Every step on the trail leading to the top of the mountain is challenging as you stand at the foot of the mountain. But the New Orleans Saints game looks more daunting than other games in the 2025 regular season schedule. Having been in a year of playoff drought and falling into a five-win season with five-win seasons without having to perform head coaches or quarterbacks to lead them, the Saints were written off in the league by many fans, analysts and observers.
So, which games are their best chance to silence critics? Which competitions may cause the Saints the greatest trouble? Here are the toughest options in our plan, rather than the annual Family and Escape Series with the Atlanta Falcons (which really deserves your own article).
Buy New Orleans Saints Tickets
Given how uncompetitive the Saints-Bears series has become, that's low. New Orleans won the last eight straight games and the Bears haven't beaten them in Chicago since the 2008 season. Obviously, the situation is different now. Caleb Williams, along with Ben Johnson, has a highly respected caller and head coach in his ear, who works hard to improve the support actor of his young quarterback. Former Saints coach Dennis Allen is now on the Chicago defense, adding some extra drama in the afternoon. In this game, the bet may not be as high as other games, but it is still a one that can be circled on the calendar.
The Saints visit Tampa Bay every year, once a year, and even if the Bucs don't build too many home-field advantages, it's still not a game to ignore. These years of visits to Raymond James Stadium have resulted in 2-2 points since Drew Brees retired, including a 9-0 victory in 2021, and a 27-19 loss at the end of the 2024 season. Spencer Rattler, a Pirate Defense Co., Ltd., finished 26 times 42 times that day, and earned 240 yards while holding a sack. 60% of these yards are after the catch, while Tampa Bay's offense is only 18%. Bucs developed a defense that defends the pass. If the Saints will achieve another frustrated victory here, they will need to go all out. They didn't have Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed in January. It's a short flight from New Orleans to anywhere in Florida, but it will be the second road race for the Saints in weeks.
It’s been a long time since the Saints played in South Florida (their last trip was the year they went to the Super Bowl), but that’s not what makes this game so challenging. If you include two playoff games, both are on the road, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel's team played 18-7 in front of their home crowd, but was only 10-18 when playing as a visitor. Miami's offense averaged another four points per game, while the defense lost 7.9 points per game at home. These are some big fluctuations. Most importantly, when the Saints come to town, the Dolphins will come from their goodbye week (before that international competition is held in Madrid). They have to desperately need to go back to the playoffs and make some noise this year. In their case, the Saints will play an always-competitive game with the Falcons a week ago.
San Francisco is more talented than the Saints when they are healthy, and their defense gets a big push when they pick Mykel Williams in the first round (the Saints also consider them before going with Kelvin Banks Jr.). Williams and Nick Bosa catch up with the edge will put New Orleans’ young booklocking call for help, whether it’s the bank, Taliese Fuaga or Trevor Penning on both sides of the line. If the Saints manage to shock the world and make it to the playoffs, this is the playoff opponent. Proving that they can hang hard in this early stage will provide confidence for Kellen Moore’s team, but we are not holding our breath.
Did you know that the Saints should be the first team to play at Sofi Stadium when they opened in the 2020 preseason against the Los Angeles Rams? Never achieved that, but they have gone to Los Angeles twice since, and they lost both times (beating 26-8 by the charger last year while being beaten by the Rams and surpassing the Rams in a 30-22 loss in 2023). They are still looking for a win for one of the latest venues in the NFL, but this doesn't seem like a good time to find it. The Rams have overstated household names like Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp in recent years, but have managed to score 10-7 in each of the last two seasons. They have become a team that can be well selected and can score on anyone. Like the Dolphins, the Rams will also see each other for a week in their game against New Orleans. The Saints will need to bring their own game to maintain this competitiveness.
Where are you when the bill comes to New Orleans in 2021 and flees the Saints from their own realm? During Thanksgiving night limit, a Saint's roster hit 31-6 with injuries, while the backup QB Trevor Siemian would only drive the 39-yard Bisons driving offense throughout the night. He scored 11-yard touchdown passes for Nick Vannett, but that's all. Josh Allen threw four touchdowns and ran for 43 yards. Hopefully this time things will get better, but the Saints will play in Buffalo for the first time since 201, and we are running 237 yards from Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara in the 47-10 blowout. The Saints will go all out, guarding the incumbent league MVP and feature several professional bowlers. These teams are now in just two different places, and the bill is chosen as a Super Bowl favorite, while the Saints hold the longest chance of a championship game.