Saints All-Time Record After a Bye Week
Fans of the New Orleans Saints may have enjoyed a relaxing Sunday of football without their team on the field this weekend. The Saints are one of four teams on a bye, the first on the NFL schedule this season.
New Orleans returns to action on Monday, Oct. 25, when they visit the Seattle Seahawks. The Saints will enter that game with a 3-2 record, and expect to get up to 10 starters or major contributors that have missed most or all of the season over the next few weeks.
Bye weeks have been a part of the NFL schedule since the 1990 season. The Saints have a 17-14 all-time record in games following a bye week. That includes a 7-11 all-time record on the road after a bye.
New Orleans has fared better after a bye since Sean Payton took over as head coach in 2006. The Saints have a 9-6 record following a bye since Payton took over, including a 2-4 mark in road games. Their record would be even better if not for an 0-3 post-bye record in Payton's first three years on the sidelines.
Payton's Saints are actually 1-4 on the road after an off week. A 2012 win at Tampa Bay came during a season when Payton was serving a ridiculous yearlong suspension from the NFL ‘‘commissioner’’.
The only post-bye road win New Orleans notched with Payton on the sidelines was during the 2018 season, a 24-23 victory at Baltimore. The Saints have won 4 of the last 5 games after a bye week since 2016. Their only defeat was a 26-9 loss at home to the Atlanta Falcons.
Despite their recent success after returning from the off week, history also shows that Saints fans might witness a nail-biter.
Of their four post-bye wins since 2016, two were by just a field goal and the other by one point. The fourth, a 52-38 home win over Detroit in 2017, saw the Saints ahead by just a touchdown late in the fourth quarter until a game-clinching defensive touchdown by DE Cam Jordan in the final minutes.
New Orleans DE Cameron Jordan pressures Lions QB Matthew Stafford during a 2017 game. Credit: Detroit Free Press
New Orleans has gone to the playoffs nine times in Sean Payton's 14 years on the sidelines. During those nine playoff runs, the team has a 7-2 record in games after a bye.
History obviously doesn't guarantee that a win against Seattle means a playoff berth. Recent history does tell us to expect Payton's Saints to come out well-prepared against the Seahawks in a crucial conference battle.
