Well it’s officially, the New Orleans Saints 2021 schedule has dropped. With the draft in the books it’s time to look toward the 2021-2022 season. The Saints have the 11th-easiest schedule among the 32 teams, and play the entire NFC East and AFC East divisions. In addition to that six of their opponents made the playoffs last year. 

After 16 long seasons the Saints are officially in post the Drew Brees era, and they have two streaks on the line, but no need to worry Saints fans.  Head Coach Sean Payton is still here to lead the team to its fifth winning season, and with a little luck its fifth consecutive NFC South title. 

Here is a complete list of the Saints’ 2021 schedule, including dates, kickoff time, and network for all 17 games.

Week	Date	Opponent	Kickoff time	TV
1	Sept. 12	vs. Packers	4:25 p.m. ET	Fox
2	Sept. 19	at Panthers	1 p.m.	Fox
3	Sept. 26	at Patriots	1 p.m.	Fox
4	Oct. 3	vs. Giants	1 p.m.	Fox
5	Oct. 10	at WFT	1 p.m.	CBS
6	Oct. 17	Bye	—	—
7	Oct. 25	at Seahawks	8:15 p.m.	ESPN
8	Oct. 31	vs. Bucs	4:25 p.m.	Fox
9	Nov. 7	vs. Falcons	1 p.m.	Fox
10	Nov. 14	at Titans	1 p.m.	CBS
11	Nov. 21	at Eagles	1 p.m.	Fox
12	Nov. 25	vs. Bills	8:20 p.m.	NBC
13	Dec. 2	vs. Cowboys	8:20 p.m.	Fox/NFLN/Amazon
14	Dec. 12	at Jets	1 p.m.	Fox
15	Dec. 19	at Bucs	8:20 p.m.	NBC
16	Dec. 27	vs. Dolphins	8:15 p.m.	ESPN
17	Jan. 2	vs. Panthers	1 p.m.	Fox
18	Jan. 9	at Falcons	1 p.m.	Fox

Key Games

• Week 7 at Seahawks: Seattle has Russell Willson, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, a defense that loves to take away short passes and the run game. And you can’t forget about their home field advantage, better referred to as the 13th man. This is a team loaded with pro-bowl talent in multiple positions, if the Saints intend on making any type of playoff run this is a team they will have to go through.  

• Week 13 vs. Cowboys: Dak Prescott is back, so you can expect this offense to be high flying. The defense however was so horrible they used six of their draft picks on defensive players. Unless these rookies have breakout seasons the Saints should be able to take care of business. 

Toughest Game

Week 12 | Date: Nov. 25

Opponent: vs Buffalo Bills

This is a team coming off an outstanding season. Former Saints receiver Emmanuel Sanders is now with a high flying offense that led their team to the conference championship game last season and are favorites to return again. It’s most likely that Josh Allen will be amongst the talks for MVP again, while Stefon Diggs continues to put up outstanding numbers. This will be a huge test for the Saints defense and may be the toughest offense faced this season.     

2021 record Prediction: 9-8

It’s very unlikely they will win their division to win a fifth in a row see how the defending Super Bowl champions are in the same division. Although they still possess in my opinion the second best offensive line in the league, two of the most electric players in the NFL, a defense that has talent at all three levels. As of right now we don’t really know who will be under center.  However; everything is pointing to a slip from the past few seasons