that night's biggest play, Steve Gleason, has a role.

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Monday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons will carry more weight for the New Orleans Saints than a meeting of 1-2 teams usually does. It falls 20 years after the franchise’s first game back in the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina, and the player behind that night’s signature play will be back on the field.

Steve Gleason will serve as an honorary captain and lead the “Who Dat” chant, Saints vice president of brand strategy Shirin Braden told the Louisiana Radio Network. The team is also recognizing Gleason and Curtis Deloatch as Legends of the Game, and other members of the 2006 roster will be honored during the night.

Steve Gleason’s blocked punt still defines the Saints’ return

Sep 26, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints fans take photos at the statue outside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome commemorating Steve Gleason’s punt block during the first Saints game played after Hurricane Katrina. Tonight is the Tenth Anniversary of that game between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons.

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On Sept. 25, 2006, Gleason came free through a gap in Atlanta’s protection and blocked a punt 90 seconds into the game. Deloatch recovered it in the end zone, and New Orleans went on to win 23-3 before 70,003.

“I understood that the night was bigger than football,” Gleason told Fox 8 last week. “But none of us could’ve understood what those few seconds would come to mean 20 years later.” A statue of the block stands outside the stadium. Gleason was diagnosed with ALS in 2011, and his Team Gleason foundation, which supports people living with the disease, will be the beneficiary of Monday’s 50/50 raffle.

Many current Saints are too young to remember the game, according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, but they have been taught what it meant. “Just imagining what it could have been like for all the people and … the lives lost and … and what it kind of means and what the Saints mean to the city. We wear that on our sleeve for sure,” quarterback Tyler Shough said.

Shough has reason to want a clean night. He ranks second in the NFL with 917 passing yards and has thrown eight touchdown passes, but turnovers were costly in both New Orleans losses. Irma Thomas, who sang the national anthem in 2006, will perform it again, and Trombone Shorty headlines the halftime show. Kickoff at the Caesars Superdome is 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.