The Falcons can payback the Saints when it counts most 

Who remembers the 'Body Bag Game'? 

Now, guess who won the rematch in the playoffs, featuring those same two teams? 

I was a 14-year old kid when my favorite team (the Washington Redskins) was pummeled on a Monday night in Philadelphia.  The 28-14 loss was so bad, about halfway through it, I went to bed in my parents' Washington, D.C. home, to prepare for school the next day.  I knew there was nothing left to see from that game. 

Fortunately, about six weeks later those same teams met in the NFC Wild Card game at the same venue. 

And my team showed its character and ability, by exacting revenge on the Eagles who woofed it up in a party-like atmosphere less than two months earlier. 

Falcons fans should have similar hope when it comes to the disappointing loss suffered by their team in New Orleans this past Monday night. 

Yes, it was humiliating.  Yes, it was the worst loss ever suffered since head coach Mike Smith took over.  Yes, the Saints ran up the score and tried to get Drew Brees the single-season NFL passing yards record when they were already ahead 38-16, with less than three minutes left to play.  

And yes, you can get all the revenge you want when you see them again. 

That's the beauty of sports ... whether the Falcons see the Saints at the exact same location (the Mercedes-Benz Superdome) again in two weeks in the playoffs or next season ... they'll be able to take out whatever frustration Monday night brought to them. 

Earlier this year, the same teams fought into overtime right here at the Georgia Dome and it came down to a fourth-and-1 call. 

This time, the margin was 29 points. 

The point is ... it was one game. 

Once you get into the playoffs, it's one game. 

Seemingly every year, there's at least one surprise when it comes to the NFL playoffs. 

Last year, it was Green Bay rising from sixth seed to Super Bowl champion.  In each of the last two years, the New York Jets made a run from sixth seed to the AFC Championship Game.  In 2008, Arizona lost by 40 to New England in the penultimate game of the regular season.  Four weeks later, the Cardinals were celebrating their first trip to the Super Bowl.  And we all remember, the way the Giants humbled the 18-0 Patriots just five weeks after New England made history against New York by becoming the first team to go 16-0 in a regular season.  Two years before that, it was Pittsburgh which won it all, becoming the first sixth seed to do so. 

The point is ... this Falcons team is seasoned enough, smart enough and well-coached enough to put the Monday night loss in New Orleans in the back of its mind.  But only to the part of the brain where it can be recalled, when needed, in the postseason to help spur a much bigger run.