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The New Orleans Saints used to be one of the better teams in the NFL at home. However, that’s changed drastically over the past several seasons. Since going 8-0 at home in 2013, which happens to the be the year of their last playoff appearance, Sean Payton’s squad has turned in an 11-13 showing at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome over the past three seasons.
Home performance in the Sean Payton era
- 2016 - 4-4
- 2015 - 4-4
- 2014 - 3-5
- 2013 - 8-0
- 2012 - 4-4
- 2011 - 8-0
- 2010 - 5-3
- 2009 - 6-2
- 2008 - 6-2
- 2007 - 3-5
- 2006 - 4-4
There’s plenty of blame to go around, and there’s more than a few games that come to mind over the past three straight 7-9 seasons that are sure to bring back painful memories for fans.
It’s been quite a somber mood for fans this week since the team dropped their season opener to the Vikings. Losing has become the norm that’s being widely accepted more and more in the Crescent City.. The Saints have a tall task at hand hosting the Patriots on Sunday, in a game where they certainly can’t afford to lose, because they’ve yet to show an ability to overcome starting in the hole.
After sampling NFL Network, CBS Sports, and ESPN in their picks for Week 2, only one analyst out of 22 picked the Saints, and that was Jason La Canfora. The FOX Sports predictor, who claims it utilizes football simulation 501 times for each game to predict an outcome, has the Patriots winning 67 percent of the time, with an average score of 27-22.
Stranger things have happened in the Superdome, but it’s also been a while since we’ve witnessed the ‘good’ things happening to the New Orleans Saints. With so much at stake in such a young season, this is one game you could win that would certainly do a lot for you if you were Sean Payton and company.