History

Saints’ History

Nov. 1, 1966- National Football League awarded 16th franchise to New Orleans as NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle made the announcement at New Orleans’ Pontchartrain Hotel.

Jan. 9, 1967 – New Orleans’ NFL franchise officially nicknamed the Saints. Sept. 17, 1967 – Saints open 1st regular season schedule in style as rookie RB John Gilliam returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a TD, but lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 27-13 in front of 80,879 at Tulane Stadium; Nov. 5, 1967 – Saints record first regular season win, beating the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-24, as Walt Roberts scores 3 TDs; Dec. 17, 1967 – Saints defeat the Washington Redskins, 30-14, to wind up with a 3-11 record, which tied the record for most wins by a 1st-year expansion franchise.

Jan. 16, 1970 – In realignment of NFC, Saints form Western Division with the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers & the Atlanta Falcons. Nov. 8, 1970 – Saints’ Tom Dempsey kicked a NFL-record 63-yard field goal on the game’s final play to defeat Detroit, 19-17.

Aug. 11, 1971 – Construction began on the Louisiana Superdome; Sept. 19, 1971 – Saints upset L.A. Rams in season opener in New Orleans, 24-20 … rookie QB Archie Manning made 1st regular-season start & ran for 1-yard TD on the final play after he completed 16-of-29 passes for 218 yards & 1 TD; Oct. 17, 1971 – Archie Manning rushed for 2 TDs as Saints defeated the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys, 24-20 before 83,088 at Tulane Stadium.

Aug. 3, 1975 – Louisiana Superdome is dedicated; Aug. 9 – The 1st football game is played in the Louisiana Superdome as the Houston Oilers beat the Saints, 13-7 in a preseason contest before 72,434; Sept. 28, 1975 – In the 1st regular season NFL game in the Superdome, the Saints lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 21-0, before 52,531 spectators.

Oct. 25, 1987 – Saints fall to San Francisco, 24-22 in a Superdome thriller … following the game, head coach Jim Mora made his highly-publicized “coulda, woulda, shoulda” proclamation to the media; Nov. 1, 1987 – On the franchise’s 22nd birthday, Saints posted the largest margin of victory in team history, shuting out Atlanta 38-0 … the win was the 1st in team-record 9 consecutive triumphs to close out the season; Nov. 29, 1987 – Saints held on with 2 magnificent goal-line stands in the 4th quarter to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-16 … the victory ensured Saints’ 1st-ever winning record ever; Dec. 6, 1987 – Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 44-34 to lock up team’s 1st-ever playoff appearance; Dec. 13, 1987 – Saints won 7th straight, 24-10 over the Houston Oilers which gave the Saints home field in the NFC Wild Card game; Dec. 20, 1987 – Down 24-3 in the 2nd quarter, the Saints rallied behind backup QB Dave Wilson for a 31-24 win, the biggest come-from-behind effort in Saints’ history; Dec. 27, 1987 – Saints beat Green Bay, 33-24 to finish the season with 12-3 record .

Sept. 8, 1991 – The Saints defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-0 for 1st 2-0 start in team history … the Saints won 7 straight games; Dec. 16, 1991 – A 27-0 win over the L.A. Raiders broke a 4-game losing streak, clinched a playoff spot and kept the Saints in the hunt for the NFC West title; Dec. 22, 1991 – In Phoenix, the Saints beat the Cardinals 27-3 & won their 1st-ever NFC West title with a 11-5 record … the Saints defense allowed the fewest points in the league & were 2nd in yards allowed; Dec. 29 , 1991- Vying for the Saints’ 1st-ever playoff victory, the Falcons came from behind to defeat New Orleans, 27-20 in the Superdome.

Dec. 3, 1992 – A close 22-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons finished a 3-game, 11-day stretch which put the Saints in the playoffs for the 3rd consecutive year; Dec. 26, 1992 – The Saints clinched the home-field advantage in the NFC Wild Card game with a 20-0 win over the N.Y. Jets on the road … the Saints finished with a team-record 12-4 mark … the club led the NFL in least points allowed with a club-record 202 … New Orleans also led the NFL in most sacks (57) & least sacks allowed (15), the 1st time since 1977 that a club led in both categories.

Jan. 3, 1993 – With the Saints holding a 20-7 in the 3rd quarter, the Philadelphia Eagles roared back with 26 4th-quarter points to win the NFC Wild Card game, 36-20 over the Saints at the Superdome. Sept. 12, 1993 – Saints establish a club record with 557 yards of total offense in a 34-31 road victory over the Atlanta Falcons; Oct. 3, 1993 – The Saints defeated the L.A. Rams 37-6 in Anaheim, which improved their record to 5-0 & tied best-ever start in team history.

July 31, 2000 – The club traded LB K.D. Williams & the 3rd round selection in the 2001 NFL draft to the Green Bay Packers for QB Aaron Brooks & TE Lamont Hall; Oct. 8, 2000 – After a 1-3 start, the Saints began a 6-game win streak, 31-10 at the Chicago Bears, the 4th-longest win streak in club history; Nov. 26, 2000 – Saints beat the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams on the road, 31-24 for franchise’s 200th all-time victory; Dec. 3, 2000 – Saints QB Aaron Brooks set the club passing yards mark (441) vs. the Denver Broncos in the Superdome in a 38-23 loss; Dec. 10, 2000 – Saints set club record for road victories with a 7-1 mark after a 31-27 comeback win at the San Francisco 49ers … Saints also set NFL record for best road record turnaround after an 0-8 record in 1999; Dec. 17, 2000 – Saints all but wrapped up NFC playoff berth after 23-7 victory over Atlanta in the Superdome; Dec. 18, 2000 – Saints clinched 2nd NFC West title after St. Louis lost, 38-35 at Tampa Bay … the Saints were the 7th team since 1990 to go from last place to a division title the next season. Dec. 30, 2000 – Saints won in postseason for the 1st time ever, 31-28 over the St. Louis Rams in a NFC Wild Card Playoff game in the Superdome … WR Willie Jackson tied a NFL postseason mark with 3 TD catches & QB Aaron Brooks threw 4 TD passes.

Jan. 6, 2001 – Saints lost in the NFC Divisional Playoff at the Minnesota Vikings, 34-16 to end the club’s storybook 2000 season. Sept. 13, 2001 – The NFL postpones the entire league schedule for the weekend of Sept. 16-17 after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11; Sept. 30, 2001 – Saints played the 1st NFL game in New York after the attacks in a 21-13 loss at the N.Y. Giants; Oct. 28, 2001 – Saints pulled off 2nd-biggest comeback in club history (trailed by 18 points twice) to win at the St. Louis Rams, 34-31.

Sept. 7, 2002- Signed QB Aaron Brooks to a six-year contract extension; Sept. 22, 2002 – Saints charge back from 20-point deficit vs. Bears at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. QB Aaron Brooks tossed three TDs in the final three quarters, including a 29-yard scoring toss to WR Donte’ Stallworth with 1:11 remaining that proved to be the game-winner. The victory was the 20th of Coach Jim Haslett’s coaching career; Sept. 29, 2002 – WR Donte’ Stallworth became the first rookie in 20 years to catch a touchdown in his first four NFL games; Oct. 13, 2002 – At Washington, WR Michael Lewis became the seventh player in NFL history – and the first in team record books – to return a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in the same game. His 286 return yards vs. the Redskins ranked as the second-highest in Saints history.

Sept. 28, 2003 – RB Deuce McAllister rushes for 101 yards on 17 carries vs. the Indianapolis Colts, beginning a franchise-record streak of nine straight 100-yard performances; Oct. 19, 2003 – Saints post the third-highest scoring total in franchise history with a 45-17 romp over Atlanta at the Georgia Dome; Nov. 2 , 2003- Saints win third straight over defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers at Tampa Bay, 17-14. In the game, McAllister sets a team record with his sixth straight 100-yard game, and DE Willie Whitehead wins NFC Player of the Week honors with three sacks. Nov. 16, 2003 – A 23-20 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons gives the Saints their 100th victory in the Louisiana Superdome. McAllister sets a team record with 237 yards from scrimmage, including 173 rushing; Nov. 30, 2003 – McAllister rushes for 165 yards on 31 carries in a 24-20 victory at Washington, his ninth straight 100-yard game. Dec. 14, 2003 – QB Aaron Brooks tossed a career-high five TDs, including a club-record four caught by WR Joe Horn, in a 45-7 victory over the New York Giants in a nationally-televised game on ESPN. It marked the first time since 1989 that New Orleans posted over 40 points twice in the same season; Dec. 21, 2003 – In one of the most memorable final plays from scrimmage in NFL history, the Saints pulled off a 75-yard, three-lateral touchdown as time expired to cut Jacksonville’s lead to one point. WR Jerome Pathon capped the play with a leap into the end zone, but the PAT attempt by K John Carney sailed wide right, giving the Jaguars a 20-19 victory. Dec. 28, 2003 – McAllister had 49 yards in the season-ending victory over Dallas, becoming only the second player in club history to go over 1,600 rushing yards in a season and the first to post over 2,000 total yards from scrimmage.