Inside Saints 2023 Schedule: Matchups, Trends, and Challenges

A closer look at the 2023 New Orleans Saints schedule reveals unusual trends and challenges as the team attempts to return to playoff contention.

Bob Rose | May 13, 2023

Inside Saints 2023 Schedule: Matchups, Trends, and Challenges /

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New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints schedule for the 2023-24 NFL season is now officially out. New Orleans, entering their second year with coach Dennis Allen, is coming off a 7-10 season and consecutive years of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16. However, the Saints have one of the NFL's "easiest" schedules, according to several projections.

New Orleans will have four outdoor games in 2023, with none in cold weather cities later than October 8. Only four of the Saints opponents had winning records in 2022, and they'll have just five games against teams that qualified for the playoffs last season. New Orleans opponents had just a .427 winning percentage in 2022, the league's second easiest strength of schedule.

Here is a closer breakdown of the Saints home and away opponents on the 2023-24 schedule.

*(all Sunday kickoffs unless otherwise noted)

HOME GAMES

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) sacks Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder (4). Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY

Tennessee Titans (Sept. 10)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Oct. 1)

Jacksonville Jaguars (Thur. Oct. 19)

Chicago Bears (Nov. 5)

Detroit Lions (Dec. 3)

Carolina Panthers (Dec. 10)

New York Giants (Dec. 17)

Atlanta Falcons (Jan. 6 or 7)

• 2022 winning percentage = .438

• 3 winning records

• 1 new coach

• 2 new quarterbacks (projected)

The NFL did New Orleans no favors by scheduling them at home in back-to-back games only once, a three-game stretch from Weeks 13-15. However, the Saints do play four of their final six games in the Ceasars Superdome, including the season finale against rival Atlanta.

New Orleans has won their last four regular season openers, but the last two of those have been outside the dome. The Saints open 2023 at home against the Titans. Oddly, they've lost their last four games in the Superdome against Tennessee and are just 2-6 at home all-time against the Titans/Oilers franchise.

Other than Tennessee, New Orleans has been historically dominant at home against their 2023 opponents. They have a .604 all-time winning percentage against opponents they'll face outside the NFC South this season.

New Orleans must regain that home field edge if they are to have a shot at returning to the postseason. Once one of the NFL's most dominant teams at home, the Saints are just 6-9 in the Superdome over the last two years and lost home playoff games to end their 2019 and 2020 seasons.

AWAY GAMES

New Orleans Saints receiver Chris Olave (12) catches the ball as Minnesota Vikings safety Camryn Bynum (24) and linebacker Eric Kendricks (54) defend. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY

Carolina Panthers (Mon. Sept. 18)

Green Bay Packers (Sept. 24)

New England Patriots (Oct. 8)

Houston Texans (Oct. 15)

Indianapolis Colts (Oct. 29)

Minnesota Vikings (Nov. 12)

Atlanta Falcons (Nov. 26)

Los Angeles Rams (Thur. Dec. 21)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Dec. 31)

• 2022 winning percentage = .418

• 1 winning record

• 3 new coaches

• 5 new quarterbacks (projected)

The Saints are on the road in seven of their first 11 games. They have back-to-back away contests four times in 2023, though one of those are divided by their Week 11 bye.

Top overall pick Bryce Young will likely be making just his second pro start when the Panthers host the Saints on Monday night in Week 2. It's the only Monday night appearance for New Orleans in 2023.

The Saints could face three rookie quarterbacks this season in Young, C.J. Stroud (Texans), and Anthony Richardson (Colts). Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Green Bay also come into the year with major questions behind center.

New Orleans has never won on the road against the Texans, going 0-3 in the venue. Minnesota has also been a House of Horrors for the Saints, where they hold a 3-13 all-time record and have lost two playoff games.

The Saints will be making their first trip to SoFi Stadium, home of the Rams. New Orleans has just an 11-16 all-time record against the Rams in L.A., including 0-4 since their return to the region in 2016.

New Orleans was 3-6 on the road last season, with one of their "home" games a loss to the Vikings in London. However, they played well defensively in Tampa Bay and San Francisco and had two impressive late-season road wins at Cleveland and Philadelphia. Prior to 2022, the Saints were a formidable 27-7 on the road between 2018 and 2021.

New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis (56) gets ready for a play against the Carolina Panthers. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Obviously, these numbers are nothing more than historical figures once the games begin. Every year, there are multiple teams that rebound from a losing record the previous season into playoff contenders.

With their offseason personnel moves, the Saints are projected to make such a jump and are the favorites in the NFC South. Now, their challenge will be to translate that to the field, overcome scheduling challenges, and take advantage of favorable matchups to return to contention in 2023.