It’s ugly in Buffalo. Easily one of the worst playoff losses of Sean Payton’s head coaching career. The only other one close was losing 39-14 to the Bears in the 2006 NFC Championship Game.
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) January 12, 2025
The New Orleans Saints are forced to sit by the wayside as the NFL started the playoffs this weekend, but were quickly joined by an old friend that got bounced in uncharacteristic fashion.
Former Saints head coach Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos were eliminated by the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card round by a score of 31-7. With all of the postseason heartbreak he endured in New Orleans, some consider this blowout to be the worst loss he has suffered.
Saints beat writer Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com believes so, and only had one that came close — the 2006 NFC Championship game when New Orleans fell 39-14 to the Chicago Bears
Some losses may have stung more, but Payton rarely looks as outclassed as he did in this one.
Few people expected them to even be in the spot that they were, so it is still a bit of a win for him and the Broncos. Perhaps he would have been able to unlock another level from one of these recent Saints teams had he stayed.
He drew first blood by getting into the postseason without them, but the race for the first playoff win since splitting up continues for now.
