2020 New Orleans Saints season
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 2020 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 ...
' 54th season 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 majo ...
(NFL), their 45th 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 14th 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 asso ...
Sean Payton Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...
. Although they failed to match their 13–3 records from
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
and
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, the Saints defended their
NFC South The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created prior to the 2002 NFL season, when ...
title for the fourth consecutive year following a Week 16 victory over the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
. After beating the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
in Week 10, they won six straight games for the fourth consecutive season. With a Week 13 win over the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...
, the Saints clinched a franchise record fourth consecutive playoff appearance. After Week 17 victory over the division rival, Carolina Panthers, the Saints became the first NFC South member to sweep the division in its history. During the Wildcard round against the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
of the
2020–21 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2020 season began with the Wildcard Round on January 9, 2021, and concluded with Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 7, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kan ...
, the Saints made history as one of the first two teams to air in a post-season football game on
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
, a primarily children-related network. The Saints would defeat the Bears 21–9, advancing to the divisional round, where they were defeated by division rival and eventual Super Bowl champion
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
, 30–20, despite having swept them in the regular season. This season marked the end of the
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 ...
era in New Orleans as he would announce his retirement on March 14, 2021, after twenty seasons of playing in the NFL, fifteen of those with the Saints.


Roster changes


Free agency


Unrestricted


Restricted


Exclusive Rights FA


Signings


Practice squad additions


Released/waived


Practice squad releases


Contract extensions


Retirements


Player trades


Draft

Notes * The Saints traded their second-round selection (No. 56 overall) to the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
in exchange for the Dolphins'
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
second-round selection. * The Saints traded their seventh-round selection, along with their
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
fourth-round selection to the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
in exchange for
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...
Eli Apple. * The Saints traded their third-round selection (No. 88 overall) and their
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
third-round selection to the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
in exchange for the Browns'
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
third-round selection (No. 74 overall) and the Browns' seventh-round selection (No. 244 overall). * The Saints traded their fourth-round selection (No. 130 overall), fifth-round selection (No. 169 overall), sixth-round selection (No. 203 overall) and their seventh-round selection (No. 244 overall) to the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
in exchange for the Vikings'
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
third-round selection (No. 105 overall). * The Saints traded their
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
sixth-round selection to the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...
in exchange for the Texans'
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
seventh-round selection (No. 240 overall).


Undrafted free agent signings


Staff


Final roster


Preseason

The Saints' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.


Regular season


Schedule

The Saints'
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
schedule was announced on May 7. Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.


Game summaries


Week 1: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With the win, the Saints began the year at 1–0 for the second year in a row. This was also the first since the 2009 season in which the team beat Tom Brady.


Week 2: at Las Vegas Raiders

This was the first NFL game in Las Vegas or in the state of
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. With the loss, the Saints dropped to 1–1 on the season.


Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers

With the tough loss, the Saints dropped to 1–2 for the first time since 2017. This also marks their first loss to the Packers since the 2012 season.


Week 4: at Detroit Lions

With this win against Detroit, the Saints improve to 2–2.


Week 5: vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Drew Brees faced his former team for the fourth time in his career. A potential game-winning 50-yard field goal by Chargers kicker Michael Badgley hit the crossbar instead, sending the game into overtime. With 5:08 left in the overtime period, Wil Lutz kicked a 36-yard field goal to take a 30–27 lead. But the night belonged to Marshon Lattimore, who stopped Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams on fourth down to seal the victory for New Orleans. They won despite Michael Thomas being out for a fourth straight game. However, this time, it was due to suspension after an altercation with Chauncey Gardner-Johnson during practice.


Week 7: vs. Carolina Panthers

The Saints meet the Panthers and Teddy Bridgewater in this game. Bridgewater accidentally fell into the Saints sideline, but he reunited with his old friend Drew Brees who did the quarterback sneak earlier. The Saints were still able to beat the Panthers by 3.


Week 8: at Chicago Bears

The Saints meet Chicago again in the regular season at Soldier Field. During the 3rd Quarter, a fight broke out between C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Javon Wims, resulting in flags on the play. This also resulted in Wims getting ejected from the game. Again, the Saints go into overtime and won with a 35-yard field goal, improving them to 5-2.


Week 9: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Saints visit Tom Brady and the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. The Saints scored touchdowns and field goals. This includes those turnovers notched by David Onyemata and Marcus Williams. The Saints beat their rivals by 35 points, marking the second straight season to sweep them in the NFC South division.


Week 10: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Drew Brees suffered a collapsed lung and broken ribs. He would be out until Week 15 against the Chiefs. Despite Brees being injured and sidelined, the Saints held on with the win over the 49ers. It also marked their first victory over San Francisco since the 2016 season.


Week 11: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Taysom Hill Taysom Shawn Hill (born August 23, 1990) is an American football utility player officially designated as a tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at BYU and joined the Saints in 20 ...
made his first start with
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 ...
sidelined with a rib injury. The Saints would defeat the Falcons by 15 points.


Week 12: at Denver Broncos

This was an easy win due to the fact
Drew Lock Andrew Stephen Lock (born November 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round o ...
,
Brett Rypien Brett Rypien (; born July 9, 1996) is a Canadian- American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boise State and signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2019 ...
and
Blake Bortles Robby Blake Bortles (born April 28, 1992) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at UCF, where he received ...
were all ineligible to play following Jeff Driskel testing positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
less than 24 hours before the game, which meant the Broncos named practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton, who played QB at Wake Forest, as starting quarterback for the game. This was also the Saints' first victory over the Broncos since the 1994 season, which also marks their first road game win and Sean Payton's first win over Denver.


Week 13: at Atlanta Falcons

Taysom Hill Taysom Shawn Hill (born August 23, 1990) is an American football utility player officially designated as a tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at BYU and joined the Saints in 20 ...
threw his first NFL touchdown pass in the first quarter on a 15-yard pass to receiver Tre'Quan Smith. In the end, Matt Ryan tried to throw a game-winning Hail Mary, but the Saints defense stepped up and made the ball drop to the ground. This marked their first sweep against Atlanta since the 2018 season.


Week 14: at Philadelphia Eagles

The Saints nine-game winning streak came to a halt. This also became the first time since the 2015 season to be defeated by the Eagles.


Week 15: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

With the Chiefs being the defending Super Bowl champions, the Saints were unable to beat them. Cameron Jordan became the first Saints player since Brodrick Bunkley (2012), Steve Gleason (2004), and Kyle Turley (2001) to be ejected from the game.


Week 16: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Christmas Day games The Saints clinched their fourth consecutive division title as Alvin Kamara rushed for six touchdowns, tying a 91-year-old NFL record set by Hall-of-Fame-fullback
Ernie Nevers Ernest Alonzo Nevers (June 11, 1902 – May 3, 1976), sometimes known by the nickname "Big Dog", was an American football and baseball player and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the best football players in the first half of the 20th ...
of the
Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...
.


Week 17: at Carolina Panthers

The Saints, not only beat the Panthers again, but they also became the first team in the NFC South to sweep their division rivals. Clay Martin was originally going to officiate this game, but he was hospitalized for COVID-19. Adrian Hill was also unable to officiate this game because he had another game to be in. John Hussey became the referee for this game.


Standings


Division


Conference


Postseason


NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (7) Chicago Bears

For the first time since the 2006 season, the Saints meet the Bears in the playoffs. It also marked the first victory against Chicago in the playoffs. It was primarily due to Saints dominating on both sides of the ball for all four quarters. During a 4th down play, Alex Kemp got confused by misreading Cordarrelle Patterson's uniform number, making Patterson curse on the microphone. This was not only aired on CBS, it was also the first game to be aired on Nickelodeon.


NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Even though the Saints swept them in the Regular Season, they would meet the Buccaneers in the playoffs. This was Drew Brees' last game and the Saints would lose to Tom Brady. Jared Cook would fumble at the goal line after catching a pass. In this game, Alvin Kamara lined up at quarterback, flips it to Emmanuel Sanders, and then to Jameis Winston who threw a 56-yard touchdown which was paused due to an accidental flag thrown by the officials which referee, Shawn Hochuli acknowledged that James Hurst checked in as eligible and lined up at the end of the line of scrimmage, thus calling back the flag to reward the Saints a score.


References


External links

* {{2020 NFL season by team
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
New Orleans Saints seasons
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 ...
NFC South championship seasons