Saints Will Face a Brutal 5-Week Stretch That Will Determine Their Season

Who Dats need to hope their favorite team is above .500 before Week 11, as things get much tougher

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough played his best ball last year against the Carolina Panthers, sweeping the two-game series against the eventual NFC South champs. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It has been well-documents on how tough the opening two weeks of the schedule are for the New Orleans Saints, who will begin at Detroit and at Baltimore. In each of those games, they currently are a touchdown underdog.

However, as brutal as those two games might be, the team will face a tougher overall stretch of that 2026 campaign that just might determine their fate. Does the rebuilding continues into 2027 or is the possibility of playoffs real?

Let’s dive into that five-week stretch that begins the Sunday before Thanksgiving and ends the Sunday before Christmas.

Week 11, Nov. 22: at Chicago

Last year, the Saints couldn’t handle Caleb Williams, but they also struggled to get anything going against former coach Dennis Allen’s defense. That being said, it was still part of the short-lived Spencer Rattler era, and this time around could be a great midseason gauge.

Good news is the average high temperature in the Windy City is still 46 degrees, so the assignment could have been a lot worse.

Week 12, Nov. 29: at Cincinnati

Of all the teams in this five-game stretch, this might be the toughest to figure out. No one should be surprised if the Bengals rebound and are one of the best teams in the AFC It also won’t be a surprise if Joe Burrow gets hurt again, and Zac Taylor is on the firing line.

Regardless, we have noted that one of the Saints weaknesses this year could be their secondary, and it could get severely tested here.

Week 13, Dec. 6: vs. Green Bay

The good news is this is the one home game of this entire stretch. The bad news is one could make an argument this is toughest game the Saints will have throughout it.

The last time New Orleans faced Green Bay just so happened to be their last primetime game a couple of seasons ago in December of 2024. It was an absolute blowout – and shutout – on the way to a 5-12 season.

Will the Saints be able to stop Jordan Love and all his weapons this go around?

Week 14, Dec. 13: at Carolina

It’s back on the road for the third time in four weeks, and although it seems like a winnable game now, it’s easy to forget the Panthers were the NFC South champs last season.

For some reason, Tyler Shough had his best games against this division foe in his rookie season. Will the Panthers be a little more prepared and geared up for this one? (They also play in the Dome in Week 10.)

Week 15, Dec. 20: at Tampa Bay

It’s hard to believe this will be the first matchup between the teams in the season, but if the Saints are going to have a chance to win the NFC South, they are going to have to win either this one or the season finale in the Dome in Week 18.

This is obviously a tough spot with the fact this will be the fourth road game in five weeks.