No hoopla this time, just a football game

U2 and Green Day won’t be in the house. The commissioner has other plans. The coin toss will be handled by the referee, not an ex-president.

This time, it’s about the game -- or, more specifically, two teams desperate for a win.

The Atlanta Falcons play host to the New Orleans Saints today without all the emotional baggage that accompanied their first meeting. In Week 3, the NFC South rivals faced each other at the reopening of the Superdome, a night of celebration in a city still trying to pick itself up from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

U2 teamed with Green Day for a rousing pregame concert. Former President Bush flipped the coin at midfield. New Commissioner Roger Goodell and his predecessor, Paul Tagliabue, were both on hand at the renovated stadium, the symbol of so much misery just a year earlier.

Not surprisingly, the fired-up Saints jumped to a quick lead and routed the Falcons 23-3, an outcome that seemed inevitable before the teams even kicked off.

Ever since, Atlanta has had the rematch marked on its calendar.

“Now, it’s just getting back to football,” running back Warrick Dunn said. “It’s not really about the hurricane or being back in New Orleans. We’ve gotten past that. It’s about winning football games.”

The Falcons (5-5) sure could use a win. With three consecutive losses, they’ve gone from a team that looked like a serious NFC contender to one falling apart at the most crucial time of the season -- just like a year ago.

But Atlanta won’t get much sympathy from the Saints (6-4), who have lost three of four to fall into a first-place tie with Carolina.

“Everybody’s disappointed,” linebacker Scott Fujita said. “At the same time, though, everything is in front of us. We’ve got the [third]-best record in the NFC, obviously tied with a bunch of other teams, but everything’s out there in front of us.”

Indeed, both teams are still right in the thick of crowded NFC playoff race.

Chicago (9-1) has pulled away from everyone else, but the Saints are among five teams with four losses, while the Falcons are joined at .500 by two other teams.

With only five postseason spots available, assuming the Bears don’t fall apart, look for things to start shaking out this week.

“We’re fortunate,” Dunn said. “But do you really want to live on the edge all the time? You want to separate yourself from the others, stand up a little bit.”

The Saints have a ready explanation for their struggles over the last month.

“The common thread has been the turnovers,” Coach Sean Payton said. “We have to clean up the turnovers and get it corrected, because that’s one thing that will get you beat.”

Drew Brees had three interceptions in a loss to Baltimore, and three more against Cincinnati last week. Those two games account for six of his 10 picks on the season.

Then there’s the fumbles. The Saints have eight of them in their last three losses, and five were recovered by the other team.

“We’ve been pretty effective on offense moving the ball,” said Brees, who has thrown for more than 300 yards in four straight games, including a franchise-record 510 last week. “Unfortunately, we haven’t taken care of the ball like we need to, and that’s put the defense in some bad situations.”

The Falcons’ defense should get a boost from the return of three-time Pro Bowler John Abraham and middle linebacker Ed Hartwell. Each has played only two games this season because of injuries; Hartwell missed most of last season, too, after tearing his Achilles’ tendon.

Michael Vick followed two of the best passing games of his career by completing just 44 of 93 (47%) for an average of 162 yards over the last three weeks.

During that span, he has four interceptions, only three touchdowns and two crucial fumbles in which he lost the ball without being hit by the defense.

Coach Jim Mora’s father, the longtime coach of the same name, turned up the heat on Vick by criticizing the quarterback on a national radio show. The elder Mora agreed when his co-host called Vick a “coach killer,” adding Vick would never be successful in the NFL because he’s not a consistent passer.