It’s finally here: the start of the 2023 NFL season, with the New Orleans Saints set to kick it all off with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. And the schedule looks, at least on paper, very favorable.
Just one of their opponents this year won 10 or more games last season — the Minnesota Vikings, who the Saints took down to the wire in London a year ago. Of the other teams lined up against them, only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (who they’ll play twice), New York Giants, and Jacksonville Jaguars are returning from the playoffs. A benefit to finishing third-place is you’ll have to face other also-rans around the league the next season.
Buy Saints TicketsBut can the Saints actually go the distance? Here are our game-by-game predictions for the 2023 season:
Week 1 vs. Tennessee Titans
This is going to be a great test for the rebuilt Saints run defense, but it’s worth acknowledging that the Titans might have the league’s worst offensive line — and that star running back Derrick Henry has a history of underwhelming Week 1 games. With Derek Carr enjoying a strong supporting cast than he ever had with the Raiders, the Saints should start their season with a win.
Prediction: WIN (1-0)
Week 2 at Carolina Panthers
This is going to be a problem. The Panthers have played the Saints tougher than their other NFC South rivals in recent years, and now they have both a competent coaching staff and a talented young quarterback. Bryce Young may take some lumps, but Carolina’s defense is stacked, and the Panthers could win a close one in prime time.
Prediction: LOSS (1-1)
Week 3 at Green Bay Packers
The Saints have beaten better versions of this Packers team before. Jamaal Williams has run over its defense and Jordan Love has yet to show he’s a viable long-term replacement for Aaron Rodgers. But it’s the second leg of an early two-week road trip, which may be difficult for New Orleans after a tough loss in Carolina.
Prediction: LOSS (1-2)
Week 4 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers are actively tanking. Baker Mayfield doesn’t have much to work with after an offseason exodus of veteran free agents and the retirement of cornerstone players like longtime center Ryan Jensen. It won’t exactly be a cake walk (Tampa Bay’s defense still has teeth) but the Saints should win this one.
Prediction: WIN (2-2)
Week 5 at New England Patriots
The Patriots haven’t looked like themselves since parting ways with Tom Brady. Mac Jones has wilted under the spotlight and their defense hasn’t been consistent enough to make up for the offense’s deficiencies — and they’re still a talent-poor unit when they have the ball, with or without a late-career Ezekiel Elliott. The Saints should get their first road win here.
Prediction: WIN (3-2)
Week 6 at Houston Texans
The Texans have some nice pieces on offense but they’re still a ways off from being ready to compete. The shorter travel time from New Orleans to Houston is going to be a relief after flights to Carolina, Green Bay, and New England to start the year. The Saints should leave no doubt and take a win here.
Prediction: WIN (4-2)
Week 7 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Game of the year for the Saints right here. Doug Pederson is who many fans felt they should have hired as head coach. Trevor Lawrence is the best quarterback on their schedule. Jacksonville is a playoff contender who is, in many respects, the kind of team the Saints want to be. Losing to Jacksonville in prime time isn’t necessarily a referendum on this team, but a win would definitely show us they’re headed in the right direction.
Prediction: LOSS (4-3)
Week 8 at Indianapolis Colts
Anthony Richardson is exactly the kind of quarterback who has given the Saints trouble: an athletic, hard-to-tackle young pro with a howitzer for a throwing arm. He can hit any throw anywhere on the field while escaping pressure, and by midseason he’ll have made some adaptations to the NFL. Do the Saints have enough firepower on offense to keep up? The trade deadline hits immediately after this game, so they’ll have little time to make a decision.
Prediction: LOSS (4-4)
Week 9 vs. Chicago Bears
Bears fans are very excited about Justin Fields’ trajectory, but to this point in his career he’s been a turnover-prone quarterback and he doesn’t have much to work with despite a flurry of offseason moves. D.J. Moore was never much of a problem for the Saints defense when he was with Carolina, and Chase Claypool looks like a bust. The Saints should put this one away quickly and get back in the win column.
Prediction: WIN (5-4)
Week 10 at Minnesota Vikings
All the Vikings have done since getting away with a close win in London last year is overpay free agents like Marcus Davenport and Byron Murphy Jr. while doubling down on investing too much in T.J. Hockenson — and downgrading at running back by cutting Dalvin Cook. This isn’t a well-managed football team. The Saints can make a statement here and knock them off on the road, exorcising some demons in Minneapolis.
Prediction: WIN (6-4)
Week 11: Bye
The Saints go into their bye week at 6-4 and 3-3 on the road, with four home games remaining on their slate and just one more set of back-to-back road trips. Heading into the bye after consecutive wins over conference rivals (one of them being a returning playoff team) has to be strong motivation to keep it going after the break.
Week 12: Saints at Atlanta Falcons
It’s really hip right now to pick the Falcons as the NFC South dark horse — they’ve built their entire offense out of running backs, invested a ton of offseason resources in their defense (including some poaching from the Saints), and Arthur Smith still has a strong reputation as a play caller despite failing to get much going in several years as Atlanta’s head coach. They’re going to crash and burn without a viable quarterback driving them, and the Saints will be there laughing.
Prediction: WIN (7-4)
Week 13 vs. Detroit Lions
If that early-season matchup with the Jaguars isn’t the toughest game on the schedule, this game with Dan Campbell’s Lions later in the season might be. They’ve built a fun offense and they’ll have Jameson Williams back in the lineup by this point. Their defense has a lot of talent (plus C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the secondary). If Sean Payton had ducked out a year earlier, Campbell might be the Saints’ head coach right now, not Allen. This loss could be a gut check after several nice wins.
Prediction: LOSS (7-5)
Week 14 vs. Carolina Panthers
By this point the Saints will have plenty of film to study on Bryce Young, and their offense should be firing on all cylinders. We’ll know whether or not the Panthers are legit contenders for the NFC South crown. Installing so many new pieces so quickly could haunt them late in the year, and this should be a win for New Orleans on their home turf.
Prediction: WIN (8-5)
Week 15 vs. New York Giants
The Giants burned themselves horribly this offseason by signing Daniel Jones to a hefty contract extension after using so much smoke and mirrors to make him look like a real quarterback last year (did you know he only threw 15 touchdown passes in 16 games?). Even if he’s beaten the Saints before, they ought to be smarting from that home loss to the Lions, and they should leave this three-game homestand with another win.
Prediction: WIN (9-5)
Week 16 at Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are going to be very bad this year, and they just might be in contention for the first overall draft pick if Cooper Kupp misses a lot of time; there may not be a skills position player shouldering a heavier load than him around the league these days. This should be an easy win for the Saints, but they struggled to put a similarly-poor Rams squad away last season. Still, a win in December is still a win, even if it’s ugly.
Prediction: WIN (10-5)
Week 17 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers are another team angling for a top draft pick, though their talent defensively could be enough to keep them out of contention for the first selection. If the Saints can’t put this team away in Tampa Bay then they don’t belong in the playoffs a few weeks later. And a win at this point in the season could lock up the NFC South.
Prediction: WIN (11-5)
Week 18 vs. Atlanta Falcons
You know how the Saints always seem to lose a game to an outmatched opponent? You know how the Falcons always seem to spoil the fun for everyone, one way or another? Those forces might collide in the season finale especially if the Saints have already punched their ticket to the playoffs. Tell me you can’t see Bijan Robinson rumbling through the second-string Saints defense in January to win a meaningless game.
Prediction: LOSS (11-6)
Final record: 8-9
Some of the Saints’ big bets paid off. Derek Carr upgraded their offense and fielded a unit that could compete each week and put points on the board (which hasn’t been the case the last two years). Dennis Allen maintained an elite defense that kept the Saints in every game they played. They outlasted their actively-rebuilding rivals around the NFC South to win the division title and get to the playoffs. Everyone’s jobs are safe for another year.
Anything beyond that is lagniappe. Hosting a home playoff game against a wild-card squad like the Dallas Cowboys or Seattle Seahawks (or a rematch with the Green Bay Packers or Detroit Lions) would make a for a very fun conclusion, even if it’s ultimately futile. But maybe the Saints could get hot in January and go on a run and surprise some people. That sure would be entertaining. Sports are entertainment, after all, and it’s refreshing to see their front office embrace that philosophy and seek to compete while other teams go in the tank and waste everyone’s time.
