Bye Week Prep: A Look At How The Saints Have Fared After A Bye

New Orleans must win most, if not all, of their six remaining games for even a chance at contention. Here's how they've historically fared in post-bye games.

Taysom Hill (7) is announced to New Orleans Saints fans against the Atlanta Falcons / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints have their bye this coming week. They enter the bye with a 4-7 record and still within striking distance in the NFC South after winning their last two games. Both wins came under interim coach Darren Rizzi, who took over for the fired Dennis Allen three weeks ago.

New Orleans next takes the field when they host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, December 1. The Rams are currently 5-5 and will take on the 8-2 Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday at home.

At 4-7, the Saints are not mathematically eliminated from the NFC South race. They are one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and two behind the Atlanta Falcons in the division race. They'll need some outside help to get back into contention.

New Orleans has a 2-3 divisional record and a 3-4 record within the conference. They'll almost need to sweep their final six games and need teams in front of them to lose to nullify tiebreaker disadvantages that they created.

Here is how the rest of the Saints schedule shapes up:

• Dec. 1 - vs. Rams
• Dec. 8 - at Giants
• Dec. 15 - vs. Washington
• Dec. 23 - at Packers
• Dec. 29 - vs. Raiders
• Jan. 5 - at Buccaneers

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) rushes against the Atlanta Falcons / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

For New Orleans to have any realistic chance, they'll need to come out of their bye week strong. In 1990, the NFL reinstated bye week scheduling that had previously been dormant since 1966. Other than 1993, when teams had two byes, there has been one rotating off week built within the schedule of each squad in the league.

Since 1990, the Saints have a 19-16 record in games after their bye. That's a modest winning percentage of .559, but their record is far better at home. In home games after their bye, the Saints are an impressive 11-5, a winning percentage of .688. They'll come out of their off week at home against the Rams.

New Orleans has been even better out of a bye since the turn of the century. Since 2000, the Saints have a 14-10 record (.583) after their off week. Their record at home in those games over that span is 9-3, a terrific winning percentage of .783.

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) is takled by New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis (56) / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It's even more important that the Saints maintain a high level of play throughout the stretch run. Their all-time record for the remainder of the year after a bye week is 180-152, a winning percentage of .542.

Over the last 15 years, the Saints have been especially strong after their bye. In that span, New Orleans has a .657 winning percentage (92-48) for the remainder of the year after an off week.

For those hopeful that the Saints will run the table, it's important to note that the team has gone undefeated only once for the rest of the season in 34 years of bye weeks. That was in 2011, which saw them finish with a 6-0 mark.

The Saints have won 11 of their last 15 post-bye outings. They lost last year after a bye, but have won three of the last four and six of the last eight games after a bye week. Their only two losses in that stretch were to the Atlanta Falcons.

After winning their last two games before the bye, New Orleans looks to extend their streak. To have any hope at all to get back into playoff contention, the Saints must also win the majority, if not all, of their six post-bye games.