The New Orleans Saints schedule is officially here, as fans of the franchise and football at large are one day closer to reaching the start of the 2023 season. The Saints will have a dramatically different look in the upcoming season, but will all these new players equate to more wins? The Saints have one of the easiest schedules in the league, and they should be able to take advantage of that.
The Script is in… 👀#Saints | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/K8rBH5hu97
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) May 12, 2023
Predicting Every Game on the New Orleans Saints Schedule
Week 1: vs Tennessee Titans
After three consecutive playoff births from 2019 to 2021, it’s safe to say that the Tennessee Titans missed their Super Bowl window. The team already parted ways with several key veterans, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry are playing elsewhere by the time the season starts. This is a team in transition, and the Saints should be able to dominate them.
Prediction: Saints win, 1-0
Week 2: at Carolina Panthers
For the sake of this exercise, we’re going to assume that Bryce Young is already the starter. Young is an exciting young prospect, and there is a very real chance that he spends the next decade tormenting the Saints. However, that torment probably won’t happen in Year 1, and it’s even less likely that it happens this early in the season. Carolina has arguably the worst cast of weapons in the league, and it’s hard to envision a way for this team to move the ball through the air. This will probably be a low-scoring affair, but the Saints should still emerge with the win.
Prediction: Saints win, 2-0
Week 3: at Green Bay Packers
This is probably the hardest game to predict on the New Orleans Saints schedule. If Jordan Love is good, this young roster could surprise and make some noise in 2023. However, if he’s bad, the rest of the roster isn’t talented enough to carry him. It’s unlikely that the Packers would let Aaron Rodgers go so willingly if Love wasn’t at least an adequate option, so we’ll assume he’ll be decent for the sake of this NFL schedule release prediction.
Prediction: Saints lose, 2-1
Week 4: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers went 8-9 with Tom Brady singlehandedly winning multiple games at the last second. Now, the aging core is another year older, Baker Mayfield has replaced Brady, and, worst of all, Todd Bowles is still the coach. It’s going to be a LONG year for the Buccaneers, but at least they’ll get Caleb Williams as a reward.
Prediction: Saints win, 3-1
Week 5: vs New England Patriots
The Patriots had a great defense last year, and they should be able to repeat that performance with Christian Gonzalez taking over as the top cornerback. However, that defense will have its work cut out for it, as the offense is such a mess. Mac Jones is not the answer, there isn’t a single above-average pass-catcher on the roster, the tackle situation is a mess, and Bill O’Brien can’t possibly fix all of this all by himself. This is going to be an ugly, low-scoring game, so we’ll give this one to the home team.
Prediction: Saints lose, 3-2
Week 6: at Houston Texans
C.J. Stroud is going to be an upgrade on Davis Mills, but the rest of the Houston Texans draft strategy didn’t make much sense. The team moved heaven and earth to stack up on a handful of blue-chip prospects, but that’s not a wise strategy when there are so many holes all over the roster. While this team has a path to relevance, it’s going to be hard for them to be anything more than a six-win team.
Prediction: Saints win, 4-2
Week 7: vs Jacksonville Jaguars
After decades of suffering, the Jaguars finally have their franchise quarterback. Trevor Lawrence played up to his insane billing, and the front office has done a phenomenal job at adding talent all across the roster. This team should be ready to make some big noise in 2023, and the Saints probably can’t keep up with their offensive firepower.
Prediction: Saints lose, 4-3
Week 8: at Indianapolis Colts
Anthony Richardson is an exciting prospect, but he is a major project. He probably won’t hit the ground running, which means that the rest of the team will need to support him early on. Unfortunately, this team won four games in 2022 for a reason – there just isn’t that much talent here.
Prediction: Saints win, 5-3
Week 9: vs Chicago Bears
Did the Bears make the right choice sticking with Justin Fields? Only time will tell for sure, but he’s finally in a position to succeed. With the defense fortified, Fields has a trio of solid receivers in D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool. This one could go either way, but New Orleans should prevail at the last second.
Prediction: Saints win, 6-3
Week 10: at Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings were insanely lucky in one-score games last year, so they’re due for some regression on that front. However, that should be offset by the impressive amount of talent they’ve added in the past few months. Jordan Addison will provide the Vikings with a much-needed second option opposite Justin Jefferson. With Kirk Cousins entering a contract year and Kevin O’Connell having a full year under his belt, this team is going to be a hard out in 2023.
Prediction: Saints lose, 6-4
Week 12: at Atlanta Falcons
The Saints schedule has them taking on a division foe following their bye week. After spending the past two seasons in salary cap hell, the Atlanta Falcons finally had the resources to build a more complete team. While they’re certainly better now than they were just a few months ago, Atlanta still has a long way to go before they’re ready to compete. It’s hard to be afraid of any team starting Desmond Ridder, and while Bijan Robinson is a great player, he is just a running back and isn’t going to add too many wins all by himself. Despite improving their depth, the Falcons are still a below-average team and New Orleans shouldn’t have too much trouble with this matchup.
Prediction: Saints win, 7-4
Week 13: vs Detroit Lions
The Lions might have had one of the worst drafts in the league, but that doesn’t change the fact this team has a lot of talent. Jared Goff is a perfect fit for Ben Johnson’s offense, Amon-Ra St. Brown is looking like one of the better young receivers in the game, and the Lions loaded up on talent in the defensive backfield. This team should win the NFC North and could make some noise in the playoffs if everything goes right.
Prediction: Saints lose, 7-5
Week 14: at Carolina Panthers
As mentioned earlier, the Panthers have more talent than they’re given credit for, and by this point in the season, Bryce Young should be pretty well adjusted to life in the NFL. Even though they’re playing this one in New Orleans, Carolina could pull off an upset here.
Prediction: Saints lose, 7-6
Week 15: vs New York Giants
The New York Giants were not nearly as good as their record last year, and they’re due to come back to Earth. Daniel Jones is still a below-average starter, the defense is still a mess, and Brian Daboll can’t overcome a complete lack of talent for a second straight year.
Prediction: Saints win, 8-6
Week 16: vs Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams have like three good players and two of those guys are coming off of season-ending injuries. It’s going to be a long rebuild for Sean McVay and friends.
Prediction: Saints win, 9-6
Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
See above. Divisional matchups are always difficult, but the talent and coaching disparity between these two teams is too much to ignore. As it is, New Orleans should have swept Tampa Bay last year. Since then, the Saints have only gotten better, while the Buccaneers have only gotten worse.
Prediction: Saints win, 10-6
Week 18: vs Atlanta Falcons
At this point in time, the Saints will have probably locked up the weak NFC South title. However, assuming they have something to play for, it shouldn’t be too hard for them to take out a subpar Atlanta Falcons team to put a bow on their regular season.
Final Saints Schedule Prediction: 11-6
Main Photo: Stephen Lew – USA Today Sports
