Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Sept. 9, at Dec. 9): New Orleans holds a 32-20 edge in the all-time series against the Buccaneers, the club's best winning percentage (.615) versus an NFL opponent that it has played more than 11 times…This will mark the third time that the Saints and Buccaneers have opened their season, with New Orleans capturing the 2002 opener at Raymond James Stadium and the 2008 contest at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome…New Orleans is 18-11 all-time at home against Tampa Bay, capturing five of the last six home meetings…The Saints are 14-9 all-time in contests played at Tampa…In 2017, the Saints and Buccaneers split the season series for the third consecutive season with each club winning their home contest.
vs. Cleveland Browns (Sept. 16): The Browns lead the series 13-4, with Cleveland having won the last meeting at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sept. 14, 2014, 26-24…New Orleans is 2-5 all-time against the Browns at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, as it will be looking to get its first win in the series since a 19-14 victory at Cleveland on Sept. 10, 2006, which marked the regular season debuts on Coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees...It's New Orleans' first inter-conference matchup of 2018.
Atlanta Falcons (at Sept. 23, vs. Nov. 22): The Saints will host a team on Thanksgiving for the first time in franchise history, their only other contest played on the holiday being a 30-27 win at Dallas on Nov. 25, 2010…The matchups promise to provide plenty of fireworks as the Saints and Falcons split a pair of hotly contested games and both teams qualified for the playoffs…It will be the 12th season in 14 years that the Saints and Falcons will play on prime time after the two clubs did so only three times between 1967-2004, with New Orleans holding an 8-6 edge in the 14 prime-time contests between the two clubs…It marks the second consecutive year and the third time in four seasons that the Saints and Falcons play each other on Thursday night…Atlanta holds a 51-46 regular-season advantage in the all-time series against the Saints, although New Orleans has won 16 of 24 meetings since 2006…The Saints have played the Falcons 97 times in the regular season, more than any other opponent…The Saints are 24-24 all-time against the Falcons at home….New Orleans is 22-27 all-time in games played at Atlanta.
at New York Giants (Sept. 30): The Saints will face the Giants for the 30th time, with New York leading the series 16-13…Each club has held serve in contests played in its home stadium in the series since the Saints pulled off a 30-7 win at Giants Stadium on Dec. 24, 2006…They have a 4-12 record in road games against the Giants…Payton served on the coaching staff of the Giants from 1999-2002, serving as offensive coordinator his last three seasons…New Orleans will be looking for its first win in MetLife Stadium in its fourth try, dropping two to the Giants and one to the Jets…The contest is the first of four matchups against NFC East opponents.
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The New Orleans Saints have announced their schedule for the 2018 season. Take a look at the opposing team's head coaches.
vs. Washington (Oct. 8):** The Redskins hold a 17-9 edge in the all-time series, but last season New Orleans broke a two-game losing streak as it made a fourth quarter comeback from a 15-point deficit as Brees completed 11 consecutive passes to eke out a 34-31 overtime win, which was New Orelans' eighth straight victory on the season… The 2017 opener will be the 14th consecutive season the Saints are featured on "Monday Night Football."…The only other time the two clubs faced off on Monday night was on was a 20-3 win on Nov. 23, 1992 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome…New Orleans will be looking for back-to-back home wins over Washington for the first time.
at Baltimore Ravens (Oct. 21): New Orleans has posted its only victory against the Ravens in franchise history on the road, a 37-25 win on Dec. 8, 2002…The Saints are 1-3 in road games in the series and 1-5 against the Ravens overall…The Ravens have won three straight in the series…The Ravens are the only team that Brees has not defeated in his 17-year NFL career…The contest will also mark a homecoming of sorts for tight end Benjamin Watson, who played for the Ravens from 2016-17, before rejoining the Saints as an unrestricted free agent in the 2018 offseason.
at Minnesota Vikings (Oct. 28): Minnesota has a 19-10 edge in the regular season series and 3-1 in the postseason, after the Vikings won the season opener on "Monday Night Football," 29-19 and the NFC Divisional Playoff, 29-24…Including the playoff game, it will be the third consecutive nationally televised contest between the Saints and Vikings…New Orleans has a 3-11 road record at Minnesota.
vs. Los Angeles Rams (Nov. 4): The Saints close out the preseason by hosting the Rams on Aug. 30 and they will host them again in Week 9…The Rams lead the regular season series 41-32 after a 26-20 win at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 26, 2017…In that contest, running back Alvin Kamara had a 74-yard touchdown run and to go with 101 yards receiving had 188 total yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns… New Orleans has a 16-20 record when hosting the Rams in the regular season and also recorded its first playoff win in franchise history with a 31-28 victory in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Dec. 30, 2000…The Saints and Rams will meet for the seventh time in the last 10 years.
at Cincinnati Bengals (Nov. 11): The Bengals lead the all-time series 7-6, following a 27-10 win at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Nov. 16, 2014…New Orleans has posted a 4-3 mark in contests played at Cincinnati, including a 34-30 victory at Paul Brown Stadium on Dec. 5, 2010.
vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Nov. 18): The Saints will be hosting a defending Super Bowl champion in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for the third consecutive season…When facing a defending Super Bowl champion, the Saints have posted a 7-21 all-time record, 2-11 at home...Philadelphia owns a 16-11 regular season advantage in the series…The Saints have an 8-7 regular season home record against the Eagles and have split two playoff meetings at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
at Dallas Cowboys (Nov. 29): Dallas owns a 16-12 advantage in the series, but the Saints have won five of seven meetings since Sean Payton became head coach in 2006…New Orleans has a 4-10 record at Dallas, but are 4-1 at the Cowboys since 2004…The last time the clubs met was Oct. 4, 2015 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in a 26-20 Saints win where Brees tossed an 80-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage of overtime…The last meeting of the two teams at AT&T Stadium occurred on Sept. 28, 2014 with the Cowboys edging the Saints 38-17.
Carolina Panthers (at Dec. 17, vs. Dec. 30): The Panthers lead the regular season series 24-22 with the Saints sweeping the regular season series for the first time since 2011 and then with a 31-26 NFC Wild Card playoff game win over the Panthers defeated a team three times in the same season for the first time in the franchise's 51-season history….The Saints are 11-12 all-time both home and away against the Panthers in the regular season…New Orleans won its first road matchup against the Panthers since 2011 with a 34-13 victory on Sept. 24, 2017 as the Saints recorded three interceptions and Kamara scored his first career touchdown…On Dec. 17, the Saints and Panthers play each other on "Monday Night Football" for the first time and the first time the Saints have visited an NFC South opponent on Monday night since a 34-14 win at Atlanta on Dec. 10, 2007…The contests will mark the opportunity for one of New Orleans' top 2018 free agent pickups, safety Kurt Coleman to play against his former club.
vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Dec. 23): New Orleans' final inter-conference matchup of 2018 will feature two of the NFL's most prolific quarterbacks in Brees and Ben Roethlisberger…The two have combined for 121,510 career passing yards and 817 touchdown passes…The Saints lead the all-time series 8-7 and most recently got the best of the Steelers in a contest between the two gunslingers at Heinz Field when they defeated Pittsburgh 35-32 on Nov. 30, 2014, when Brees threw five touchdowns and defensive end Cameron Jordan had a sack and his first career interception…New Orleans' 20-10 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday night, October 31, 2010 gave the Saints a 3-2 record at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome against the Steelers.
