The year post-Sean Payton did not go well for the Saints as they finished last season 7-10 under new coach Dennis Allen. Another losing season in 2023 and he might be a goner. Let’s break down the 2023 NFL season for the New Orleans Saints.

A Closer Look at the New Orleans Saints 2023 NFL Season

Let’s hear it.

What’s your favorite #Saints uniform combo? pic.twitter.com/EMdXs3QlIj

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 17, 2023

• NFL Week 1: vs. Tennessee Titans — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 2: at Carolina Panthers — 7:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• NFL Week 3: at Green Bay Packers — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 4: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 5: at New England Patriots — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 6: at Houston Texans — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 7: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars — 8:15 p.m. ET (Prime Video)
• NFL Week 8: at Indianapolis Colts — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 9: vs. Chicago Bears — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 10: at Minnesota Vikings — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 11: BYE
• NFL Week 12: at Atlanta Falcons — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 13: vs. Detroit Lions — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 14: vs. Carolina Panthers — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 15: vs. New York Giants — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 16: at Los Angeles Rams — 8:15 p.m. ET (Prime Video)
• NFL Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 18: vs. Atlanta Falcons — TBD (TBD)

New QB in the Ranks

The Saints are favored to win the NFC South simply because they have the most accomplished quarterback of the four teams in the division after adding Derek Carr from the Raiders this offseason and Tom Brady retiring from the reigning division champion Tampa Bay Bucs.

New Orleans gave Carr a four-year deal worth up to $150 million with $60 million guaranteed to beat out the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers for his services. Last season he finished with 3,522 passing yards (the third-lowest mark of his nine-year career), 24 touchdown passes, 14 interceptions (tied for the most in a single season), a 60.8% completion percentage (a career low) and an 86.3 passer rating (a career low). Carr’s history with Saints coach Dennis Allen dates to 2014, when Allen was in his third season as coach of the then-Oakland Raiders. That was Carr’s rookie season, and Allen was fired four games into it.

While Carr’s numbers weren’t terrible last year, they weren’t as good as 2021. The Saints are hopeful that Carr can return to his pre-2022 form in a friendlier offense that plays to his strengths, giving him a number of run-after-catch weapons who can make the most of his accurate passes underneath the defense. Jameis Winston will be his backup.

Is This Roster Strong Enough?

New Orleans has one of the best young receivers in the NFL in Chris Olave and one of its best pass-catching running backs in Alvin Kamara. Olave led all rookies with 69.5 receiving yards per game, ranked second in receiving yards (1,042) and tied for second in receptions (72) in 2022. Olave became the third New Orleans rookie ever with at least 1,000 receiving yards. He led all rookies with 12 games with 50-or-more receiving yards, tied for the third-most such games ever by a rookie. Olave was named an Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist but didn’t win.

Remember wideout Michael Thomas? He was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year a few years ago, but his career has been wrecked by injury since. He agreed to a restructured contract to stay on the team. Olave is the No. 1 guy now, though.

Kamara is probably going to be suspended the first four games of the season after agreeing to plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of breach of peace for his involvement in a 2022 fight in Las Vegas. Kamara and three other men were initially facing misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to commit battery and a felony charge of battery with substantial bodily harm. The NFL lists assault/battery as a form of prohibited conduct in its official personal conduct policy.

“There’s no answer to (how explosive the offense can be),” Olave said. “I mean, we’ve got so many explosive players, we’ve got a great quarterback, and we’ve got A.K (running back Alvin Kamara). So I feel like only we can hold ourselves back.”

New Orleans should be just fine at running back even if Kamara is suspended with free-agent addition Jamaal Williams and rookie Kendre Miller. Williams rushed for 1,066 yards and an NFL-best 17 touchdowns in his final campaign in Detroit last year. Miller was a third-round pick out of TCU. The Saints looked to defense with their first two picks: Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Breese at No. 29 overall and Notre Dame end Isaiah Foskey at No. 40.

There’s a reason Bresee was tied to the Saints throughout the draft process. The need was obvious after the departure of David Onyemata and Shy Tuttle, but he’s also the prototype for them at the position. y. Foskey fits the Saints’ mold in multiple ways: He’s 6-5 and 265 pounds, and he participated in the Senior Bowl, where the Saints have found a lot of their draft picks. He was also highly productive as a rusher in college, with 11 sacks in both his junior and senior seasons at Notre Dame.

On defense, the entire front, aside from Cameron Jordan, is gone, as are rotational players in the back seven, including linebacker Kaden Ellis and cornerback P.J. Williams.

A Look into their 2023 NFL Season

The Saints are 3-point home favorites for Week 1 vs. Tennessee. The Titans lead the series 9-6-1, but the Saints split the last four matchups. New Orleans will be looking for their first home win against the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise since a season-opening 33-21 victory on Sept. 5, 1993. New Orleans has won their last four season openers.

Four of the Saints’ 17 games will be against teams that finished with a winning percentage of .500 or better in 2022, three of which went to the playoffs – Jacksonville, the New York Giants and Minnesota.

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READ MORE: New Orleans Saints 2023 NFL Season Betting Guide