A look at the New Orleans Saints' 2020 regular season opponents, and dates:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Sept. 13, at Nov. 8): New Orleans holds a 35-21 edge in the all-time series against the Buccaneers, the club's best winning percentage (.625) versus an NFL opponent that it has played more than 11 times…New Orleans is 19-12 all-time at home against Tampa Bay and 16-9 in contests played at Tampa…The Nov. 8 "Sunday Night Football" tilt at Raymond James Stadium will be the first time, the Saints have played the Buccaneers in prime time since a 23-20 victory in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Dec. 1, 2002 and the first time the Saints have played a prime time game at Tampa Bay…In 2019, the Saints swept the Buccaneers for the first time since 2014…The series will feature two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Drew Brees and Buccaneers signal-caller Tom Brady, who signed with the team in the offseason. The two quarterbacks are the top-two all-time leaders in completions (Brees-6,867, Brady-6,377), passing yards (Brees-77,416, Brady-74,571) and touchdown passes (Brees-547, Brady-541)…The season opener will be the first meeting where the two starting quarterbacks are both aged 40 or older…The Sept. 13 opener will mark the third consecutive season the Saints have started the season at home.
at Las Vegas Raiders (Sept. 21): The all-time series is tied 6-6-1 as the Saints will travel to Las Vegas for the first time to play the relocated Raiders in Allegiant Stadium…The Saints and Raiders will face off on "Monday Night Football" for the third time and the first time since 1991, with the clubs having split the first two matchups…New Orleans currently has a four-game winning streak on "Monday Night Football," having won each of their two meetings in 2018 and 2019…New Orleans has won the last three road contests over the Raiders dating to 1997, all taking place in Oakland…Saints Coach Sean Payton served on the same offensive coaching staff with Raiders Coach Jon Gruden in Philadelphia in 1997, when Gruden was the Eagles' offensive coordinator and Payton coached quarterbacks…The two coaches then faced off twice annually when Payton first took over the Saints and Gruden coached the Buccaneers from 2006-08 with the two splitting their six meetings…New Orleans has won 11 consecutive inter-conference contests, dating to a 20-0 shutout over Miami in London's Wembley Stadium on Oct. 1, 2017.
vs. Green Bay Packers (Sept. 27): Green Bay owns a 16-9 advantage in the series, but Payton has a 4-1 record against the Packers…New Orleans has a 6-5 record against the Packers in contests played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome…The last time the clubs met in New Orleans was Oct. 26, 2014 "Sunday Night Football" contest at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in a 44-23 Saints win where Brees completed 27-of-32 passes (84.4 percent) for 311 yards, three touchdowns and a 138.4 passer rating…Three of the last five Saints-Packers matchups have been on prime time…New Orleans has a 20-15 record on "Sunday Night Football," including 11-1 under Payton…The contest is the first of four matchups against NFC North opponents.
at Detroit Lions (Oct. 4): The regular season series is tied 12-12-1 after a 52-38 Saints win at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Oct. 15, 2017…In that contest, New Orleans scored three defensive touchdowns in a game for the first time in franchise history…The contest will be the second consecutive against an NFC North opponent and the Saints' first trip to Ford Field since 2014.
vs. Los Angeles Chargers (Oct. 12): The Chargers lead the all-time series against the Saints 7-5, but New Orleans has captured the last three matchups in games played in London (2008), New Orleans (2012) and San Diego (2016)…This will be the first "Monday Night Football" matchup between the Saints and Chargers...Brees was originally selected by the Chargers in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft and played for them his first five seasons until signing with New Orleans as an unrestricted free agent in 2006…Even though the Saints and Chargers haven't played each other in the regular season since a 35-34 win at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium on Oct. 2, 2016, the two clubs have played each other the last three preseasons in Southern California, preceded by joint practices.
Carolina Panthers (vs. Oct. 25, at Jan. 3): The regular season series is tied 25-25 with the Saints capturing the only playoff meeting between the two clubs…In 2019, New Orleans swept Carolina for the second time in three seasons, as 34-31 win at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Nov. 24 and a 42-10 victory to close out the regular season on Dec. 29…The Saints are 13-12 all-time on the road against the Panthers and 12-13 at home in the regular season…This will be the third consecutive year the Saints and Panthers close out the regular season and the 11th time since Carolina entered the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1995…In the offseason, the Panthers signed QB Teddy Bridgewater, who played for New Orleans from 2018-19 and went 5-0 as a starter last season during a five-game stretch when Brees was sidelined with a right thumb injury.
at Chicago Bears (Nov. 1): New Orleans has a 16-13 edge in the series, riding a five-game winning streak against the Bears, including a 36-25 win at Soldier Field on Oct. 20, 2019…New Orleans has a 9-8 regular season road record against the Bears, including a three-game winning streak at Soldier Field dating to 2013…Brees and Bears quarterback Nick Foles both attended Austin (Texas) Westlake High School, joining Peyton and Eli Manning (Newman School-New Orleans) as the only two Super Bowl-winning quarterback duos from the same high school…Brees, the Super Bowl XLIV MVP, has posted a 2-0 record against Foles, the Super Bowl LII MVP, in two playoff contests when the was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, including the Jan. 13, 2019, 20-14 NFC Divisional Playoff win.
vs. San Francisco 49ers (Nov. 15): The 49ers hold a 48-26-2 edge in the all-time series, but Payton has a 6-2 regular season record against San Francisco…As members of the NFC West from 1970-2001, the clubs played two times a season during that period...Playing the Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 20, New Orleans will play both the Super Bowl champion and finalist (49ers) in the same season for the eighth time overall and the first time since 2017 (New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons)…Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders , an offseason unrestricted free agent signing of New Orleans spent the second half of the 2019 season with the 49ers.
Atlanta Falcons (vs. Nov. 22, at Dec. 6): This marks the first time since 2014 that one of the meetings between the Saints and Falcons isn't currently scheduled for prime time…The clubs split their meetings in 2019, each winning their road matchup…Atlanta holds a 52-49 regular-season advantage in the all-time series, although New Orleans has won 19 of 28 meetings since 2006…The Saints have played the Falcons 101 times in the regular season, more than any other opponent…The Saints are 25-25 all-time against the Falcons at home…New Orleans is 24-27 all-time in games played in Atlanta.
at Denver Broncos (Nov. 29): The Broncos lead the all-time series 9-2…Payton will be looking for his first victory against the Broncos, as he seeks to have victories against all 31 opponents in his head coaching career….New Orleans will be looking for its first win against Denver since Dec. 24, 1994, the longest current stretch without a victory against an opponent…Denver Coach Vic Fangio was a defensive assistant with the Saints from 1986-94…Sanders played for the Broncos from 2014-19, a period when he had three 1,000-yard receiving seasons and was selected to the Pro Bowl twice.
at Philadelphia Eagles (Dec. 13): The series with the Eagles resumes after New Orleans defeated Philadelphia in the regular season and postseason in 2018. Philadelphia owns a 16-12 regular season advantage in the series, with the Saints winning three of four postseason contests…Safety Malcolm Jenkins , who re-signed with New Orleans in the offseason after playing for the Black and Gold from 2009-13, played for the Eagles from 2014-19, a tenure where he was a team captain and was named to three Pro Bowls.
vs. Kansas City Chiefs (Dec. 20): New Orleans has posted a 5-6 record against the Chiefs, 2-3 record in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome…The Saints will be playing a defending Super Bowl champion for the first time since they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season and postseason in 2018…When facing a defending Super Bowl champion in the regular season and postseason combined, the Saints have posted a 10-21 all-time record, 5-11 at home…The Kansas City contest is currently the only Saints game scheduled to be broadcast on CBS.
vs. Minnesota Vikings (Dec. 25): Minnesota has a 19-11 edge in the regular season series and 4-1 in the postseason, after the Vikings defeated New Orleans in the NFC Wild Card Playoff on Jan. 5, 2020, 26-20 in overtime…Including two playoff games, the Christmas contest will be the fifth consecutive nationally televised contest between the Saints and Vikings…New Orleans has a 7-7 regular season home record vs. Minnesota...The game will be the first matchup scheduled on a Friday since a Dec. 25, 2009 meeting between the Tennessee Titans and the Chargers.
A look at the Saints' 2020 preseason opponents:
at Los Angeles Rams (Aug. 14): New Orleans is scheduled to open the preseason on the road for the fifth time in the past six seasons…The Saints are 26-27 in preseason openers all-time and the Rams preseason series is tied 2-2.
at Pittsburgh Steelers (Aug. 23): The Sunday night contest will be nationally televised on Fox (WVUE locally)…The Steelers hold the edge in the preseason series 9-3, but New Orleans has a 9-7 edge in the regular season…The contest will mark the first time that the Saints have played at Pittsburgh in the preseason since a 24-13 Steelers win at Three Rivers Stadium on Sept. 6, 1975.
vs. Houston Texans (Aug. 29): After playing its first two preseason games on the road, New Orleans will be the home team for the first time in 2020 to host the Houston Texans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints and Texans have played each other 10 times in the preseason with the series knotted at 5-5. New Orleans defeated Houston 30-28 in the 2019 regular season opener.
vs. Miami Dolphins (Sept. 3): The Saints will close out the preseason at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome against the Dolphins prior to the roster cutdown to 53 players. It will be the fifth consecutive year that New Orleans finishes the preseason at home. The Dolphins lead the all-time preseason series 15-7. The 22 meetings between the two teams in the preseason is the second-most by a Saints preseason opponent to the 30 with the Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers franchise.
The Rams, Texans and Dolphins preseason contests will be broadcast regionally on the Gray Communications network of stations on the Gulf Coast, available in the New Orleans area on Fox-8 WVUE, with dates and times to be announced in the near future. The nationally televised Pittsburgh game on Aug. 23 will also be broadcast locally on Fox-8.
