Saints hero Steve Gleason did not hold back on Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning on Monday night.
During the Falcons’ 45-24 victory over the Saints in New Orleans, “The Manningcast” had Gleason on as a special guest during the 20th anniversary game of the Superdome reopening for the first time post-Hurricane Katrina.
The former Saints special teamer and ALS advocate became the star of the broadcast near the end of the third quarter as the Falcons led 31-10 once Manning showed a clip of himself hitting a couple of punts.
Gleason, who’s known in the bayou for his blocked punt on Falcons punter Michael Koenen’s in the first 90 seconds of the emotional game back in 2006, expressed what he would do if Peyton were back there.
“Peyton, unfortunately for both of us, long before I hit the ball, I [would] hit your forehead,” Gleason said.
Recently inducted Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees also made an appearance Monday night.
With so many franchise stars in attendance, the dome fell silent early as Atlanta ran roughshod behind the monster performances of running backs Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr.
Bijan put up 145 yards rushing with two touchdowns, one being a 65-yard sprint on the opening possession. Brian added 62 yards and a season-high three rushing touchdowns.
The five scores are a Falcons single-game high since 2010. Atlanta put up over 200 rushing yards in back-to-back games for the first time since the 2010 season, as well.
Despite the raucous crowd, the Saints dropped another home game and fell to 1-3 on the season. They have lost 13 of their last 19 in the Superdome.
