Analyzing the 2020 Saints schedule
The NFL schedule dropped on Thursday evening, with teams being able to reveal theirs a half-hour before the major network's three-hour reaction soiree. The New Orleans Saints schedule is certainly fun, to say the least. The black and gold will be a sight to see in 2020, and their schedule reflects that. Here's some thoughts on how the schedule looks, which you can check out here.
Prime Time Exposure
The Saints have five nationally televised prime time games for 2020, and three of those will be played before their Week 6 bye. Three of them are at home (Week 3 - Packers, Week 5 - Chargers, Week 16 - Vikings), while the other two are on the road (Week 2 - Raiders, Week 9 - Buccaneers). The Vikings game will played on Christmas, which is a Friday this year. New Orleans will have two total Sunday Night Football games, two Monday Night Football contests, and a split FOX/NFL Network/Amazon affair.
Late Kicks Are Plentiful
If you don't count the Vikings game on Christmas, the Saints have six late kickoffs in 2020. Those games are in Week 1 (Bucs), Week 8 (Bears), Week 10 (49ers), Week 12 (Bronocos), Week 14 (Eagles), and Week 15 (Chiefs). The Broncos game in Week 12 (Nov. 29) is the only anomaly on the schedule, as it has a 3:05 p.m. kickoff, while the others indicate the latest afternoon slot of 3:25 p.m. Of course, these are not considered prime time games, but are likely candidates for the Game of Week to get maximum exposure on FOX and CBS from the top crews of Joe Buck-Troy Aikman and Jim Nantz-Tony Romo.
Royal Road Rumbles
Between Weeks 12-14, the Saints will be on the road for three consecutive games. They'll take on the Falcons on Nov. 22 and won't be back to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for almost a month until Dec. 20 when they host the Chiefs. They'll play the Broncos, Falcons, and Eagles in that three-week span. Philadelphia in early December should be beautiful.
Christmas In New Orleans
The Saints won't play on Thanksgiving like they've done the past two years, as they'll play on a special Christmas afternoon game on Friday when the Vikings come to town. Naturally, this will be a fun rematch of last year's Wild Card game. However, the only bad part of this is that the Saints will be coming off a late kick against the Chiefs just several days before. Again, there's no Thursday night game on the schedule, so maybe take that as a victory. The other good news is that they'll get to stay at home for it. Get your Kyle Rudolph jokes ready.
NFC South Crown
New Orleans had the division wrapped up by Thanksgiving last year, as they had four straight NFC South games in a row last season. After Dec. 6 against the Falcons, they'll have a three-game stretch until they close out the season with an obligatory meeting with the Panthers. While Carolina won't likely be a contender for the NFC South in 2020, it'll be interesting to see if things could come down to that Week 17 game.
The Stellar Quarterback Carousel Drew Brees Farewell Tour
While it's not set in stone that it's Drew Brees' last season in the NFL, there's certainly some killer matchups on the horizon that feature great quarterback duels. You'll get Brees vs. Tom Brady twice this season (Week 1 and Week 9), Aaron Rodgers (Week 3), Matt Ryan (Week 11 and Week 13), and Patrick Mahomes (Week 15). That's also not discrediting Teddy Bridgewater facing his former team (Week 7 and Week 17). Jimmy Garoppolo (Week 10) and Kirk Cousins (Week 16) will also be on the docket, while we'll figure out whether it's Nick Foles or Mitch Trubisky in Week 8 and then presumably Carson Wentz in Week 14.
