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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS WEEKLYMEDIA INFORMATION GUIDE

CAROLINA PANTHERS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTSNOVEMBER 24, 2019 @ MERCEDES-BENZ SUPERDOME

GAME INFORMATION • ROSTERS • DEPTH CHART •TEAM AND PLAYER STATISTICS

CAROLINA PANTHERS (5-5) VS.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (8-2) SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2019 – 12:00 P.M. (CST)

MERCEDES-BENZ SUPERDOME – NEW ORLEANS, LA. TV: CBS (WWL 4 locally) – Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Tony Romo (color an-alyst) and Tracy Wolfson (sideline)

NATIONAL RADIO: ESPN Radio – Adam Amin (play-by-play), Tom Ramsey (color analyst) and Dan Graziano (sideline)

LOCAL RADIO: WWL (870 AM and 105.3 FM) – Zach Strief (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (color analyst) and Steve Geller (sideline)

SPANISH LANGUAGE RADIO: KGLA (830 AM and 105.7 FM) – Mario Je-rez (play-by-play), Juan Carlos Ramos (color analyst) and Victor Quinonez (sideline)

THE MATCHUP The Saints (8-2) will continue along what will be a stretch of three NFC South contests in 12 days, when they host the Carolina Panthers (5-5) at the Mercedes-Benz Super-dome. This will be the be the 50th overall meeting (regular season) and postseason meeting between the two clubs since the Panthers joined the NFL as an expansion fran-chise and the clubs have battled in the NFC West (1995-2001) and NFC South (2002-present). This series has been the tightest among the Saints’ divi-sion rivals with Carolina leading 25-23 in the regular sea-son and the Saints capturing the 2017 NFC Divisional Playoff matchup. Head Coach Sean Payton is 12-12 against Carolina in the regular season in addition to the postseason win over the Panthers. The stakes are high in Sunday’s matchup once again, as the Saints have the opportunity to build on their three-game lead in the NFC South on the Panthers. Resourcefulness has been a theme in the seasons of both teams as they’ve withstood adversity and thrived de-spite significant injuries to their starting quarterbacks. New Orleans won six consecutive contests during a period when they were without Drew Brees for five of them. Los-ing Cam Newton for the season with a foot injury, the Pan-thers have rallied behind second-year signal-caller Kyle Allen, who’s posted a 5-3 record as the starter in 2019, 6-3 including his win vs. the Saints in the 2018 regular sea-son finale.

New Orleans comes off a 34-17 victory on Sunday over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. The Saints never trailed in the contest building up a 20-0 lead in a contest where offense, defense and special teams all contributed. An efficient Saints offense was paced by three touch-down passes by Brees, a standout performance by WR Michael Thomas, who caught eight passes for 114 yards and one touchdown and a return to form following improved health for RB Alvin Kamara, who finished with 154 all-purpose yards. Turnover-free football also marked New Orleans’ performance. Despite missing CB Marshon Lattimore (hamstring), the New Orleans defense posted four interceptions for the first time since 2012, holding Tampa Bay’s offense in check, giving up only 36 rushing yards. S Marcus Williams re-turned an interception 55 yards for his first career NFL touchdown and is now tied for third in the league with four picks. LB Demario Davis tied for the team lead with six tackles and had his first pick as a Saint in the first quarter and a career-high four passes defensed. S Vonn Bell had his first career interception on the last play of the second quarter, extinguishing a potential Tampa Bay score and leads the club with five takeaways on the season. CB P.J. Williams, starting in place of the injured Lattimore, rec-orded a pick in the end zone of his former college team-mate, Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston. In The NFC South This Week: The Atlanta Falcons (3-7) will host the Buccaneers (3-7) in another key conference matchup.

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SAINTS-PANTHERS CONNECTIONS WR Ted Ginn Jr. played for the Panthers in 2013 and from 2015-16 and LB A.J. Klein was a fifth round (148th overall) draft pick of Carolina in 2013 and played four seasons with the club, playing in 60 games with 23 starts, making 155 tackles, four sacks, an interception, a pass defense, three forced fumbles and 27 special teams stops...LB Stephone Anthony prepped at Anson (N.C.) HS and played at Clemson…QB Teddy Bridgewater and QB Drew Brees were both tutored by Panthers Offensive Coordinator Norv Turner in Minnesota and San Diego respectively. Turner and Carolina Tight Ends Coach Pete Hoerner served on Saints Linebackers Coach Mike Nolan’s San Francisco offensive coaching staff when he served as head coach of the 49ers. Nolan served as Turner’s defensive coordinator in Washington from 1997-99...Panthers Wide Receivers Coach Jim Hostler served on Nolan’s San Fran-cisco Staff and was also and assistant in New Orleans from 2001-02...TE Jared Cook played at the University of South Carolina...DT Shy Tuttle prepped at North Davidson (Welcome, N.C.) HS...Colts WR Donte Moncrief prepped at Raleigh (Miss.) HS and played at the University of Missis-sippi. WR Krishawn Hogan and Moncrief were teammates in Indianapolis in 2017...Defensive Line Coach Ryan Niel-sen served as defensive line/recruiting/run game coor-dinator at North Carolina State from 2013-16...Wide Re-ceivers Coach Ronald Curry was a four-year starter at quarterback at North Carolina and also was the starting point guard on the school’s 1998-99 and 2000-01 basket-ball teams. S Vonn Bell, CB Marshon Lattimore, WR Mi-chael Thomas and Panthers WR Curtis Samuel were teammates at Ohio State. Bridgewater, C/G Nick Easton and RB Latavius Murray played with Panthers WR Jarius Wright in Minnesota...Panthers Defensive Coordinator Eric Washington played TE at Grambling State from 1989-90...Carolina Defensive Line Coach Sam Mills III is the son of former Saints LB Sam Mills, who played for New Orleans from 1986-94 and is a member of the Saints Hall of Fame and the club’s All-50th Team...Panthers Running Game Coordinator John Matsko served in the same posi-tion in New Orleans from 1994-96. Matsko and Giunta served on the same St. Louis Rams coaching staff from 1999-2000...Senior Defensive Assistant Peter Giunta and Panthers Secondary Coach Perry Fewell served on the same New York Giants staff from 2010-14...Carolina TE Chris Manhertz played for the Saints from 2015-16...Panthers G Trai Turner prepped at St. Augustine (New Orleans) HS and played at LSU...Panthers DT Vernon But-ler prepped at North Pike (Summit) HS and played at Louisiana Tech...Panthers DE Wes Horton spent the 2019 offseason and preseason with New Orleans...Panthers OLB Marquis Haynes played at the University of Mississip-pi...New Orleans S Eric Reid prepped at Dutchtown HS and played at LSU...New Orleans RB Dwayne Washington

and Panthers LB Shaq Thompson were college teammates at the University of Washington...New Orleans CB P.J. Wil-liams and Panthers CB Javien Elliott were college teammates at Florida State...RB Alvin Kamara and Pan-thers S Rashaan Gaulden and Tuttle were college team-mates at Tennessee...Panthers CB Donte Jackson prepped at Riverdale HS and played at LSU as a team-mate of C/G Will Clapp.

LAST MEETING Carolina Panthers 33, New Orleans Saints 14; Decem-ber 30, 2018 @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome – With a large number of the Saints’ starters watching from the side-lines for most of the contest because the club had already clinched the NFC’s number one seed in the playoffs, the Saints ended their regular season 13-3 after the loss in the 2018 finale.

QB Drew Brees did not play in a contest for only the third time as a Saint, as fellow starters such as T Terron Arm-stead, T Jermon Bushrod, WR Ted Ginn Jr., T Ryan Ramczyk and G Larry Warford also sat out.

Carolina QB Kyle Allen made his first career NFL start and when Carolina got the ball first, he engineered a 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with him scoring a one-yard rush-ing touchdown. The Panthers then took a 13-0 lead later in the first quarter when RB Cameron Artis-Payne had a 15-yard rushing touchdown.

Trailing 30-0, New Orleans finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter on a nine-yard touchdown pass from QB Teddy Bridgewater to rookie WR Tre’Quan Smith with 13:28 remaining in game. When the Panthers got the ball back, Carolina QB Garrett Gilbert connected with TE Ian Thomas for a 31-yard completion on second-and-two, set-ting up a 51-yard field goal. Bridgewater was picked off on the ensuing drive, but the Saints would get on the score-board once more with a nine-yard rushing touchdown by QB Taysom Hill.

• Bridgewater had his first start since the 2015 NFC Wild Card Playoff as a member of the Minnesota Vikings and completed 14-of-22 passes for 118 yards with one touch-down and one interception.

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• After allowing only three yards per carry in the contest, New Orleans finished the season ranked second in the National Football League in both rush defense and oppo-nent yards per rush (3.6).

Panthers vs. Saints: Week 12

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THE COACHES New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton has posted a 134-82 overall record (.620), including an 8-6 postseason mark after the franchise had won only one playoff game prior to his arrival in 2006. Payton holds both the club’s top victory total and winning percentage. Payton is tied for 28th all-time in National Football League record books in victo-ries, fifth among active head coaches. He continues to rep-resent the Saints as the model of stability not only within the NFC South, as he is the longest tenured head coach within the division, but also among the most accomplished within the National Football League. Only the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick (2000) has been with the his team longer than Payton’s 14 seasons. Payton is also one of just seven active National Football League head coaches to lead a team to a Super Bowl victory. The others are Bel-ichick, the Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll, the Oakland Raiders’ Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002), the Baltimore Ravens’ John Harbaugh, the Philadelphia Ea-gles’ Doug Pederson and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin. The 2018 Saints edition posted a 13-3 regular sea-son record, secured the NFC’s number one seed for the postseason and advanced to the NFC Championship game for the third time. A franchise-record five players were se-lected to the Associated Press All-Pro team and a club-best eight were named to the Pro Bowl. New Orleans’ ten-game winning streak was the second-longest in club histo-ry and the longest run of consecutive victories in the Na-tional Football League in 2018. The streak only sits behind in club record books, New Orleans’ 13-0 start under Payton in 2009, the season when they captured Super Bowl XLIV. New Orleans ranked third in the National Football League in points per game, eighth in total offense and sixth in rush-ing offense. A stingy run defense ranked second in both opponent rushing yards per game and opponent rushing yards per play. The 2019 campaign has started with a 8-2 record for the Black and Gold, standing in sole possession of first place in the NFC South division. Payton earned a bachelor’s degree in communications at Eastern Illinois, where as a quarterback he had 10,665 passing yards, at the time the third-highest total in NCAA Division I-AA histo-ry. Payton was inducted into the Eastern Illinois Hall of Fame in September of 2000 and had his jersey retired in a ceremony in September of 2010. He received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater in 2013. Payton was born December 29, 1963 in San Mateo, California, and raised in Naperville, Illinois, Payton has a daughter, Meghan and a son, Connor.

Ron Rivera became the fourth coach in Panthers histo-ry on Jan. 11, 2011, posting a 76-61 mark in the regular season and a 3-4 record in the postseason. A two-time National Football League Coach of the Year, Rivera inherit-

ed a 2-14 Carolina team as a rookie head coach in 2011 and guided it back to relevance in 2015 as they won their second NFC Championship in franchise history, third con-secutive NFC South division title and appeared in Super Bowl 50. Carolina finished the season with a franchise-best 17-2 record, including home playoff victories over Seattle in the Divisional Round and Arizona in the NFC Champion-ship game. Rivera brought the Panthers back to the playoffs for the fourth time in his tenure in 2017 and cur-rently has them sitting in second place in the NFC South. Before joining the Panthers, Rivera worked with the San Diego Chargers from 2007-10, coaching inside linebackers before taking over as defensive coordinator midway through the 2008 season. In 2010, San Diego led the NFL with an average of 271.6 total yards allowed per game and gave up a league-low 177.8 passing yards per game. From 2004-06, Rivera oversaw the Chicago defense, guiding the unit to two top-five finishes in the league. In 2006, the Bears defense led the NFL with 44 takeaways, helping pro-pel Chicago to an appearance in Super Bowl XLI. In 2005, the Bears went 43 consecutive quarters without allowing more than seven points—the longest streak in the NFL since 1969. Rivera was also linebackers coach for the Ea-gles (1999-2003) and defensive quality control coach for the Bears (1997-98).

NEW ORLEANS – CAROLINA STATISTICAL COMPARISON

2019 National Football League Regular Season Rankings

Saints Panthers

Record 8-2 5-5 Scoring Avg. (NFL Rank) 23.8 (13) 22.8 (15) Opp. Scoring Avg. (NFL Rank) 19.9 (12) 25.7 (25) Total Off. (NFL Rank) 364.0 (9) 346.6 (18) Rushing Off. (NFL Rank) 107.5 (17) 126.0 (10) Passing Off. (NFL Rank) 256.5 (9) 220.6 (22) Total Def. (NFL Rank) 318.3 (5t) 362.0 (19)Rushing Def. (NFL Rank) 85.3 (3) 128.4 (27) Passing Def. (NFL Rank) 233.0 (13) 233.6 (14)Kickoff Return Avg. (NFL Rank) 21.4 (21) 21.7 (19)Punt Return Avg. (NFL Rank) 9.8 (4) 7.1 (15)Turnover Margin (NFL Rank) +8 (4) Even (16t) Penalties 75 59 Penalty Yards 566 527 Opp. Penalties 57 77 Opp. Penalty Yards 444 610


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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS-CAROLINA PANTHERS SERIES HISTORY

The Panthers initially entered the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1995 and since then, they lead the regular sea-son series 25-23 with the Saints picking up the 2017 NFC Wild Card showdown at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The clubs were in the NFC West from 1995-2001 and the rivalry’s continued in the NFC South since 2002. The Saints have an 11-11 regular season record vs. Carolina in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the playoff win. Of the 48 regular season games in the series, 23 have been de-cided by eight points or less, with New Orleans winning 11. The Saints’ longest winning streak was a five-game stretch from 2000-02.

In the 48 regular season games of the series there has been:

• 1,039 points scored by New Orleans, 1,056 al-lowed.

• A five-game New Orleans winning streak from 2000-02.

• A four-game New Orleans winning streak in games played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome from 1998-2001.

• 24 games decided by double-digits.

• Six games decided by 21 or more points.

• 23 games decided by eight points or less.

• One 31-point win by New Orleans.

• A 32-point loss by New Orleans.

SAINTS-PANTHERS SERIES FAST FACTS

Saints’ Largest Margin of Victory: 31 points, Saints won 34-3, 11/7/10 at Bank of America Stadium

Panthers’ Largest Margin of Victory: 32 points, Pan-thers won 45-13, 1/2/00 at Ericsson Stadium

Current Series Streak: One-game winning streak for Car-olina, 12/30/18-present

Saints’ Longest Win Streak: Five games, 10/15/00-11/10/02

Panthers’ Longest Win Streak: Four games (twice), 12/18/05-10/7/07 (most recent) and 12/29/02-12/5/04

Most Points by Saints in a Game: 45 points, Saints won 45-17, 1/1/12 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Most Points by Panthers in a Game: 45 points, Pan-thers won 45-13, 1/2/00 at Ericsson Stadium

Most Combined Points (Both Teams): 82 points, Pan-thers won 44-38, 12/30/12 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Fewest Points by Saints in a Game: Zero points, Pan-thers won 13-0, 10/19/97 at Superdome

Fewest Points by Panthers in a Game: Three points, Saints won 34-3, 11/7/10 at Bank of America Stadium

Fewest Combined Points (Both Teams): 13 points, Pan-thers won 13-0, 10/19/97 at Superdome

INDIVIDUAL

Most Rushing Yards (Saints): Running back Ricky Wil-liams, 147 yards on 31 carries (4.7 avg.) with one touchdown on 10/14/01 at Ericsson Stadium.

Most Rushing Yards (Panthers): Running back DeAn-gelo Williams, 210 yards on 21 carries (10.0 avg.) with two touchdowns on 12/30/12 at Mercedes-Benz Super-dome.

Most Passing Yards (Saints): Quarterback Drew Brees, 465 yards on 34-of-49 passing (69.4 %) with four touch-downs (118.2 rating) on 10/16/16 at Mercedes-Benz Su-perdome.

Most Passing Yards (Panthers): Quarterback Kerry Collins, 335 yards on 17-of-46 passing (37.0 %) with three touchdowns (48.7 passer rating) on 11/26/95 at Su-perdome.

Most Receptions (Saints): (Tie) Running back Darren Sproles, 13 receptions for 128 yards (9.8 avg.), 9/16/12 at Bank of America Stadium (Most Recent). Wide receiver Joe Horn, 13 recep-tions for 150 yards (11.5 avg.) and one touchdown, 12/2/01 at Louisiana Superdome (First).

Most Receptions (Panthers): (Tie) TE Greg Olsen, 10 receptions for 72 yards (7.2 avg.) and one touchdown on 12/7/14 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome (Most Recent). WR Steve Smith, 10 receptions for 87 yards (8.7 avg.) and one touchdown on 10/1/06 at Bank of America Stadium. WR Muhsin Muhammad, 10 receptions for 179 yards (17.9 avg.) and one touchdown on 12/5/04 at Louisiana Super-dome (First).

Most Receiving Yards (Saints): Wide receiver Brandin Cooks, 173 yards on seven receptions (24.7 avg.) with one touchdown on 10/16/16 at Mercedes-Benz Super-dome.

Most Receiving Yards (Panthers): Wide receiver Mu-hsin Muhammad, 192 yards on nine receptions (21.3 avg.) with one touchdown on 9/13/98 at Louisiana Super-dome.


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WEEK 1: Saints 30, Houston Texans 28; September 9, 2019 @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome – After a rough start and trailing by as much as 11 points at halftime, the Saints pulled off a thrilling 30-28 comeback victory, complete with six sacks, an S Marcus Williams pick, a balanced offense and a 58-yard field goal as time expired.

In the Monday night opener, QB Drew Brees finished with 370 passing yards, two touchdowns and a 105.8 rating. WR Michael Thomas topped the receiving corps with 123 yards on ten receptions. WR Ted Ginn Jr. added seven receptions for 101 yards and a 41-yard grab. RB Alvin Kamara led in rushing with 97 yards on 13 carries and had seven receptions for 72 yards. Latavius Murray carried the ball six times for 43 yards with a 30-yard touchdown.

The rough start began with an unproductive first offensive drive for New Orleans followed by a series where Texans OLB Whitney Mercilus picked off a Brees pass intended for Murray at the Houston four-year line. Houston QB Deshaun Watson then engineered a seven-play, 94-yard drive that ended with a 21-yard rushing touchdown by the third-year signal-caller. New Orleans’ offense wouldn’t remain score-less for long though as K Wil Lutz drilled a 32-yard field goal. The Texans then extended the lead to 14-3 on a two-yard touchdown from Watson to WR Deandre Hopkins.

The Saints got the ball first in the third quarter and scored their first touchdown of 2019 and moved within four on Murray’s scoring run. But the Texans answered with a 16-yard touchdown connection from Watson to Hopkins. How-ever on New Orleans’ next possession, the Saints an-swered with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Brees to QB Taysom Hill, followed up by Williams’ pick.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, New Orleans took their first lead of the night when Brees connected with WR Tre’Quan Smith on a 14-yard touchdown. Following an-other Lutz field goal, the Texans answered when Watson found Texans WR Kenny Stills for a 37-yard touchdown reception with 37 seconds left.

Brees then completed three quick passes and spiked the ball twice. After New Orleans used their final timeout, Lutz, who missed a 56-yard field goal near the end of the first half, connected on a career-long 58-yard field goal as time expired to give the Saints the win. For his last-second hero-ics, coach Sean Payton awarded Lutz with a game ball.

Lutz was perfect on all three point after tries, and drove all five of his kickoffs out for touchbacks. It was New Orleans’ first season opening victory since 2013.

WEEK 2: Los Angeles Rams 27, Saints 9; September

15, 2019 @ Los Angeles Veterans Memorial Coliseum – New Orleans struggled to put together consistent drives on offense and despite a gritty defensive effort, struggled on offense when both Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater quarterbacked the team. After struggling with penalties, the Saints offense was unable to overcome that on third down, finishing just 4-of-13 on their third down attempts.

Following an interception by Rams S John Johnson, Los Angeles capped their first drive, a seven-play 3:43 minute drive with a 24-yard field goal by K Greg Zuerlein to get on the scoreboard first, a lead they would never relinquish. . After a second unsuccessful series by the Saints offense, Brees was forced to leave the game with a thumb injury. However, the Rams offense was unable to score on their next three offensive drives, as a sack by DE Cameron Jor-dan ended one and a fumble recovery by the All-Pro end the other. On the Saints’ first possession of the second quarter, powered by a 19-yard punt return by WR/RS De-onte Harris, K Wil Lutz connected on a 30-yard field goal to put the Saints on the board. Following a failed fourth down attempt by the Saints and a subsequent 20-yard run by Rams RB Todd Gurley, Zuerlein converted a 22-yard field goal at the end of the first half. Besides a pair of field goals, the Saints offense wasn't able to get going in the second half and the Rams used an four-yard touchdown run by Gurley and a two-yard touchdown connection be-tween QB Jared Goff and WR Brandin Cooks to extend the lead.

WEEK 3: New Orleans Saints 33, Seattle Seahawks 27; September 22, 2019 @ CenturyLink Field – RB Alvin Kamara powered the New Orleans offensive attack, grinding out 161 total yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns stake the Saints to a 33-27 victory to improve to 2-1. The Saints defense and special teams did the rest, stopping four fourth down conversions and dominating the kicking game, while creating 13 points.

Kamara rushed for 69 yards and caught nine passes for 92 yards, scoring touchdowns on the ground and through the air. QB Teddy Bridgewater, starting in place of an in-jured Drew Brees, completed 19-of-27 passes for 177 yards with two touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 112.7 rating as the Saints garnered their first road win of 2019.

While the Saints defense surrendered 515 total net yards, they made stops or big plays at the most opportune times, including stopping four fourth down attempts for the first time since at Jacksonville on October 2, 2011. Seattle running backs only accounted for 58 yards on 19 carries, while CB Eli Apple forced Seahawks RB Chris Carson to fumble in the second quarter and it was picked up by S Vonn Bell, returned 33 yards for a touchdown.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE


GAME SUMMARIES

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CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE-WEEK THREE AT SEATTLE

Special teams also played an important role in the victo-ry in several facets. Early in the first quarter, rookie WR/RS Deonte Harris returned a punt 53 yards for a touch-down to give New Orleans a 7-0 lead. P Thomas Morstead and the club’s coverage units were dominant in the kicking game as the 11th-year special teams captain punted six times for 324 yards for a 54.0 gross punting average and a 52.0 net. Four of Morstead’s punts fell inside the 20-yard line, two inside the five. DB J.T. Gray had a career-high and game-high three special teams stops.

• Bell finished the game with nine tackles, one pass de-fensed and the fumble recovery returned for a touchdown

• Kamara led New Orleans in receiving with nine grabs for 92 yards with a 29-yard scoring grab. WR Michael Thomas caught five passes for 54 yards and a one-yard touchdown as he joined Odell Beckham Jr. and Anquan Boldin as the only players in NFL history with at least 300 catches and 4,000 receiving yards in their first 50 games.

• An inspired effort against the run surrendered only 58 yards rushing on 19 carries to Seattle running backs, in-cluding only 53 yards on 15 carries (3.5 avg.) with one fum-ble lost for Seahawks starter Chris Carson. CB Marshon Lattimore led the Saints with a career-high 12 tackles (ten solo), while LB Demario Davis finished tied for second with Bell with nine stops.

• With the punt return for a touchdown and the fumble re-turn for a score, it marked the third time in franchise history the Saints scored an offensive, defensive and special teams touchdown in the same game, joining at 31-24 win over Philadelphia at Tulane Stadium on November 5, 1967 and a 31-24 loss at Minnesota on November 8, 1998.

• The victory gave New Orleans an 8-6 record against the Seahawks in the regular season, their second consecutive victory against Seattle. After two postseason losses and one regular season loss in Seattle, it marked the first time the Saints won at CenturyLink Field since the 2007 season.

WEEK 4: Saints 12, Dallas Cowboys 10; September 29, 2019 @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome – The Saints won their second consecutive game, defeating Dallas at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in a contest dominated by de-fense and special teams. It marked the first time New Orle-ans won a game without scoring a touchdown since an Oct. 25, 1998 9-3 victory over Tampa Bay.

The Saints won the coin toss and deferred. After the Cowboys punted, the Cowboys took advantage of an inter-

ception off a bobbled ball by WR Ted Ginn Jr. and took possession at their 46-yard line. Dallas jumped out to a 3-0 lead compliments of a 28-yard field goal by K Brett Maher. New Orleans started pushing back when WR/RS Deonte Harris returned a kickoff 29 yards in a drive that spanned the first and second quarters and went nine plays and 52 yards, K Wil Lutz drilled a 40-yard field goal. New Orleans then forced a quick three-and-out, Harris returned the punt to the Saints 49 and Lutz hit a 42-yard field goal to give New Orleans the edge. A potential score was averted when on a completion from Cowboys QB Dak Prescott to TE Jason Witten, LB A.J. Klein punched the ball out and it was recovered by S Vonn Bell. Towards the end of the quarter, Bell forced a fumble by Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott and recovered it, setting the stage for a 19-yard field goal by Lutz and a 9-3 Saints halftime lead.

Midway through the third quarter, Prescott completed a pass for a 35-yard gain to TE Blake Jarwin, that set up a one-yard rushing touchdown by Elliott to give the Dallas a 10-9 lead.

Between the third and fourth quarters, QB Teddy Bridgewater drove the offense 67 yards in 15 plays on a drive that lasted 9:06 and Lutz drilled a 26-yard field goal for the lead. New Orleans held on for the win with DT David Onyemata dropping Prescott for a 11-yard loss and S Marcus Williams picking him off on the final play of the contest to seal the victory.

Bridgewater threw for 193 yards and WR Michael Thomas had nine receptions for 95 yards to move into a tie for the NFL receiving lead with 34 grabs and tie Odel Beckham Jr. for reaching 350 career catches in the fewest games in NFL history (52 games). Defensively, Bell led the team with ten tackles.

Week 5: Saints 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24; October 6, 2019 @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome – New Orleans put together one of their more complete games as they recorded a victory over their NFC South divisional rivals in the start of their 2019 division slate.

After gaining three first downs on their first possession, New Orleans was forced to punt. However, on Tampa Bay’s next possession, the Saints defense would force a three-and-out and a punt. Starting the ensuing drive on their own 36-yard line, QB Teddy Bridgewater would lead a nine-play, 53-yard drive that culminated in a Wil Lutz 29-yard field goal to give the Saints the early lead. Two pos-session later, after Buccaneers CB Sean Murphy-Bunting picked off Bridgewater after a ball bounced off of WR Ted Ginn Jr., QB Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay of-fense would take advantage of great field position as he would find WR Chris Godwin for a 26-yard touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE


GAME SUMMARIES

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CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE-WEEK FIVE VS. TAMPA BAY

On the next Saints possession, they’d regain the lead, with Bridgewater connecting with WR Michael Thomas on a 14-yard touchdown. Tampa Bay K Matt Gay connected on a 42-yard field goal to tied the score again. But the Saints took the lead back with 37 seconds left in the first half when Bridgewater and TE Jared Cook connected for a nine-yard touchdown.

The Saints then got the ball coming out of the second half and Bridgewater connected on a 42-yard completion to Thomas and then two plays later found Ginn for a 33-yard touchdown. The Buccaneers struck back by going on a 17-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by RB Peyton Barber to put the Buccaneers back with-in seven. Near the end of the third quarter, the Saints were pinned back at their nine on third-and-ten and Bridgewater found Thomas for a 20-yard completion to keep a crucial drive alive.

The drive would stay alive in the fourth quarter, eventually going for 13-plays and 91 yards as Bridgewater found Thomas for a nine-yard touchdown, as the signal-caller tied his career-high for scoring throws. The clubs traded three and outs, but then the Saints pass rush became active with three sacks on a single series to forced a punt. The Bucca-neers offense would strike again with Godwin hauling in a 26-yard touchdown from Winston to make it a one-score game. But the onside kick attempt went out of bounds to give New Orleans the ball back for a victory formation.

WEEK 6: Saints 13, Jacksonville Jaguars 6; October 13, 2019 @ TIAA Bank Field – The Saints won their fourth consecutive game, defeating Jacksonville in a contest dominated by defense and special teams, with timely offen-sive plays mixed in. It marked the first time New Orleans didn’t surrender a touchdown since a 20-0 shutout of the Miami Dolphins in London on October 1, 2017.

The Jaguars won the coin toss and deferred. The clubs traded punts for each of their first two possessions. New Orleans jumped out to a 3-0 lead compliments of a 47-yard field goal by K Wil Lutz. New Orleans took a bend but don’t break approach on a Jacksonville drive midway through the second quarter as Jaguars QB Gavin Minshew completed 12– and 22-yard passes to WR D.J. Chark, followed by some nifty runs by RB Leonard Fournette. But the Saints kept the Jaguars out of the end zone at their four-yard line and forced a 22-yard Josh Lambo field goal to close out the only scoring of the first half.

New Orleans recorded the only takeaway game on the

first drive of the second half when CB Marshon Lattimore picked off a pass intended for Chark. The Saints would take the lead back on the next drive when Lutz drilled a 21-yard field goal. Midway through the third quarter, Minshew completed a pass for a 23-yard gain to WR Dede West-brook, that set up a 32-yard Lambo field goal.

Between the third and fourth quarters, QB Teddy Bridgewater drove the offense 75 yards in 11 plays on a drive that lasted 6:22 and he eventually connected with TE Jared Cook on a four-yard touchdown pass. New Orle-ans then defended a Jacksonville drive on downs at the Saints 40 and despite a quick three and out, then forced a Jaguars punt. The Saints then wouldn’t give the ball back, holding it for the final 6:09 of the contest, converting three first downs.

Bridgewater threw for 240 yards and WR Michael Thomas had eight receptions for 89 yards to hold the NFL receiving lead. Defensively, DE Cameron Jordan rec-orded two sacks to move into a tie with LB Pat Swilling for third place on the club’s all-time list.

WEEK 7: Saints 36, Chicago Bears 25; October 20, 2019 @ Soldier Field – Vonn Bell and A.J. Klein each recorded fumble recoveries, one of which Teddy Bridge-water converted into a touchdown pass to help New Orleans increase their winning streak to five with a 36-25 win over Chicago at Soldier Field, the Saints’ fifth consecu-tive victory over the Bears.

The Saints held Chicago to only 17 rushing yards, the fifth-lowest opponent total in franchise history and kept their run offense from getting a first down for only the fourth time in franchise record books. As part of the dominating defensive performance, Cameron Jordan recorded two sacks to move into sole possession for their place on the club’s all-time list

Offensively, Latavius Murray rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns, New Orleans’ first 100-yard rusher of the sea-son. He added 31 yards on five receptions for 150 total yards from scrimmage. Bridgewater improved his touch-down pass-interception on the season to 9-2, throwing scoring throws to Josh Hill and Taysom Hill. Michael Thomas had nine receptions for 131 yards (14.6 avg.). Bridgewater competed 23 of 38 passes for 281 yards and a 100.9 passer rating.

New Orleans jumped out to a 9-0 lead on a safety from a J.T. Gray blocked punt and a Bridgewater-Hill touch-down connection. The Bears took the lead early in the sec-ond quarter on Eddy Pineiro’s 46-yard field goal but New Orleans took the lead for good on a 39-yard kick by Wil Lutz, his NFL-record 35th consecutive road field goal. That was the start of 27 unanswered points by New Orle-ans in the contest.


GAME SUMMARIES

8

WEEK 8: Saints 31, Arizona Cardinals 9; October 27, 2019 @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome – The Saints im-proved to 7-1, powered by an offensive attack that tied a season-high with 510 total net yards, welcomed back by the return of QB Drew Brees and a defense that did not allow a touchdown for the second time this season and the second time in three weeks.

The Cardinals opened the scoring with 5:41 left in the first quarter when K Zane Gonzalez drilled a 31-yard field goal. After Brees connected with QB Taysom Hill on a 22-yard completion to set up a 26-yard field goal by K Wil Lutz, the Saints would not trail again in the contest where he returned from right thumb surgery that sidelined him for five games.

Midway through the second quarter, RB Latavius Mur-ray, who led the saints in rushing with 102 rushing yards, 157 total yards from scrimmage and two touch-downs, scored on an eight-yard rush. On Arizona’s next possession, Gonzalez booted a 31-yard field goal to cut New Orleans’ lead to 10-6.

Midway through the third quarter, after the Saints stopped the Cardinals on a fourth and one attempt at their 30 on a stop for no gain by DT David Onyemata, Brees led New Orleans on five-play, 30-yard drive, ending with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Murray, the running back’s first career scoring grab. Brees finished his day by completing 34-of-43 passes for 373 yards with three touchdowns and one interception with a 116.4 passer rating.

With the Cardinals in rally mode, trailing 17-9 at the end of the third quarter after a 50-yard field by Gonzalez, Hill caught a five-yard touchdown from Brees at the start of the fourth quarter. On the next play from scrimmage, a Saints team sack, set the Cardinals back to second and 20 at their 15-yard line and would force a punt. plays later, Brees connected for a touchdown for the final time on the after-noon, when he hit WR Michael Thomas for a nine-yard touchdown to seal the win for New Orleans heading into their Week 10 bye.

• A swarming New Orleans defense allowed only 237 net yards and allowed Cardinals QB Kyler Murray to complete only 19-of-33 passes for 222 yards with zero touchdowns and a 77.8 passer rating.

• Brees tossed three touchdowns, giving him 159 career games with at least two touchdown passes, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre for the third-most such games in NFL history.

• The New Orleans defense held the Cardinals to only 115 total net yards in the first half, while all four Saints sacks occurred in the second half. LB Demario Davis led the

standout defensive effort with a teams-high eight tackles (seven solo), while DE Cameron Jordan recorded two a sack to reach eight takedowns for the midpoint of the sea-son and 79.5 for his career.

WEEK 10: Atlanta Falcons 26, Saints 9; November 10, 2019 @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome – New Orleans’ re-turn to action following a Week Nine bye would be a forget-table one, as they would suffer their first loss after a bye since the 2015 season at the hands of their divisional ri-vals. Despite Drew Brees and Taysom Hill putting up 304 passing yards through the air, S Marcus Williams intercept-ing Falcons QB Matt Ryan and WR/RS Deonte Harris and K Wil Lutz excelling on special teams, 12 penalties and allowing Brees to get sacked six times set New Orleans back

the two clubs traded field goals, as New Orleans scored their first points of 2019 on an opening offensive drive. However Atlanta scored a touchdown on a 17-play, 75-yard drive that stretched into the second quarter, ending with an eight-yard touchdown pass from QB Matt Ryan to TE Austin Hooper. New Orleans was on the verge of getting off the field for a field goal attempt, but three penalties in Saints territory resulted in first downs. The clubs traded punts and then field goals, Atlanta went into halftime with a 13-6 edge. After trading punts to open the second half, WR/RS Deonte Harris returned a punt 19 yards to the Atlanta 38, but a sack of Brees in the red zone forced a third Lutz field goal. Atlanta then chewed 6:12 off the clock on a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a ten-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to RB Brian Poole After New Orleans was forced to punt, Atlanta kicked a field goal, followed by another loss on downs, but the Saints got New life trailing 23-9 midway through the fourth quarter when Williams picked off Ryan. But the Saints failed to execute and had their six-game winning streak snapped. WR Michael Thomas enjoyed another standout day in what has become another record-setting fourth cam-paign, grabbing a season-high 13 passes for 152 yards. He became the fastest player to 400 receptions in his 56th career game and no player has matched his 401 catches through their first four seasons. Leading the NFL in both receiving and receiving yardage with 86 grabs for 1,027 yards with four touchdowns. He also moved into fourth place in club record books with his 14th career 100-yard receiving game Williams’ pick was his team-leading third of the season and he is currently tied for fifth in the league in in-terceptions. LB Demario Davis led a Saints defense ranked fifth in the NFL with a game-high 11 tackles and their only sack.


GAME SUMMARIES

9

WEEK 11: Saints 34, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17; No-vember 17, 2019 @ Raymond James Stadium – Vonn Bell, Demario Davis, Marcus Williams and P.J. Williams each recorded interceptions, one of which Marcus Williams brought back 55 yards for a touchdown and an efficient offense and special teams helped New Orleans rebound from a Week 10 loss to get their first season sweep of Tampa Bay since 2014.

RB Alvin Kamara posted 154 all purpose yards including 13 carries for 75 yards (5.8 avg.), ten receptions for 47 yards and a 27-yard punt return to set up a touchdown. QB Drew Brees completed 28-of-35 (80.0%) of his passes for 228 yards with three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 122.4 passer rating, while the New Orleans offensive line kept his jersey clean. WR Michael Thomas posted eight receptions for 114 yards with one touchdown as he be-came the first player in NFL history to have 90 catches in each of his first four seasons. TE Jared Cook had a 30-yard grab and a three-yard touchdown.

In addition to the four picks, the Saints defense surren-dered only 36 rushing yards on the day and DE Cameron Jordan posted 1.5 sacks.

• LB Demario Davis tied for a team lead with six tackles, had his first regular season interception as a Saint and a career-high four passes defensed.

• P.J. Williams started in place of an injured Marshon Lat-timore and posted his first interception of the season to go with three solo tackles.

• LB Kiko Alonso led the team with six solo tackles and de-flected the pass intercepted by Bell at the end of the first half.

2019 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS COMMUNICATIONS STAFF

Greg Bensel-Senior Vice President of Communications and Broadcasting

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (504) 731-1794

Doug Miller-Executive Director of Football Communica-tions


Phone: (504) 731-1895

Justin Macione-Director of Football Communications/Publications Director


Phone: (504) 731-1848

Evan Meyers-Football Communications/Legends Program Manager


Phone: (504) 731-1844

Jordy Spitale-Corporate Communications Manager


Phone: (504) 731-1894

Davis Friend-Communications Associate


Phone: (504) 731-1842

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

PLAYERS

LB Stephone Anthony (steh-FAHN)

T Terron Armstead (ter-RON)

CB Johnson Bademosi (BAH-day-MOH-see)

LB Demario Davis (duh-MAR-ee-oh)

WR/RS Deonte Harris (deo-on-tay)

WR Krishawn Hogan (kri-SHAUN)

RB Alvin Kamara (kuh-Mare-Uh)

G/T Patrick Omameh (oh-MAH-meh )

T/G Andrus Peat (ANN-druss PEET)

T Ryan Ramczyk (RAM-check)

COACHES

Senior Defensive Asst. Peter Giunta (GEN-ta).

Offensive Line Coach Dan Roushar (ROW-shar).


GAME SUMMARIES

COMMUNICATIONS STAFF

HOW DO YOU SAY IT

10

JULY

18 – Placed DE Carl Granderson on Reserve/Did Not Re-port.

23 – Placed DT Sheldon Rankins on Reserve/PUP.

25 – Signed CB T.J. Green, DT Ziggy Hood and LB Josh Martin, waived/injured DL Kenny Bigelow Jr. and waived WR Chad Hansen.

26 – Placed DL Kenny Bigelow Jr. on Injured Reserve.

29 – Signed G/T Patrick Omameh, reached an injury settle-ment with DL Kenny Bigelow Jr. and released WR Camer-on Meredith.

30 – Signed WR Travin Dural and RB Robert Kelley, placed RB Javorius Allen on Injured Reserve and waived/injured DB Chris Campbell.

31 – Placed DB Chris Campbell on Injured Reserve.

AUGUST

1 – Re-signed TE Jake Powell and waived QB J.T. Barrett.

3 – Signed RB Jacquizz Rodgers and waived/injured Rob-ert Kelley.

5 – Reached an injury settlement with RB Robert Kelley.

7 – Signed TE A.J. Derby and waived OL Nate Wozniak.

8 – Waived/injured RB Matthew Dayes and signed RB Ker-wynn Williams.

9 – Reached an injury settlement with RB Javorius Allen and placed RB Matthew Dayes on Injured Reserve.

10 – Waived TE Jake Powell, Terminated Contract/Left Squad WR Rishard Matthews and placed OL Ulrick John on Injured Reserve.

12 – Signed T Chris Clark and FB Shane Smith.

14 – Signed LB Drew Lewis.

15 – Reached an injury settlement with T Ulrick John.

21 – Placed T Chris Clark on Injured Reserve, waived LS Nick Moore and signed LB Will Compton and OL Fisa-yo Awolaja.

22 – Reached an injury settlement with DB Chris Campbell.

26 – Reached an injury settlement with T Chris Clark and placed TE Garrett Griffin on Injured Reserve.

30 – Signed T Jermon Bushrod. Waived OL Fisayo Awola-ja, WRs Simmie Cobbs Jr., Travin Dural and Cyril Gray-son Jr., DL Corbin Kaufusi, LBs Drew Lewis and Dar-

nell Sankey and FB Shane Smith. Terminated the con-tracts of TE A.J. Derby, DL Geneo Grissom, G/C Ryan Groy, RB Jacquizz Rodgers, CB Kayvon Webster and RB Kerwynn Williams and placed LBs Will Compton, Col-ton Jumper and Josh Martin on Injured Reserve.

31 – Terminated contracts of S Chris Banjo, FB Michael Burton, DT Ziggy Hood, T Michael Ola and DL Sylvest-er Williams. Waived TE Dan Arnold, WR Emmanuel Butler, DB T.J. Green, LB Porter Gustin, C Marcus Hen-ry, WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, OL Derrick Kelly II, TE Alize’ Mack, RB Devine Ozigbo and DB Terrell Williams Jr. Placed T Jermon Bushrod on Reserve/Retired. Placed T/G Marshall Newhouse, CB/PR Marcus Sherels and C/G Cameron Tom on Injured Reserve. Placed DT David Onyemata on Reserve/Suspended by Commis-sioner. Reinstated/Exempt/Commissioner Permission DE Carl Granderson.

SEPTEMBER

1 – Acquired LB Kiko Alonso in exchange for LB Vince Bie-gel. Agreed to practice squad contracts with TE Dan Arnold, WR Emmanuel Butler, DB T.J. Green, WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, OL Derrick Kelly II, OL John Leglue, DL Mitchell Loewen, TE Alize’ Mack, RB Taquan Mizzell and DB Terrell Williams Jr. Reached injury settlements with T/G Marshall Newhouse, CB/PR Marcus Sherels.

5 – Reached an injury settlement with LB Will Compton.

9 – Signed DL Mitchell Loewen to the active roster from the practice squad and terminated the contract of DL Wes Horton.

10 – Waived DL Mitchell Loewen and reached an injury settlement with RB Matthew Dayes. DT David Onyemata reinstated by commissioner.

12 – Re-signed DL Mitchell Loewen to the practice squad.

16 – Placed LB Alex Anzalone on Injured Reserve and re-instated DE Carl Granderson from Commissioner/Exempt.

18 – Signed LB Ray-Ray Armstrong, activated WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the practice squad, waived DT Taylor Stallworth, placed WR Keith Kirkwood, terminat-ed the practice squad contract of DB Terrell Williams Jr. and signed QB J.T. Barrett IV and WR Krishawn Hogan to the practice squad. 18 – Signed DT Taylor Stallworth to the practice squad and terminated practice squad contract of TE Alize’ Mack.

25 – Signed LB Stephone Anthony to the practice squad and placed LB Kaden Elliss on Injured Reserve.


TRANSACTIONS

11

OCTOBER

15 – Placed CB P.J. Williams on Reserve/Suspended By Commissioner.

16 – Terminated contract of LB Stephone Anthony. Signed TE Brian Parker and RB Zach Zenner.

19 – Signed TE Dan Arnold to the active roster from the practice squad and waived TE Brian Parker.

22 – Terminated LB Ray-Ray Armstrong and RB Zach Zenner. Terminated practice squad contract of QB J.T. Barrett.

23 – Signed CB Johnson Bademosi, re-signed LB Stephone Anthony and signed TE Jason Vander Laan and DB Trae Elston to the practice squad.

26 – Signed WR Krishawn Hogan to the active roster from the practice squad and waived WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

28 – CB P.J. Williams reinstated by Commissioner.

29 – Waived CB Ken Crawley. Signed WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey to the practice squad.

REGULAR SEASON

Date Opponent Time/Network

Sept. 9 HOUSTON TEXANS W, 30-28

Sept. 15 @Los Angeles Rams L, 9-27

Sept. 22 @Seattle Seahawks W, 33-27

Sept. 29 DALLAS COWBOYS W, 12-10

Oct. 6 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS W, 31-24

Oct. 13 @Jacksonville Jaguars W, 13-6

Oct. 20 @Chicago Bears W, 36-25

Oct. 27 ARIZONA CARDINALS W, 31-9

--—-——-———————-BYE——————————-

Nov. 10 ATLANTA FALCONS L, 9-26

Nov. 17 @Tampa Bay Buccaneers W, 34-17

Nov. 24 CAROLINA PANTHERS 12:00PM/CBS

Nov. 28 @Atlanta Falcons 7:20PM/NBC

Dec. 8 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 12:00PM/FOX

Dec. 16 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 7:15PM/ESPN

Dec. 22 @Tennessee Titans 12:00PM/FOX

Dec. 29 @Carolina Panthers 12:00PM/FOX

NFC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

WEEK 1: K Wil Lutz

New Orleans Saints 30, Houston Texans 28 @ Mer-cedes-Benz Superdome, Sept. 9, 2019

Converted a career-long 58-yard field goal on the final play of the game to help New Orleans win their first season-opening contest since 2013. The 58-yarder was third-longest in team history. Also converted all three PATs, and had all five kickoffs sail into the end zone for touchbacks. It was Lutz’s third NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award, but his first since 2016, when he won it twice as a rookie.


WEEK 3: P Thomas Morstead

New Orleans Saints 33, Seattle Seahawks 27 @ Centu-ryLink Field, Sept. 22, 2019

Morstead punted six times for 324 yards (54.0 avg.) and four inside the 20-yard line, two inside the ten. It was Mor-stead’s third NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award, but his first since his rookie season of 2009, when he won it twice.

NFC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE MONTH

SEPTEMBER: P Thomas Morstead

In four games, Morstead punted 17 times for 830 yards for a 48.8 gross punting average and a 44.8 net with 11 punts inside the 20-yard line. His net punting average ranked third in the NFL and his 11 inside the 20 were tied for sec-ond. It was his first NFC Special Teams Player of the Month award.


WEEK 7: P Thomas Morstead

New Orleans Saints 13, Jacksonville Jaguars 6 @ TIAA Bank Field, Oct. 13, 2019

Morstead played in his 164th career regular season game and punted six times for 251 yards (41.8 avg.) with five inside the 20-yard line.

Saints at Buccaneers: Week 11

TRANSACTIONS (Cont.)

2019 SCHEDULE/RESULTS

TEAM NOTES

12

FAMILY TIES

Numerous Saints players, coaches and administrators are not the only members of their families to make a name for themselves in pro football. No fewer than 19 Saints play-ers, coaches or front office staff have relatives who have played, coached or served in the front office in the National Football League.

Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen - Father, Grady, played linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons from 1968-72.

Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael - Father, Pete, served as an assistant coach in the NFL from 1994-2003 with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Chicago Bears.

Quarterbacks Coach Joe Lombardi - The grandson of legendary National Football League head coach Vince Lombardi, who led both Green Bay and Washington. He led the Packers to three straight and five overall NFL Championships in seven years, in addition to winning the first two Super Bowls.

Secondary Coach Aaron Glenn - Younger brother, Ja-son, was a linebacker and sixth-round draft pick of the De-troit Lions in the 2001 NFL Draft, playing six seasons in the NFL with the Jets, Dolphins and Vikings.

Linebackers Coach Mike Nolan - Father, Dick, played safety in the National Football League for nine years before becoming a coach. He led the San Francisco 49ers from 1968 to 1975 and was the head coach of the Saints from 1978 to 1980.

Offensive Assistant D.J. Williams - Father, Doug Wil-liams, is Washington’s Senior VP/Player Personnel, who won Super Bowl XXII as starting quarterback for the Red-skins, the pinnacle of a storied 12-year pro football career, which includes him being in the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.

Assistant General Manager/College Scouting Director Jeff Ireland– Stepson of Chiefs Hall of Fame linebacker/center E.J. Holub and the grandson of former Eagles RB and Chicago Bears personnel exec. Jim Parmer.

National Scout Terry Wooden - Brother, JoJo, is Director of Player Personnel for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Defensive End Mario Edwards Jr. - Father, Mario Ed-wards Sr., played five NFL seasons at cornerback for the Cowboys (2000-03) and Buccaneers (2004).

Defensive End Cameron Jordan - Father, Steve, had a 13-year career at tight end for the Minnesota Vikings, with six Pro Bowl selections, being inducted into their Ring of

Honor this past October.

Tackle/Guard Andrus Peat - Father, Todd, played six Na-tional Football League seasons with the Cardinals and the Raiders.

Wide Receiver Michael Thomas - Uncle, Keyshawn John-son, is a former wide receiver who was the first overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, spending 11 seasons in the National Football League with the Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers, earning three Pro Bowls and the Super Bowl XXXVII title.

Defensive Tackle Shy Tuttle - Uncle, Perry Tuttle played wide receiver on Clemson’s national championship team in 1981 who was a first round pick of Buffalo in 1982 and played three National Football League seasons with the Bills, Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Area Scout Scott Campbell - Late father, Marion, played for the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles as one of the league’s last two way players along the line, was a longtime assistant with five teams and was former head coach of the Eagles and Atlanta Falcons.

Area Scout Joey Vitt - Father, Joe Vitt, is a longtime Na-tional Football League assistant coach, who served as as-sistant head coach/linebackers of the Saints from 2006-16 and is currently assistant head coach/inside linebackers of the Jets.

Combine Scout Matt Phillips - Father, Ted is the presi-dent/CEO of the Chicago Bears.

COACHES IN THE NFL

Seven members of the 201 New Orleans Saints coaching staff have prior playing experience in the National Football League.

Head Coach Sean Payton - Played for the Chicago Bears in 1987.

Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Dan Campbell - A third round draft pick of the New York Giants in 1999 out of Tex-as A&M, who appeared in 114 games with 75 starts for the Giants, Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions, where he caught 91 passes for 934 yards and 11 touchdowns during his playing career.

Assistant Wide Receivers Coach Ronald Curry - A sev-enth round draft pick (235th overall) of the Oakland Raiders in 2002 out of the University of North Carolina and played for Oakland from 2002-08, appearing in 76 games with 32 starts, registering 193 receptions for 2,347 yards with 13 touchdowns. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE


TEAM NOTES

13

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE-COACHES IN THE NFL

Secondary Coach Aaron Glenn - The 12th overall pick of the New York Jets in the 1994 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M and started 176 of 205 games with New York, the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and Saints and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. Glenn recorded 41 interceptions with six brought back for touchdowns, add-ing a score on a kick return.

Defensive Assistant Leigh Torrence— Enjoyed a seven-year career with the Atlanta Falcons, Washington and Saints.

Special Teams Assistant Michael Wilhoite - Played six sea-sons (2012-17) in the National Football League with the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. Played in 79 career games with 45 starts and posted totals of 316 tackles, four interceptions, nine passes defensed, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 40 special teams stops.

Pass Rush Specialist Brian Young - Played in the Nation-al Football League from 2000-08 with the St. Louis Rams his first four seasons, who originally selected him in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft (139th overall) from Texas-El Paso and final five campaigns with the Saints, playing in 124 games, recording 22.5 career sacks and eight fumble recoveries.

2019 PRACTICE SQUAD

The following players make up the New Orleans Saints practice squad:

Player Pos. School Exp.

Emmanuel Butler WR Northern Arizona R

Trae Elston DB Mississippi 2

Lil-Jordan Humphrey WR Texas R

Derrick Kelly II OL Florida State R

John Leglue OL Tulane R

Mitchell Loewen TE Arkansas 3

Taylor Stallworth DT South Carolina 2

Taquan Mizzell Sr. RB Virginia 3

Jason Vander Laan TE Ferris State 2

Terrell Williams Jr. DB Houston 1

MY HOMETOWN

Saints players come from 22 different states and Nigeria. Of the 53 players currently on the team’s active roster, the state which claims the most members of the team is Texas with seven (quarterback Drew Brees, defensive tackle Mal-com Brown, defensive end Marcus Davenport, center Erik McCoy, punter Thomas Morstead, linebacker Craig Robert-son and long snapper Zach Wood).

WINNING STREAKS

Under Head Coach Sean Payton, the Saints have put to-gether five winning streaks of at least six games, including the club’s most recent six-game run that was snapped with the November 10 loss to Atlanta. New Orleans has not lost two contests in a row since the first two games of the 2017 season. Below is a list of the franchise’s winning streaks of at least six games since Payton was hired as head coach of the Saints in 2006:

Sept. 13-Dec. 13, 2009—13 games

Oct. 31-Dec. 12, 2010—6 games

Nov. 6, 2011-Jan 1, 2012—8 games

Sept. 24-Nov. 19, 2017—8 games

Sept. 16-Nov. 22, 2018—10 games

Sept. 22, 2019-Oct. 27, 2019—6 games

DOUBLE DIGIT WINS

In 2018, posting a 13-3 record, New Orleans won at least ten games for the seventh time since Sean Payton became head coach after posting double-digit win totals five times from 1967-2005. The Saints posted 13 wins for the third time in 2018, all under Payton.

ROSTER FACTS AND FIGURES

Oldest Saints player: Quarterback Drew Brees, 40, 1/15/79

Youngest Saint: Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, 21, 12/20/97

Most Seasons as a Saint: QB Drew Brees - 14

Most NFL seasons: QB Drew Brees, 19

Most consecutive starts: Defensive End Cameron Jor-dan, 121

Consecutive games played: DE Cameron Jordan, 138

Most playoff experience: QB Drew Brees, 15 games



TEAM NOTES

14

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE-ROSTER FACTS AND FIGURES

Heaviest Saint: Offensive Lineman Ethan Greenidge, 335

Tallest Saint: Tackle/Guard Andrus Peat, 6-7

Shortest Saint: Wide Receiver/Return Specialist Deon-te Harris, 5-6

Former first round draft picks:12-Linebacker Stephone Anthony, Cornerback Eli Apple, Quarterback Teddy Bridge-water, Defensive Tackle Malcom Brown, Defensive End Marcus Davenport, Wide Receiver Ted Ginn Jr., Defensive End Cameron Jordan, Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, Tackle/Guard Andrus Peat, Tackle Ryan Ramczyk, Defen-sive Tackle Sheldon Rankins, Cornerback Patrick Robin-son.

Pro Bowlers:11-Tackle Terron Armstead, Quarterback Drew Brees, Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, Tight End Jared Cook, Defensive End Cameron Jordan, Running Back Alvin Kamara, Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, Punter Thomas Morstead, Guard Andrus Peat, Wide Receiver Mi-chael Thomas, Guard Larry Warford.

Coaches who played in the NFL: 7 - Head Coach Sean Payton, Asst. Head Coach/Tight Ends Dan Campbell, Wide Receivers Coach Ronald Curry, Secondary Coach Aaron Glenn, Defensive Assistant Leigh Torrence, Special Teams Assistant Michael Wilhoite, Pass Rush Specialist Brian Young

College with the most Saints: Ohio State - 5 (Apple, Safety Vonn Bell, Ginn, Lattimore and Thomas)

IN THE NFC SOUTH

The New Orleans Saints have the best record among NFC South teams since 2006, a period where they’ve won five division titles including back-to-back ones from 2017-18, tied with the Carolina Panthers for the most during that time. They’ve posted a 48-33 mark within the NFC South since 2006.

REGULAR SEASON RECORDS OF NFC SOUTH TEAMS SINCE 2006

Team W L T Pct.

New Orleans Saints 133 85 0 .610

Atlanta Falcons 115 103 0 .528

Carolina Panthers 114 103 1 .525

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 80 138 0 .367

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL

Ball security has been of utmost importance for New Orle-ans in 2019, as their six giveaways are the fewest in the NFL after they haven’t turned the ball over in the their last two games. New Orleans has not had a fumble since Week 3 at Seattle and has not coughed up a fumble on offense all season.

FEWEST GIVEAWAYS IN 2019

Team Giveaways

1. New Orleans 6

2. Green Bay 7

3. Arizona 8

ROAD WARRIORS

Since 2006, the Saints have the third-best road record in the National Football League at 61-48 (.560). The Saints finished 2018 7-1 on the road with a winning road mark for the first time since 2011 and tied for best in the National Football League. It matched the team’s best road record with the 7-1 marks in 2000 and 2009. The Saints have posted a 4-1 home mark in 2019 and have posted at least a .500 record on the road for three consecutive seasons for the first time since 2009-11 and for the fifth time in fran-chise history.

NFL REGULAR SEASON ROAD RECORDS SINCE 2006

Team Record

1. New England 77-32

2. Dallas 63-46

3. New Orleans 61-48

4. Pittsburgh 59-48-1

5. Indianapolis 57-50

6. Philadelphia 58-51

Since 2009, with a 49-36 (.577) road mark, the Saints have the best record in the NFC and second-best record in the NFL in regular season contests played away from their home stadium.

NFL REGULAR SEASON ROAD RECORDS SINCE 2009

Team Record



3. Pittsburgh 46-36-1

4. Dallas 48-37


TEAM NOTES

15

DOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE

Since 2008, the Saints have posted a 67-27 home record, ranked fifth in the NFL, including a 6-2 record in 2018 and 4-1 mark in 2019 with wins over Houston, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Arizona. Until the November 10 loss to Atlanta, it was the Saints’ first 4-0 home start since the 2013 season, when they went 8-0 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. A win On November 24 vs. Carolina will guarantee New Orle-ans their third straight home winning record.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE REGULAR SEASON HOME RECORDS SINCE 2008

Team Record


2. Green Bay 70-22-2

3. Baltimore 69-24

4. Pittsburgh 68-26


TIME OF POSSESSION LEADER

The Saints’ 31:50 time of possession average was ranked third in the NFL in 2018 and their 32:58 average in 2019 is ranked second in the NFC and third in the NFL after hold-ing the ball for 37:00 in Sunday’s win at Tampa Bay.

2019 NFL TIME OF POSSESSION AVERAGE LEADERS

Team TOP

1. Bal. 34:20

2. SF* 33:24

3. NO 32:58

4. NE 32:31

5. Phi. 32:09

SAINTS 2019 CAPTAINS

Saints 2019 team captains were elected by teammates.

OFFENSE

QB Drew Brees and T Terron Armstead

DEFENSE

LB Demario Davis and DE Cameron Jordan

SPECIAL TEAMS

P Thomas Morstead

PAYTON’S PLACE AMONG HEAD COACHES

Sean Payton has had an impressive run as head coach of the New Orleans Saints for the last 14 seasons since being hired in 2006.

After the team had captured only two division titles prior to 2006, the club has five under Payton, including back-to-back NFC South titles from 2017-18, the first time the club won their division in back to back seasons. The franchise has had 13 winning seasons overall in its 53-season histo-ry, seven happening under Payton’s watch including the 2018 13-3 mark. Payton has the highest winning percent-age (.620) and most wins (134) among the 16 Saints head coaches, also tied for 28th all-time in NFL record books, ranked fifth among active head coaches.

Payton’s the only coach in Saints history with double-digit win totals in seven seasons, including the 2018 13-3 mark.

PAYTON YEAR-BY-YEAR HEAD COACH BREAKDOWN

Year Reg. Season Postseason

2006 10-6 NFC Champ Game (1-1)

2007 7-9 -

2008 8-8 -

2009 13-3 SB XLIV Championship (3-0)

2010 11-5 Wild Card Round (0-1)

2011 13-3 Divisional Round (1-1)


2014 7-9 -

2015 7-9 -

2016 7-9 -


2018 13-3 NFC Champ Game (1-1)

2019 8-2 ????

TOTAL 126-76 8-6

TOP THREE WINNINGEST SAINTS HEAD COACHES

(REGULAR SEASON AND POSTSEASON)

Coach W L Pct.

Sean Payton 133 82 .619

Jim Mora 93 78 .544

Jim Haslett 46 52 .469



TEAM NOTES

16

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE-PAYTON’S PLACE

Payton’s 134 career wins (regular season/postseason) since 2006 ranks fourth among active National Football League coaches, third among current NFC coaches and his winning percentage since 2006 is fourth among current coaches.

WINNING PERCENTAGES AMONG ACTIVE NFL COACHES SINCE 2006 (Min. 50 games)

Coach W L T Pct.

Bill Belichick 190 55 0 .776

Mike Tomlin 138 78 1 .638

Pete Carroll 106 62 1 .630

Sean Payton 134 82 0 .619

John Harbaugh 122 80 0 .604

Doug Pederson 38 25 0 .603

Mike Zimmer 56 37 1 .601

WINNINGEST ACTIVE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE COACHES SINCE 2006

Coach W L T Pct.

Bill Belichick 190 55 0 .776

Mike Tomlin 138 78 1 .638

Andy Reid 137 95 1 .590

Sean Payton 134 82 0 .620

John Harbaugh 122 80 0 .604

NFC SOUTH COACHES RECORDS IN DIVISION PLAY

Payton has the most regular season division wins by active NFC South coaches. With Sunday’s 34-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Payton improved his winning per-centage against the Buccaneers to .615. A win Sunday against Carolina would give him a winning record in the regular season against all three clubs

Coach W L Pct.

Sean Payton 45 30 .600

Ron Rivera 27 24 .529

Dan Quinn 16 10 .615

Bruce Arians 1 3 .250

PAYTON’S REGULAR SEASON RECORD VS. NFC SOUTH TEAMS

Team W L Pct.

Atlanta 17 8 .680

Tampa Bay 16 10 .615

Carolina 12 12 .500

PRO BOWL PLAYERS COACHED BY SEAN PAYTON

Sean Payton has coached 26 players who’ve earned 54 Pro Bowl selections as a head coach, offensive coordinator and position coach with the New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, including a franchise-record eight selections in 2018 (tackle Terron Armstead, quarterback Drew Brees, defensive end Cameron Jordan, running back Alvin Kamara, guard Andrus Peat, wide re-ceiver Michael Thomas, center Max Unger and guard Larry Warford).

PRO BOWL PLAYERS COACHED BY PAYTON AS HEAD COACH AND ASSISTANT COACH

Pos. Player Pro Bowls Years G Larry Allen 1 2005 T Terron Armstead 1 2018 QB Drew Brees 11 2006, 08--14, 16-18 T Jammal Brown 2 2006, 08 T Jermon Bushrod 1 2011 G Jahri Evans 5 2009-11, 13-14 C Jonathan Goodwin 1 2009 TE Jimmy Graham 3 2011, 13-14 G Ben Grubbs 1 2013 S Roman Harper 2 2009-10 RB Mark Ingram II 2 2014, 2017 DE Cameron Jordan 4 2013, 2015, 2017-18 RB Alvin Kamara 2 2017-18 CB Marshon Lattimore 1 2017 G Carl Nicks 2 2010-11 G Andrus Peat 1 2018 S Darren Sharper 1 2009 TE Jeremy Shockey 1 2002 DE Will Smith 1 2006 T Jon Stinchcomb 1 2009 G Ron Stone 2 2000-01 WR Michael Thomas 2 2017-18 LB Jonathan Vilma 2 2009-10 C Max Unger 1 2018 G Larry Warford 2 2017-18 TE Jason Witten 1 2005



TEAM NOTES

17

THE SAINTS WHEN

Below is the regular season record in various situations the Saints have compiled under Payton since 2006 as well as their record under these circumstances in 2019.

SEAN PAYTON’S REGULAR SEASON RECORD WHEN

Leading After First Quarter..........................................69-16 Leading at Halftime....................................................102-13 Leading After Third Quarter.........................................99-11 Saints Score First........................................................73-22 Saints 200+ Yards Passing.......................................109-66 Opponent Under 200 Yards Passing...........................50-20 Saints Have 100+ Yards Rushing...............................88-24 Forcing 3+ Turnovers....................................................33-6 Defense Has 3+ Sacks................................................62-21 Indoors........................................................................80-47 Outdoors......................................................................45-30 At Home......................................................................68-33 On The Road...............................................................58-43 On Artificial Turf….......................................................89-50 Scoring 20 Or More Points........................................117-42 Allowing 20 Or Fewer Points.........................................77-8 Committing Zero Turnovers..........................................42-6

THE SAINTS IN 2019 WHEN? (REGULAR SEASON)

Leading After First Quarter..............................................3-0 Tied After First Quarter....................................................2-1 Trailing After First Quarter...............................................3-1 Leading at Halftime..........................................................6-0 Losing at Halftime............................................................1-2 Tied at Halftime…............................................................1-0 Leading After Third Quarter.............................................5-0 Losing After Third Quarter...............................................2-2 Tied after Third Quarter..................................................1-0 Saints Score First............................................................5-0 Opponent Scores First....................................................3-2 Saints 200+ Yards Passing.............................................6-1 Saints Have 100+ Yards Rushing...................................7-0 + 4 Turnover Margin........................................................1-0 + 2 Turnover Margin........................................................1-0 +1 Turnover Margin….....................................................1-1 Recording 1 Takeaway....................................................3-2 Even Turnover Margin.....................................................2-1 Defense Has 3+ Sacks....................................................3-1 Indoors.............................................................................4-1 Outdoors..........................................................................4-1 At Home..........................................................................4-1 On The Road...................................................................4-1 On Artificial Turf...............................................................5-1 On Natural Grass............................................................ 3-1

Scoring 20 Or More Points...............................................5-0 Allowing 20 Or Fewer Points............................................4-0 Committing Zero Turnovers.............................................3-1

BUCKING THE ODDS

The Saints have a long tradition of finding players as free agents signed after the draft that make an impact, including four in 2019 (DE Carl Granderson, OL Ethan Greenidge, WR/RS Deonte Harris and DT Shy Tuttle):

SAINTS ON 53-MAN ROSTER WHO HAVE JOINED THE TEAM AS UNDRAFTED ROOKIE FREE AGENTS

PLAYER, SCHOOL SEASON

TE Josh Hill, Idaho State 2013

CB Ken Crawley, Colorado 2016

TE Dan Arnold, Wisconsin-Platteville 2017

DB J.T. Gray, Mississippi State 2018

WR Keith Kirkwood, Temple 2018

OL Ethan Greenidge, Villanova 2019

WR/RS Deonte Harris, Assumption 2019

DT Shy Tuttle, Tennessee 2019

DE Carl Granderson, Wyoming 2019

WINNING HEAD COACH-QB COMBINATION

The Sean Payton-Drew Brees head coach-starting quarter-back combo are second-winningest all-time.

WINNINGEST HEAD COACH-STARTING QB DUOS

COACH/QB WINS

Belichick-Brady 216

Payton-Brees 121

Shula-Marino 116

Tomlin-Roethlisberger 114

The Payton-Brees combination have started the second-most regular season games together as well.

MOST STARTS BY HEAD COACH-QB DUO

COACH/QB STARTS

Belichick-Brady 276

Payton-Brees 194

Shula-Marino 184


TEAM NOTES

18

IN THE NFL

The Saints have the second-best regular season record in the NFC and fourth-best in the National Football League since 2006.

REGULAR SEASON RECORDS IN THE NFL SINCE 2006

Team W L T Pct.

New England Patriots 171 47 0 .784

Pittsburgh Steelers 138 79 1 .635

Green Bay Packers 135 81 2 .624


Indianapolis Colts 132 86 0 .606

Baltimore Ravens 130 88 0 .596

Dallas Cowboys 127 91 0 .583

Since 2009, their 108-62 regular season record is ranked fourth.

NFL REGULAR SEASON RECORDS SINCE 2009

Team W L T Pct.


Green Bay Packers 108 60 2 .641



Seattle Seahawks 102 67 1 .603

POINTS PER GAME

Since 2006, the Saints have averaged 27.7 points per game (6,039 points) in 218 regular season games, second in the NFL. Since 2006, they’ve scored 20 or more points in 171 contests (78.4%) and 30 or more in 101 (46.3%). Five of the team’s top seven single-game point totals have oc-curred since 2006. The Saints are tied with three teams for having three consecutive 45-point plus outputs all-time.

NFL POINTS PER GAME LEADERS SINCE 2006

Team Pts. Pts./Gm.

1. New England 6,398 29.3

2. New Orleans 6,039 27.7

3. Green Bay 5,646 25.9

NEARLY UNBEATABLE AT 30

Since Payton arrived in 2006, the team has posted a 92-14 record (86.7%) in regular season and postseason games where they’ve scored at least 30 points, including putting up at least 30 in six of ten games this season. 30-POINT GAME OUTPUTS BY SEASON (2006--19)

2006: 6-1

2007: 5-0

2008: 6-2

2009: 12-0 (Including 3-0 in postseason)



2012: 6-2

2013: 6-0

2014: 4-1

2015: 3-1

2016: 6-3


2018: 9-1

2019: 6-0

OPPONENT POINTS PER GAME

The Saints are 12th in the NFL in opponent points per game.

NFL OPP. POINTS PER GAME LEADERS SINCE 2006

Team Opp. Pts. Opp. Pts./Gm.

1. New England 108 10.8

2. San Francisco* 155 15.5

3. Buffalo 170 17.0

4. Chicago 174 17.4

5. Minnesota 205 18.6

6. Baltimore 196 19.6

7t. Dallas 197 19.7

7t. Denver 197 19.7

7t. Tennessee 197 19.7

10. LA Rams 198 19.8

11. LA Chargers 218 19.8

12. New Orleans 199 19.9

13. Pittsburgh 202 20.2


TRANSACTIONS TEAM NOTES

19

SAINTS BY THE NUMBERS

5 – Club-record number of 2018 Associated Press All-Pro selections.

6 – Ring of Honor members.

7 – Division Championships

8 – Club-record number of Pro Bowl selections in 2018

379 – Franchise wins (Regular season/postseason)

10 – Pro Football Hall of Famers and number of postsea-son appearances, including 2018.

33 – Number of years the club was owned by Tom Benson, who passed away in 2018.

45 – Seasons at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

53 – The club is in its 53rd season of play.

84,728 – Largest home crowd (United States), a Nov. 3, 1968 contest vs. Dallas played at Tulane Stadium.

73,373 – Largest crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, a November 24, 2014 contest vs. Baltimore.

134 – Games won by Head Coach Sean Payton (regular season and postseason), ranked first in club history and tied for 28th in National Football League record books.

6,715 – NFL-record number completions by Drew Brees.

75,733 – NFL-record number of passing yards by Brees.

528 – Touchdown passes by Brees, ranked third in NFL records.

81 – Sacks by Cameron Jordan, ranked third in team rec-ords, needing one to move into a tie for second with DL Wayne Martin and two to surpass Martin.

12 – 2018 Sack total by Jordan, ranked first on the club and the fourth double-digit sack season in his nine-year career.

9.5 – 2019 Sack total by Jordan, ranked sixth in the NFL.

18 – Touchdowns scored by Alvin Kamara in 2018, as he tied the team record and was ranked second in the NFL.

1,592 – Total yards from scrimmage total by Kamara in 2018, ranked seventh in the NFL, leading the team for the second consecutive season.

409 – Number of receptions by Michael Thomas in his first four seasons, a National Football League record.

56 – Number of games it took Thomas to reach 400 recep-tions, the fewest in NFL history.

211 – Team-record number of receiving yards by Thomas

in the Nov. 4, 2018 45-35 victory vs. the Los Angeles Rams

125 – Receptions by Thomas in 2018, ranked first in the NFL and fifth all-time in league record books.

1,405 – Team-record 2018 receiving yardage by Thomas.

94 – Receptions by Thomas in 2019, ranked first in the NFL after leading the club with eight grabs for 114 yards and one touchdown on Sunday at Tampa Bay. Thomas’ 94 grabs are the most by an NFL player through his first ten games and he’s the only player to have 90 catches in each of his first four seasons.

839 – Career tackles by LB Demario Davis in his eight-year NFL career.

69 – Team-leading tackle total by Davis in 2019.

110 – Team-leading tackle total by Davis in 2018, his fifth season reaching the century mark.

PRIME TIME POWER

Since 2006, the Saints have the fourth-best record in prime time contests, as following this week, they will play in two prime time contests in the next three weeks.

TOP FIVE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRIME TIME RECORDS SINCE 2006

Team W L T Pct.





Dallas Cowboys 43 29 0 .597

New Orleans has been even more dominating at home on prime time, posting a 22-6 mark since 2006 as they will close out their 2019 road prime time slate with a Thanks-giving night matchup at Atlanta.

TOP NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE HOME PRIME TIME RECORDS SINCE 2006

Team W L T Pct.


Baltimore Ravens 13 3 0 .813





TEAM NOTES

20

FIRST ROUND FOCUS

The Saints feature 12 players who entered the NFL as first round draft choices, seven selected by New Orleans.

SAINTS FIRST ROUND PLAYERS

PLAYER, TEAM SEASON, SELECTION

Ted Ginn Jr., Miami 2007, #9

Patrick Robinson, New Orleans 2010, #32

Cameron Jordan, New Orleans 2011, #24

Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota 2014, #32

Andrus Peat, New Orleans 2015, #13

Stephone Anthony, New Orleans 2015, #31

Malcom Brown, New England 2015, #32

Eli Apple, New York Giants 2016, #10

Sheldon Rankins, New Orleans 2016, #12

Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans 2017, #11

Ryan Ramczyk, New Orleans 2017, #32

Marcus Davenport, New Orleans 2018, #14

HIGHER EDUCATION

42 different colleges and universities are represented on the Saints’ current 2019 53-man roster. Of that total, seven players are represented by multiple Saints, led by five from Ohio State (CB Eli Apple, S Vonn Bell, WR Ted Ginn Jr., CB Marshon Lattimore and WR Michael Thomas).

ROSTER ROLL CALL

Of the 53 players on the Saints’ roster, 36 were on the ac-tive roster, a reserve list or the practice squad at the end of 2018. The roster includes five unrestricted free agents (DT Malcom Brown, TE Jared Cook, C/G Nick Easton, DE Mario Edwards Jr. and G Patrick Omameh), a veteran free agent (WR Krishawn Hogan), a trade acquisition (LB Kiko Alonso), three draft choices and four rookie free agents (OL Ethan Greenidge, WR/RS Deonte Harris, DT Shy Tuttle and DE Carl Granderson. Of the 53 players, 24 have less than four years of prior NFL experience, in-cluding 17 players who were in their first preseason. The following’s a breakdown of New Orleans’ roster by experi-ence (year entering): 19 years-1, 13 years-1, 11 years-2, 10 years-1, 9 years-1, 8 years-1, 7 years-9, 6 years-1, 5 years-7, 4 years-6, 3 years-10, 2 years-7, rookies-7.

TURNOVER RATIO LEADER

In 2019 the Saints are ranked fourth in turnover ratio after recording four interceptions in Sunday’s win at Tampa Bay for the first time since 2012 and not turning the ball over for the second consecutive week. This week’s opponent, Car-olina’s tied for 16h at even.

2019 NFL TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL LEADERS

Takeaways Giveaways

Team Ints Fum Total Ints Fum Total Diff

1. NE 19 9 28 6 4 10 +18

2t. Pit. 14 12 26 11 6 17 +9

2t. GB 9 7 16 2 5 7 +9

4. NO 8 6 14 5 1 6 +8

4t. Sea. 8 11 19 2 11 13 +6

4t. Bal. 9 7 16 6 4 10 +6

DOMINATING OFFENSE

Since 2006, the Saints have been the National Football League’s top offense.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE TOTAL OFFENSE LEADERS SINCE 2006

Team Yds. Yds./Gm.

1. New Orleans 87,300 400.5

2. New England 84,039 385.5

3. Philadelphia 80,774 370.5

4. Dallas 79,597 365.1

5. Green Bay 79,226 363.4

YARDAGE RAMPAGE

Since 2006, the Saints have racked up the team’s top six highest regular season single-game net yardage totals. Prior to Payton’s hiring, New Orleans had only reached 500 yards in seven games. Since then, they’ve met the mark in 28 contests.

TOP 3 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS TOTAL NET YARDAGE GAMES

Rk. Opponent Yds. Rush Pass Date

1. vs. Dallas 625 242 383 11/10/13

2. vs. Carolina 617 208 409 1/1/12

3. vs. NYG 608 103 505 11/1/15


TEAM NOTES

OFFENSIVE NOTES

21

KEEPING DRIVES GOING

The Saints have converted a National Football League-best 46.5 of their third down attempts in the regular season since 2006.

THIRD DOWN CONVERSION LEADERS SINCE 2006

Team Made Att. Pct.

1. New Orleans 1,322 2,846 46.5

2. Indianapolis 1,260 2,869 43.9

3. New England 1,262 2,896 43.6

FIRST DOWNS

The Saints’ second 4,943 first downs since 2006 are sec-ond in the NFL.

NFL FIRST DOWN LEADERS SINCE 2006

Team Tot. Rush Pass Pen

1. New England 5,036 1,582 3,006 448

2. New Orleans 4,943 1,382 3,230 331

3. Indianapolis 4,591 1,255 2,900 436

THROUGH THE AIR

New Orleans’ 291.1 net passing yards per game lead the National Football League since 2006.

NFL NET PASSING YARDS PER GAME SINCE 2006

Rk. Team Yds. Yds./Gm.

1. New Orleans 63,456 291.1

2. New England 58,197 267.0

3. Green Bay 55,394 254.1

YARDS AFTER THE CATCH

Since 2006, the Saints rank first in the NFL in yards after the catch (31,296) and are second in 2019 (1,431).

NFL YARDS AFTER THE CATCH SINCE 2006

Team YAC

1. NO 31,296

2. NE 29,994

3. GB 29,247

2019 NFL YARDS AFTER THE CATCH LEADERS

Team YAC

1. KC 1,624

2. NO 1,431

3. NE 1,408

FOUR DOWN TERRITORY

Since 2006, the Saints are ranked second in the NFL in fourth down conversion rate, converting 123-of-217 at-tempts (56.7 Pct.).

NFL FOURTH DOWN PCT. LEADERS SINCE 2006

Rk. Team Conv./Att. Pct.

1. New England Patriots 130/210 61.9

2. New Orleans Saints 123/217 56.7

3. Dallas Cowboys 102/181 56.4

HOLDING THE LINE

Since 2006, the Saints have a

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