2020 New Orleans Saints season

2020 New Orleans Saints season
2020 New Orleans Saints season
Owner	Gayle Benson
Head coach	Sean Payton
General manager	Mickey Loomis
Offensive coordinator	Pete Carmichael Jr.
Defensive coordinator	Dennis Allen
Home field	Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st NFC South
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Bears) 21–9; Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Buccaneers) 20–30
Pro Bowlers	5 RB Alvin Kamara ; OT Terron Armstead ; OG Andrus Peat ; DE Cameron Jordan ; CB Marshon Lattimore ;
AP All-Pros	3 RB Alvin Kamara (2nd team) ; RT Ryan Ramczyk (2nd team) ; LB Demario Davis (2nd team) ;
Uniform
	← 2019; Saints seasons; 2021 →;

The 2020 season was the New Orleans Saints' 54th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 45th playing home games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. It was also their 14th under head coach Sean Payton.

Draft change

2020 New Orleans Saints Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	24	Cesar Ruiz	C	Michigan
3	74	Zack Baun	LB	Wisconsin
3	105	Adam Trautman	TE	Dayton
7	240	Tommy Stevens	QB	Mississippi State

Notes

The Saints traded their second-round selection (No. 56 overall) to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for the Dolphins' 2019 second-round selection.
The Saints traded their seventh-round selection, along with their 2019 fourth-round selection to the New York Giants in exchange for cornerback Eli Apple.
The Saints traded their third-round selection (No. 88 overall) and their 2021 third-round selection to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for the Browns' 2020 third-round selection (No. 74 overall) and the Browns' seventh-round selection (No. 244 overall).
The Saints traded their fourth-round selection (No. 130 overall), fifth-round selection (No. 169 overall), sixth-round selection (No. 203 overall) and their seventh-round selection (No. 244 overall) to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikings' 2020 third-round selection (No. 105 overall).
The Saints traded their 2021 sixth-round selection to the Houston Texans in exchange for the Texans' 2020 seventh-round selection (No. 240 overall).

Staff change

**2020 New Orleans Saints staff**

	Front office Owner – Gayle Benson President – Dennis Lauscha Executive vice president/general manager – Mickey Loomis Senior vice president/chief operating officer – Ben Hales Asst. general manager/college scouting director – Jeff Ireland Vice president of football administration – Khai Harley Director of operations – James Nagaoka Director of pro scouting – Terry Fontenot Head coaches Head coach – Sean Payton Assistant head coach/tight ends – Dan Campbell Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Pete Carmichael Quarterbacks – Joe Lombardi Running backs – Joel Thomas Wide receivers – Ronald Curry Offensive line – Dan Roushar Assistant offensive line – Brendan Nugent Senior offensive assistant – Curtis Johnson Offensive assistant – Declan Doyle Assistant to the head coach/offensive assistant – Kevin Petry Offensive assistant – DJ Williams			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Dennis Allen Defensive line – Ryan Nielsen Linebackers – Michael Hodges Secondary – Aaron Glenn Senior defensive assistant – Peter Giunta Defensive assistant – Cory Robinson Defensive assistant – Michael Wilhoite Pass rush specialist – Brian Young Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Darren Rizzi Assistant special teams – Phil Galiano Strength and conditioning Head strength and conditioning – Dan Dalrymple Assistant strength and conditioning – Charles Byrd Assistant strength and conditioning – Rob Wenning

Final roster change

**2020 New Orleans Saints final roster**

	Quarterbacks 9 Drew Brees 7 Taysom Hill 2 Jameis Winston Running backs 32 Michael Burton FB 41 Alvin Kamara 88 Ty Montgomery 28 Latavius Murray 24 Dwayne Washington Wide receivers 12 Marquez Callaway 11 Deonte Harris RS 83 Juwan Johnson 17 Emmanuel Sanders 10 Tre'Quan Smith 13 Michael Thomas Tight ends 87 Jared Cook 89 Josh Hill 82 Adam Trautman		Offensive linemen 72 Terron Armstead T 73 Ethan Greenidge T 74 James Hurst T 68 Derrick Kelly II G 78 Erik McCoy C 75 Andrus Peat G 71 Ryan Ramczyk T 51 Cesar Ruiz G Defensive linemen 90 Malcom Brown DT 92 Marcus Davenport DE 96 Carl Granderson DE 91 Trey Hendrickson DE 94 Cameron Jordan DE 93 David Onyemata DT 98 Sheldon Rankins DT 97 Malcolm Roach DT 99 Shy Tuttle DT		Linebackers 47 Alex Anzalone MLB 53 Zack Baun OLB 56 Demario Davis OLB 55 Kaden Elliss OLB 52 Craig Robertson MLB Defensive backs 25 Ken Crawley CB 22 C. J. Gardner-Johnson SS 48 J. T. Gray SS 34 Justin Hardee CB 20 Janoris Jenkins CB 27 Malcolm Jenkins SS 23 Marshon Lattimore CB 21 Patrick Robinson CB 36 D. J. Swearinger FS 43 Marcus Williams FS 26 P. J. Williams FS Special teams 3 Wil Lutz K 6 Thomas Morstead P 49 Zach Wood LS		Reserve lists 58 Kwon Alexander MLB (IR) 29 Johnson Bademosi CB (IR) 64 Will Clapp C (COVID-19) 77 Jalen Dalton DT (IR) 62 Nick Easton G (IR) 16 Bennie Fowler WR (IR) 4 Blake Gillikin P (IR) 57 Noah Spence DE (NF-Inj.) 86 Jason Vander Laan TE (Opt-out) 85 Cole Wick TE (Opt-out) Practice squad 80 Austin Carr WR 46 John Denney LS 50 Andrew Dowell LB 95 Ryan Glasgow DT 45 Garrett Griffin TE 30 Grant Haley CB 42 Chase Hansen OLB 84 Lil'Jordan Humphrey WR 37 Tony Jones Jr. RB 18 Jake Kumerow WR 15 Trevor Siemian QB 66 Calvin Throckmorton T 63 Cameron Tom G 5 Blair Walsh K 38 Keith Washington Jr. CB 59 Marcus Willoughby DE (Injured) 86 Ethan Wolf TE Rookies in italics 53 active, 10 inactive, 16 practice squad (+1 exempt)

Preseason change

The Saints' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1]

Week	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
1	August 14	at Los Angeles Rams	SoFi Stadium	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2	August 23	at Pittsburgh Steelers	Heinz Field
3	August 29	Houston Texans	Mercedes-Benz Superdome
4	September 3	Miami Dolphins	Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Regular season change

Schedule change

The Saints' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7.^[1]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 13	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 34–23	1–0	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap
2	September 21	at Las Vegas Raiders	L 24–34	1–1	Allegiant Stadium	Recap
3	September 27	Green Bay Packers	L 30–37	1–2	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap
4	October 4	at Detroit Lions	W 35–29	2–2	Ford Field	Recap
5	October 12	Los Angeles Chargers	W 30–27 (OT)	3–2	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap
6	Bye
7	October 25	Carolina Panthers	W 27–24	4–2	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap
8	November 1	at Chicago Bears	W 26–23 (OT)	5–2	Soldier Field	Recap
9	November 8	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 38–3	6–2	Raymond James Stadium	Recap
10	November 15	San Francisco 49ers	W 27–13	7–2	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap
11	November 22	Atlanta Falcons	W 24–9	8–2	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap
12	November 29	at Denver Broncos	W 31–3	9–2	Empower Field at Mile High	Recap
13	December 6	at Atlanta Falcons	W 21–16	10–2	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Recap
14	December 13	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 21–24	10–3	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
15	December 20	Kansas City Chiefs	L 29–32	10–4	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap
16	December 25	Minnesota Vikings	W 52–33	11–4	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap
17	January 3	at Carolina Panthers	W 33–7	12–4	Bank of America Stadium	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings change

Division change

NFC South
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ New Orleans Saints	12	4	0	.750	6–0	10–2	482	337	W2
⁽⁵⁾ Tampa Bay Buccaneers	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	492	355	W4
Carolina Panthers	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	350	402	L1
Atlanta Falcons	4	12	0	.250	1–5	2–10	396	414	L5

Conference change

NFC v t e
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV	STK
Division leaders
1	Green Bay Packers	North	13	3	0	.813	5–1	10–2	.428	.387	W6
2^[a]	New Orleans Saints	South	12	4	0	.750	6–0	10–2	.459	.406	W2
3^[a]	Seattle Seahawks	West	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	.447	.404	W4
4	Washington Football Team	East	7	9	0	.438	4–2	5–7	.459	.388	W1
Wild cards
5	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	South	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	.488	.392	W4
6	Los Angeles Rams	West	10	6	0	.625	3–3	9–3	.494	.484	W1
7^[b]	Chicago Bears	North	8	8	0	.500	2–4	6–6	.488	.336	L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
8^[b]	Arizona Cardinals	West	8	8	0	.500	2–4	6–6	.475	.441	L2
9	Minnesota Vikings	North	7	9	0	.438	4–2	5–7	.504	.366	W1
10^[c]	San Francisco 49ers	West	6	10	0	.375	3–3	4–8	.549	.448	L1
11^[c]^[d]	New York Giants	East	6	10	0	.375	4–2	5–7	.502	.427	W1
12^[d]	Dallas Cowboys	East	6	10	0	.375	2–4	5–7	.471	.333	L1
13^[e]	Carolina Panthers	South	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	.531	.388	L1
14^[e]	Detroit Lions	North	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	.508	.350	L4
15	Philadelphia Eagles	East	4	11	1	.281	2–4	4–8	.537	.469	L3
16	Atlanta Falcons	South	4	12	0	.250	1–5	2–10	.551	.391	L5
Tiebreakers^[f]
↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 New Orleans finished ahead of Seattle based on conference record. ↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Chicago finished and clinched the 7th and final playoff spot ahead of Arizona based on better win percentage in common games (against Detroit, the NY Giants, Carolina, and the LA Rams, Chicago finished 3–2, while Arizona finished 1–4). ↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 San Francisco finished ahead of the NY Giants based on head-to-head victory. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Dallas (see below). ↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 NY Giants won tiebreaker over Dallas based on division record. ↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Carolina finished ahead of Detroit based on head-to-head victory. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Postseason change

Playoff round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Wild Card	January 10	Chicago Bears (7)	W 21–9	1–0	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap
Divisional	January 17	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5)	L 20–30	1–1	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap

References change

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL. Retrieved July 27, 2020.

Other websites change

Official website

[11-4-2] 1.0 ^1.1 New Orleans finished ahead of Seattle based on conference record.

[8-8-3] 2.0 ^2.1 Chicago finished and clinched the 7th and final playoff spot ahead of Arizona based on better win percentage in common games (against Detroit, the NY Giants, Carolina, and the LA Rams, Chicago finished 3–2, while Arizona finished 1–4).

[6-10a-4] 3.0 ^3.1 San Francisco finished ahead of the NY Giants based on head-to-head victory. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Dallas (see below).

[6-10b-5] 4.0 ^4.1 NY Giants won tiebreaker over Dallas based on division record.

[5-11-6] 5.0 ^5.1 Carolina finished ahead of Detroit based on head-to-head victory.

[7] When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

[NFLScheduleCOVID-19-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL. Retrieved July 27, 2020.

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