series – Syndication Server

Saints have a better record at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium than the Falcons

Atlanta spent a lot of money building Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the Saints have a better record there than the Falcons do on their own home turf:

Atlanta spent a lot of money building Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Atlanta Falcons to play their home games, but it’s their rivals who have a better record there. Since the venue opened for the 2017 season, the New Orleans Saints have gone 5-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — a stunning win percentage of .714.

Those Saints victories included a 43-37 thriller in overtime in 2018 and a Thanksgiving Day rout in 2019. Last season’s loss was their first since the arena’s inaugural season.

Now compare it to the Falcons’ home record, which is one of the NFL’s worst since 2017: 27-32. That’s a win percentage of just .457. Only eight teams have won fewer home games since Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened its doors.

The next chapter in this long-running rivalry will be written on Sunday, when the Saints and Falcons kick off in Week 4. They’re both looking to keep pace in the NFC South title race but each team is dealing with similar troubles. Offensive line injuries have struck New Orleans (Erik McCoy is having sports hernia surgery, sidelining him for six to eight weeks) as well as Atlanta (the Falcons already put Drew Dalman on injured reserve and Kaleb McGary could be next). Whoever has the next man up playing well just might win the day.

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Wisconsin had Jim Harbaugh’s number for the bulk of his tenure at Michigan

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh took the head job with the San Diego Chargers Wednesday night. The reigning national champion college coach returns to the NFL for the first time since 2014.

He leaves Michigan after a solid coaching tenure became a legendary one. Program stagnation and calls for his job in 2020 were met with three straight College Football Playoff appearances and this year’s national championship.

Harbaugh’s final record is 89-25. He went 2-6 in bowl games, a record that doesn’t count the national championship game.

There will be substantial fallout from this news. Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore is likely to get the job, which will create stability. But as seen with Alabama post-Nick Saban, there will be a 30-day transfer window for the entire roster. This could lead to widespread player departures from one of the nation’s best rosters.

Before all of that happens, it’s time to rehash Wisconsin’s history against Harbaugh over the last decade. Despite the direction the series trended after 2020, the Badgers actually had his number for a significant chunk of time.

Which team has an edge in the all-time Saints-Giants series history?

The Saints and Giants have met 31 times in NFL history, and in recent memory, many of their games have been highly competitive battles:

The New Orleans Saints and New York Giants have met a litany of times in recent memory. Since the Saints came into the league in 1967, they have played the Giants on 31 separate occasions, 11 of those games coming since 2000. In these 31 matchups, the Giants have taken home 17 victories to the Saints’ 14, and there have been no ties between these two teams. In matches since 2000, the record is 6-5 in favor of New Orleans.

And these two teams have produced some spectacular battles over the years, with arguably the most notable being the matchup in 2015 between Drew Brees and Eli Manning. The two quarterbacks would combine for 855 passing yards and 13 passing touchdowns that day, with Drew Brees tying the record for the most in a game ever. That matchup would end up a victory for the Saints, as they won 52-49 in regulation.

The most recent game between these two teams was also interesting without a doubt. The game would end in a 27-21 victory for the Giants in overtime on a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, sealed by a 6-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley.

Compared to 2021 however, these teams differ greatly in some ways and are similar in others. The Giants’ current depth chart compared to their 2021 roster has just five players still starting:

RB Saquon Barkley
DT Dexter Lawrence
OLB Azeez Ojulari
CB Adoree’ Jackson
S Xavier McKinney

Obviously due to injury some are left off for this week, such as Daniel Jones, but that list is not exceptionally long. On the other hand the Saints have a couple more starters who are still starting from 2021. In total, they have eight who remain in the starting position, with Derek Carr taking over at quarterback:

RB Alvin Kamara
C Erik McCoy
RG Cesar Ruiz
RT Ryan Ramczyk
DE Cameron Jordan
LB Demario Davis
CB Paulson Adebo
CB Marshon Lattimore

With that said, Michael Thomas is also still around however he did not start the 2021 season and is currently injured as well. You could also include Taysom Hill somewhat as he was not a starter necessarily in 2021 but he had significant contributions that game. Interestingly enough, neither team has their 2021 kicker or punter as well, as both teams have moved on since then. Regardless, this matchup looks to be one that has new faces all across the board for both teams.

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Saints have a lot of ground to cover in all-time series history vs. Vikings

The Saints have a lot of ground to cover in their all-time series history with the Vikings

There’s quite a history between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings, and we’ll see the next chapter in this long-running rivalry play out on Sunday. The two teams have split wins and losses in recent years, including a couple of memorable playoff games fresh off the heels of a four-game win streak for New Orleans that started by ending Minnesota’s Super Bowl hopes back in 2009.

But the Vikings are ahead of the Saints when you look at the all-time series history, and it isn’t very close. New Orleans has lost 24 of their 37 games with Minnesota (including the postseason), only beating them once through seven meetings back in the 1970’s — thanks to a Tom Myers interception returned 97 yards for a touchdown, a team record that stood for decades. Their .351 win percentage against the Vikings is the fourth-worst in franchise history.

That’s old history now, though. The Saints lost to this Vikings team last season in London and they have a chance for payback on Sunday in Minneapolis. It’ll take more than one victory to level out years of strife with the Vikings, but this is a great opportunity to take down an opponent the Saints have faced more than 25 other teams.

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Saints vs. Bears: Who has the lead in all-time series history?

The Saints can build on their lead against the Bears in the series’ all-time history. Here’s how the two teams stack up:

We’re in for the latest chapter in a heated NFC rivalry on Sunday, with the Chicago Bears (2-6) visiting the New Orleans Saints (4-4) and looking to make some noise after a busy workday at the NFL trade deadline. But which team has the lead in the all-time series history?

That would be the Saints, who have achieved an 18-15 record against the Bears since their first meeting back in 1968. New Orleans is currently riding a seven-game winning stream against Chicago including an overtime victory and subsequent playoff win during the 2020 season. The Bears have not won a game in New Orleans since Oct. 27, 1991 (their last win in Louisiana happened in Baton Rouge during the Hurricane Katrina-impacted 2005 season).

So it’s shaping up to be a tall task for Bears backup Tyson Bagent, who will start at quarterback while Justin Fields continues to recover from an injured throwing hand. Bagent has gone 1-1 as Chicago’s starter while throwing three interceptions and fumbling twice, though he’s logged a pair of touchdown runs and thrown a touchdown pass. Still, the Saints defense can’t afford to take him lightly.

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Flashback Friday: Highlights from past Saints-Colts games

Flashback Friday: Highlights from past Saints-Colts games feature more than Super Bowl XLIV

Go looking for highlights from past games between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts and you’ll see some memorable plays from Super Bowl XLIV — but there’s more to this series than that big game.

The Saints are 9-5 against the Colts with four consecutive wins dating back to that Super Bowl victory. Their last matchup was a vintage Drew Brees performance, and it’s the first of several highlight reels from the latest games in this series. See for yourself:

Saints vs. Texans: Who owns the lead in all-time series history?

Saints vs. Texans: Who owns the lead in all-time series history? New Orleans has won more games, but they’ve never won in Houston:

We’re in for an uncommon matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans on Sunday — it’s just the sixth meeting between the two teams since the league expanded in 2002 with the Texans’ founding and the creation of the NFC South. And who has more bragging rights in what’s become a natural geographic rivalry?

The Saints hold a 3-2 lead in five previous games (and Derek Carr went 2-2 against them with the Raiders), but they’ve never won in Houston (and neither has Carr). Their last trip to face the Texans on the road was a disaster in 2015 when J.J. Watt memorably took over the afternoon. All three wins came in New Orleans, most recently in 2019’s season opener, which came down to a last-second, long-distance field goal by Wil Lutz.

Obviously the Saints are hoping for fewer theatrics in what could be their first win against the Texans at NRG Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon CT, check here for local coverage.

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Saints vs. Patriots: Who has an edge in the all-time series history?

Saints vs. Patriots: Who has an edge in the all-time series history? They haven’t been the same without Tom Brady, but the Pats still have bragging rights.

We’re on to the 16th meeting between the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots, a series that developed bit of a rivalry when both teams were led by Hall of Fame-bound quarterbacks — and the Saints are coming off their biggest over the Patriots in a decade, having dominated them at Gillette Stadium in a 28-13 upset back in 2021.

But that hardly leveled the scales. The Patriots have enjoyed a 10-5 lead in the all-time series against the Saints, with New Orleans only winning back-to-back games in a three-game sweep stretching from 1989 to 1995.

Now both teams are hitting the field with clouds hanging over them. Neither squad has maintained the high standards Drew Brees and Tom Brady established, and there are high stakes for each team in Sunday’s matchup. A third loss in a row would finish eroding the goodwill Dennis Allen gathered over an offseason of much-needed changes, highlighting the one personnel move he failed to make: upgrading offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael.

.At the same time, Bill Belichick’s follow-up of decades of success with a 1-4 start would be hardly acceptable for Patriots fans discovering how the over half has lived all this time. Hopefully the Saints can pull off a win on Sunday and put all this behind them.

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Highlights from New Orleans Saints’ past games with Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Highlights from New Orleans Saints’ past games with Tampa Bay Buccaneers | @DillySanders

The New Orleans Saints had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers number in recent history, going on an 8-1 stretch against their division opponent before losing twice last season.

With Carr injured, this could be another matchup of Jameis Winston against his old team. The other matchup to watch will be Marshon Lattimore versus Mike Evans which never disappoints.

These teams have created fireworks before. Check out these highlight reels from their matchups during the last three years:

Saints vs. Buccaneers: Who owns the lead in all-time series history?

The Saints are seeking their 40th win in 64 games against the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay has a lot of work to do to make this series competitive:

Is it safe to call the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers rivals yet? Tampa Bay beat the Saints twice last season for the first single-season sweep since 2007, which was also their first back-to-back wins against New Orleans since the 2017-2018 seasons.

The Saints have been in full control of this series throughout its history. They’re ahead 39-24 in their all-time matchups with Tampa Bay and a win on Sunday would be their 40th victory in 64 games against the Buccaneers. The Bucs still have some ground to make up before we’ll be ready to christen this as a competitive rivalry, but winning three in a row would certainly be a compelling argument.

So it’s no surprise to see veterans like Cameron Jordan downplaying the emotional aspect in these games. Jordan has played 25 games against the Buccaneers and won 17 times. It’s not like there’s a long-running history with the Atlanta Falcons, who have taken as many losses from the Saints (54) as victories won themselves (54). Until the Bucs tip those scales in their favor, they’ll continue to be an afterthought when the Saints prepare to face their divisional opponents.

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