Game Preview: Saints at Cardinals | 2024 NFL Preseason Week 1

The Saints visit the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium for New Orleans' 2024 NFL preseason opener on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 7 CT

Aug 06, 2024 at 01:44 PM

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SAINTS: Roster | Depth Chart | Stats | Injury Report

CARDINALS: Roster | Depth Chart | Stats | Injury Report

The New Orleans Saints will begin the 2024 preseason this week when they play at the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The Saints and Cardinals will meet for the seventh time in the preseason, with New Orleans leading the series 5-1.

With over two weeks of training camp in the books, both teams enter 2024 with optimism. New Orleans finished 9-8 and second in the NFC South last season, after winning four of the last five contests in 2023. The Saints proved to be a balanced team finishing in the top 10 in both points per game (23.6-ninth) and scoring defense (19.2-eighth).

In 2023, quarterback Derek Carr completed 375-of-548 (68.4 pct.) passes for 3,878 yards with 25 touchdowns and a 97.7 passer rating. He will lead a potent offensive attack that features explosive players in Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and Taysom Hill. Center Erik McCoy, who participated in his first Pro Bowl last season, will lead a reconfigured offensive line that will feature three new starters.

On defense, the club's front line increased its depth, including a trio of standouts at end in Carl Granderson, Cameron Jordan and Chase Young. Demario Davis leads the linebacker corps after leading the team in tackles for the sixth consecutive season in 2023 with 121 stops. Willie Gay Jr. and Pete Werner will compete at outside linebacker alongside Davis. The Black and Gold secondary is led by free ssafety Tyrann Mathieu, who tied for the team lead with CB Paulson Adebo with four interceptions in 2023. Adebo led the team with six overall takeaways and ranked third in the NFL with 18 passes defensed.

One of the NFL's top-ranked special teams units returns its core group at the major specialist positions and is led by an All-Pro returner in Shaheed and captain J.T. Gray, whose 65 coverage stops since 2019 rank second in the NFL.

Following Saturday's tilt in Glendale, the Saints will return to UC-Irvine for one more week of training camp out west. From Aug. 15-16, the Saints and San Francisco 49ers will participate in joint practices. The Black and Gold will then travel to Northern California to play the 49ers in a nationally televised contest on Sunday, Aug. 18. The team then returns for their final week of training camp in New Orleans, including workouts open to the public at Tulane University on Tuesday, Aug. 20 and then at a transformed Caesars Superdome on Friday, Aug. 23, closing out the preseason by hosting the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Aug. 25.

SAINTS vs. CARDINALS SERIES HISTORY

The Saints and Cardinals will meet for the seventh time in the preseason and for the first time since 2018 (a scheduled 2021 meeting at the Caesars Superdome was cancelled due to Hurricane Ida).

New Orleans played the Cardinals (then based in St. Louis) for the franchise's first game played in Louisiana and first win, a 23-14 preseason victory on Aug. 12, 1967 at Shreveport's Independence Bowl. In another neutral site contest, the Saints beat the Cardinals, 17-10 on Aug. 5, 2012 in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, the day after tackle William Roaf was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Saints and Cardinals have played 31 times in the regular season with the Cardinals leading the series 16-15. The Cardinals won the first three games, including both played in 1968, when they were in the NFL Century divison. The Saints won their first game against the Cardinals on Nov. 2, 1969, 51-42 at Busch Stadium. In another memorable contest, the Saints beat the Cardinals 14-0 on Dec. 8, 1974 in the team's final contest at Tulane Stadium.

In their only postseason meeting, the Saints defeated the Cardinals, 45-14, in the NFC Divisional Playoff at the Superdome on Jan. 16, 2010, en route to the Super Bowl XLIV championship.

Photos: Game Action | Saints at Cardinals Week 7 2022