The 2016 season was the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

' 50th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL), their 41st playing home games at the

Mercedes-Benz Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saint ...

, and their 10th under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Sean Payton. The Saints matched their 7–9 record from

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and 2015, and missed the playoffs for the third year in a row. One highlight from the season includes quarterback

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...

' first return to San Diego for the first time since the Chargers released him at the end of the 2005 season, also where Brees played his first five seasons in. This came 10 years after the Chargers released Brees after the Saints' previous regular season meetings with the Chargers were home games for the Saints, and including a

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meeting at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, a game which New Orleans was designated as the home team.

Draft

Notes * The Saints traded their 2016 sixth-round selection, along with their 2015 sixth-round selection to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in exchange for the

2015 fifth-round selection. * The Saints traded their 2016 third and fourth-round selection to the New England Patriots in exchange for the New England Patriots second-round selection (61st overall). * The Saints traded their 2016 fifth-round selection, along with their

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fifth-round selection to the

in exchange for the

fourth-round selection (120th overall).

Staff

Final roster

Schedule

Preseason

Regular season

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders

The Saints opened the season at home against the Oakland Raiders in the

. Despite 423 passing yards—including a franchise-record 98-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandin Cooks—and four touchdowns from

, the Raiders came from behind to win 35–34. The Raiders scored a touchdown with 47 seconds remaining in the game to bring them within one point. Instead of kicking an extra point, Raiders coach

Jack Del Rio Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. (born April 4, 1963) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a linebacker at the University of South ...

ordered a

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run ...

, which quarterback

Derek Carr Derek Dallas Carr (born March 28, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, where he twice received first-team All- MWC honors, and w ...

successfully converted with a pass to receiver

Michael Crabtree Michael Alex Crabtree Jr. (born September 14, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Texas Tech, where he was a two-time unanimous All-Am ...

. The Saints received the kickoff and Brees led the team down the field in two plays to give kicker Wil Lutz a chance at a game-winning 61-yard field goal, but the kick went wide left. The Saints defense was criticized for its performance, as it gave up 210 yards and 22 points in the fourth quarter.

Week 2: at New York Giants

Week 3: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week 4: at San Diego Chargers

For the first time in 11 years, Drew Brees returned to San Diego to face his former team, the Chargers, where he began his NFL career. In the game, the Saints got their first win of the season, rallying in the 4th quarter after trailing 34–21 to win 35–34, mostly due to two key fumbles by the Chargers.

Week 6: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week 7: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 8: vs. Seattle Seahawks

The Saints meet the Seahawks for the first time in 3 years. It was also the Saints' first victory against Seattle since the 2010 season.

Week 9: at San Francisco 49ers

The Saints travel to Levi's Stadium to match up with the 49ers. For the first time since the 2013 season, the Saints defeated the 49ers.

Week 10: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 11: at Carolina Panthers

As part of Color Rush, the Saints wore all-white uniforms for this game, inspired by the ones they wore in 1975. Due to this, it was the first time the Saints have worn white pants since

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and the second season they wore all-white uniforms in franchise history, the first being the

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season. The Saints went into the fourth quarter with a 20-point deficit to the Panthers. The Saints rallied and got within three with 5:11 left to go in the game, but the Panthers were able to hold them off.

Week 12: vs. Los Angeles Rams

The Saints were able to defeat the Rams for the first time since the 2010 season.

Week 13: vs. Detroit Lions

To celebrate 50 seasons in the NFL, the Saints wore special 1967–75 throwback uniforms. It was only worn for this game.

Week 14: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 15: at Arizona Cardinals

With the win against Arizona, the Saints improved to 6-8. This also marked the only season in which the Saints swept the NFC West division.

Week 16: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 17: at Atlanta Falcons

Because the Saints lost to the Falcons, they finish the season with a 7-9 record for the third straight season. The Saints were also swept by the Falcons for the first time since the 2014 season.