When the New Orleans Saints were announced as one of the “home” teams for an international game in 2022, the possibility was there that the Cincinnati Bengals would be joining them overseas, as the Bengals are scheduled to visit the Saints next season.
Had the Bengals been selected as the Saints’ overseas opponent, it would have taken away the opportunity for former LSU stars Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase to return to the Bayou area.
Fortunately, that will not be the case, as the NFL announced the Saints will meet the Minnesota Vikings in London this season, meaning the reigning AFC champions will visit Caesars Superdome.
So now the question becomes: Will this game be in primetime?
You can make a good argument that it can and should be. The Bengals are almost a lock to have a handful of primetime games this season as a star-studded team and coming off a Super Bowl appearance. And you have the aforementioned storyline of Burrow and Chase back in Louisiana.
And it’s not like the Saints are a bad team. They still believe they can contend. Just look at what they did last week in the draft, trading up to No. 11 to select Ohio State WR Chris Olave and then taking Northern Iowa OT Trevor Penning with the No. 19 pick. They filled arguably their two biggest holes. Sure, their quarterback is still Jameis Winston, but he’s a fine quarterback that you can win with. So it’s not like the NFL would be subjecting viewers to a dud of a game or roster by putting the Saints on.
There’s also one more LSU connection that was just added to the mix here, as well, now that the Saints have Tyrann Mathieu.
So you have a mini LSU homecoming with Burrow, Chase and Mathieu, you have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL against a really interesting Saints defense and it would also give viewers a chance to see the Saints in their post-Sean Payton era.
This feels like it would be a fun game for the ManningCast on Monday Night Football. And who wouldn’t want to hear Peyton and Eli break down this Bengals offense?
