Buzz is slowly building around the New Orleans Saints for the upcoming season. The team recently signed New Orleans native and former LSU Tiger Tyrann Mathieu. However, before the signing of Mathieu, the Saints drafted highly coveted wideout Chris Olave out of Ohio State with the first of their two picks in the first round of the 2022 draft.
Then, they would select offensive tackle Trevor Penning out of Northern Iowa with their second first-round pick. Olave and Penning were taken to address pressing needs on offense for New Orleans. The selection of Olave fulfills a plethora of wishes from the Who Dat Nation. For the past season, the team has fielded an inadequate wide receiver core.
With Olave and Thomas on the field at once, it will open up the Saints’ offense. Mathieu joins an already talented defense that includes players such as Marshon Lattimore, Cameron Jordan, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and Marcus Davenport. Despite the influx of new talent, the Saints still have to go out and produce on the field. Their opponents will not take them lightly.
Below, find a complete look at the teams set to square off with New Orleans this year, as well as a rundown of its 18-week regular-season schedule (once announced): The official release of dates and times of when the Saints will face their 2022 opponents will be released on May 12, 2022.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Saints have owned Tampa Bay since Tom Brady signed with the team in 2020. In the four regular-season matchups between the Brady-era Bucs, the Saints have outscored them by 106 to 53. The Saints would be 5-0 against the Bucs with Brady under center if it weren’t for Jared Cook’s fumble in the playoff game.
Atlanta Falcons: Will the Saints finally beat a team they are supposed to defeat on the schedule? If you want to point back to reasons why the Saints missed out on the postseason in 2021, the Falcons’ loss is at the top of the list. Atlanta has not been a playoff team for the last four seasons, but they know how to ruin aspirations for New Orleans. In 2019, the Saints finished the year with a 13-3 record but could not secure the number one seed in the NFC due to an ugly loss to the Falcons. In 2022, there should be no excuses on why the Saints cannot sweep Atlanta. The team is in full-blown rebuild mode.
Carolina Panthers: Covid-19 wiped most of the Saints coaching staff in last year’s Week 2 contest against Carolina. New Orleans was able to avenge the loss in Week 17. After missing out on acquiring Deshaun Watson, Sam Darnold will be returning under center as the Panthers’ starting QB. Carolina has personnel on both sides of the football that can give the Saints some issues, but their biggest problem has been at quarterback. It will be interesting to see how Darnold produces in his second season with Carolina.
Philadelphia Eagles: The Saints are 0-2 against Eagles QB Jalen Hurts. Will 2022 be the year that Dennis Allen finally crack the code? On paper, the Eagles have one of the best rosters in the NFC. They recently acquired star wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans.
Minnesota Vikings: Right now, the game against Minnesota is the only available date and start time for the 2022 campaign. On Tuesday, outlets reported that the Vikings versus Saints game would be played overseas in London. Throughout the years, the Saints and Vikings have had some classic battles. The 2009 NFC championship game, the Minneapolis Miracle, and recently Alvin Kamara’s seven touchdown performance are some of the classic memories of the rivalry.
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Las Vegas Raiders: The Raiders have a new head coach in Josh McDaniel. The team also acquired another weapon in the passing game in Davante Adams. In the last meeting between Las Vegas and New Orleans played in the dome, the Raiders won 35-34. Las Vegas is one of four difficult matchups that the Saints will face from the AFC.
Cincinnati Bengals: Saints fans have the Bengals matchup circled on their calendar for months. Former LSU Tigers Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase return to New Orleans to face the Saints. The Bengals also have a few additional players who played with the Saints in Trey Hendrickson and Vonn Bell. When the actual date of when the Bengals and Saints will play each other, tickets will be sold out within minutes.
Pittsburgh Steelers: New Orleans will be facing a team in transition when they go on the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kenny Pickett, a rookie QB that was once linked to Saints possibly taking in the draft, could be the Steelers’ starter when the teams play each other.
Cleveland Browns: The Cleveland Browns swooped in at the last minute to lure Deshaun Watson away from the Saints. Will Watson be the starting quarterback when the teams face each other? No decision has been made on whether Watson will be punished for alleged sexual misconduct with 22 different women. The last time the Saints had to face Watson, he gave them fits.
Baltimore Ravens: We will finally see how the Saints defense will react to facing a quarterback like Lamar Jackson. The 2019 MVP is coming off a season where he missed the season’s final four games because of an injury.
Arizona Cardinals: Which version of the Arizona Cardinals will the Saints face this season. Will it be the team that starts off red-hot or the one that melts down near the end of the season?
Seattle Seahawks: The Saints have had their battles with Pete Carroll. But for now, the tides have changed drastically, especially for Seattle. New Orleans is 3-0 in the previous matchups against Seattle.
San Francisco 49ers: The 2019 game between the 49ers and Saints was the peek performance for future Hall of Famer, Drew Brees. Brees completed 29 of 40 passes for 349 yards; five touchdown passes against zero interceptions. Will Jameis Winston have a similar performance? Also, who will be the 49ers’ starting QB for this matchup? Jimmy Garropolo or Trey Lance? The rivalry with San Francisco goes back to the days of the old NFC West.
Los Angeles Rams: Like the Atlanta Falcons, there’s a lot of bad blood between the L.A. Rams and the New Orleans Saints. For obvious reasons, you should know why. The Rams winning the most recent Super Bowl will only fuel the rivalry.
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