The Saints and the Wild Card Playoff Round
The New Orleans Saints finished 13-3 in the 2019 regular season, and wound up finishing as the NFC's No. 3 seed behind the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. While the Saints won't have the luxury of having a first-round bye, that's not necessarily a bad thing for a team that's playing some of their best football right now. The Saints host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday as the third matchup of Wild Card Weekend.
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Here's a look back at the Saints and how they've fared during the Wild Card round, as they make their 10th appearance in franchise history.
Overall Record: 4-5 (Sean Payton is 3-1)
Last Appearance: 1/7/18 vs. Carolina Panthers (31-26 win at the Superdome)
Game History (3-3 at Home, 1-2 on the Road)
- 1/7/18 - 31-26 Win vs. Carolina Panthers
- 1/4/14 - 26-24 Win at Philadelphia Eagles
- 1/7/12 - 45-28 Win vs. Detroit Lions
- 1/8/11 - 41-36 Loss at Seattle Seahawks
- 12/30/00 - 31-28 Win vs. St. Louis Rams
- 1/3/93 - 36-20 Loss vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- 12/28/91 - 27-20 Loss vs. Atlanta Falcons
- 1/6/91 - 16-6 Loss at Chicago Bears
- 1/3/88 - 44-10 Loss vs. Minnesota Vikings
Two of the team's highest single-game outputs have come in the Wild Card Round, with the 2011 Lions playoff game (45 points) tying a franchise record from 2009 against the Cardinals. Drew Brees had one postseason appearance prior to his arrival in New Orleans, a 20-17 Wild Card loss to the Jets at home. Brees enters 3-1 on Wild Card Weekend, boasting pretty good stats at 115-of-166 (69.2 completion percentage) for 1,496 yards with 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
New Orleans is currently an 8.5-point favorite on MyBookie, with the Over/Under set at 50 points. Minnesota makes their 14th Wild Card appearance, sitting at a 6-7 record. Kirk Cousins is 0-2 in the postseason, both appearances coming with the Redskins.
Many Saints fans can recall the best and worst moments of appearing in the Wild Card round, with 'Beast Quake' likely being the lowest point and 'Hakim Drops the Ball!' as the highest point. New Orleans has won their last three games, and look to make a date with the Green Bay Packers when it's all said and done.
