Week 1 – Saints @ Lions
The Saints open the 2026 season on the road against the Detroit Lions. Historically a bottom feeder, the Lions have been one of the best teams in the NFL over the past few seasons. This is largely due to… a bunch of former Saints. Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell served as the Saints’ Tight End’s Coach and Assistant Head Coach under Sean Payton from 2016-20. New York Jets Head Coach Aaron Glenn served as the Defensive Coordinator for the Lions from 2021-24 and was a critical ingredient to the success
of those teams. Glenn was also a Saints staff member under the Payton regime serving as the Defensive Back’s Coach from 2016-20 as well. Even a lot of the core Lions players for the early 2020s were former Saints such as Alex Anzalone, CJ Gardner-Johnson, and Teddy Bridgewater. Although most of those guys are not with the Lions anymore, this game still intrigues me. Dan Campbell is a Sean Payton disciple. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to infer that the culture that Campbell has built in Detroit likely resembles the culture of the Sean Payton era Saints. This culture has resulted in them developing a reputation as a playoff-contending franchise. Week 1 will be an immediate statement game opportunity for the Saints. If they come out Week 1 and pop the Lions on the road, it will basically be the equivalent to taking out a megaphone and announcing that “Kellen Moore and Tyler Shough have arrived! The Saints are back!”
Week 2 – Saints @ Ravens
The very next week, the Saints are faced with another game behind enemy lines against the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are another franchise with a reputation as a respectable playoff contender, year in and year out. There is no sugar coating it, these first two games are tough. There is a serious threat of starting 0-2. Over the offseason, the Ravens fired Head Coach John Harbaugh after 18 seasons. It will be interesting to see these new-look Ravens under first year Head Coach Jesse Minter, as they attempt to bounce back from a disappointing 8-9 2025 campaign. They still have arguably the best Quarterback in the world, Lamar Jackson, at the helm. Minter has a defensive background which is the side of the ball that Ravens struggled the most with in 2025. Overall, this is a franchise that has a history of consistency and winning football games ever since they became the Baltimore Ravens in 1996. As a Saints fan, this game being the second of a two-game road streak to start the season concerns me. However, they say iron sharpens iron. This will be a great trial by fire opportunity for a Saints team that is dealing with the highest preseason expectations that they’ve had in years. I am excited to see how they handle it.
Week 4 – Falcons @ Saints
This is the game that I am most excited for, by far. The Saints have not played in a prime time game since that humiliating 33-10 loss to Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos on the night where they inducted Drew Brees into the Saints Hall of Fame in 2024. The team was not given a single primetime opportunity for the entirety of the 2025 season. Looking ahead to 2026, we got treated to a banger. Week 4, the Saints will host their archrival Atlanta Falcons in the Superdome on Monday Night Football. On this night, the game presentation will commemorate the 20 year anniversary of the iconic “Domecoming” game. I shouldn’t have to explain why this game makes this list. It’s a divisional game, it’s on prime time, it will honor a super historic and meaningful part of Saints history, and (to top it all off) it’s against the Falcons. Those dirty birds swept the Saints last season, as I’m sure every member of the Who Dat Nation is acutely aware of. It’s time for the Saints to get their “get back.” This game has so many layers to it, it’s hard not to be excited.
Week 5 – Vikings @ Saints
I’m just realizing that I chose four of the first five games on the schedule. That was not intentional. Hey, I guess that’s just how the cookie crumbles. The Vikings have been a really good team under Head Coach Kevin O’Connell. In 2024, they boasted a 14-3 record and revitalized Sam Darnold’s career. Last season, they couldn’t find consistent Quarterback play which is what cost them in the end. I still think this franchise is hungry and has a shot to be very competitive in 2026. They signed former number one overall pick, Kyler Murray, to presumably be the starting Quarterback. Coach O’Connell played five seasons as a backup NFL Quarterback from 2008-2012. He also gets his coaching roots from the Sean McVay tree and has an offensive background. I think this is a great spot for Murray to land. The Vikings have arguably the best pass catcher in the NFL, Justin Jefferson. O’Connell was already able to revive another former top draft pick’s career in 2024 (Darnold). Will he be able to do it again? Kyler has shown many flashes throughout his career. The talent is undeniable. As a Saints fan, this game concerns me as a potential loss. However, I do expect some fireworks. It will be in the Dome, so obviously weather is a total nonfactor. I can foresee this thing turning into a shootout. These two NFC teams also have history. When I think Saints vs Vikings, I think about 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2020. These two fanbases don’t really like each other that much. This should be fun.
Week 13 – Packers @ Saints
For the first game of December, the Saints will take on the Green Bay Packers at home. If the season goes the way that I think it will, I wouldn’t be surprised if the NFL moves this to an afternoon kick off. This one has “America’s Game of the Week” potential. This is a late season battle between two NFC teams. I am of the belief that both of these teams will be competing for playoff positioning at this point in the year. Who knows what kind of implications this game may hold! I am so happy that it will be a Saints home game, because I know that the Superdome will certainly be rocking if both teams have good records. I can’t remember the last time the Saints hosted a super meaningful, nationally relevant NFC regular season matchup. I do miss it though and hope we get to experience it again in Week 13.
