2017 New Orleans Saints season


The 2017 season was the New Orleans Saints' 51st in the National Football League, their 42nd playing home games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and their 11th under head coach Sean Payton. The team improved on their 7–9 output from the previous season, while achieving an eight-game winning streak after losing their first two contests, their longest streak since 2009, when they won Super Bowl XLIV. In Week 13 the Saints clinched their first winning season since 2013 and swept the Carolina Panthers for the first time since 2011. In Week 16, the Saints clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2013 by defeating the Atlanta Falcons. In Week 17, the Saints clinched the NFC South for the first time since 2011 with the Panthers loss to the Falcons. On January 7, 2018 the Saints played their divisional rivals the Carolina Panthers in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. They beat Carolina for the third time, 31–26 in the Wild Card, but lost 29–24 to the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Round in a dramatic ending.
This year was Tom Benson's final season as owner of the Saints, as he died at the age of 90 on March 15, 2018 from influenza.

Offseason

Signings

Releases

Draft

RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
111Marshon LattimoreCBOhio State
132Ryan RamczykOTWisconsin
242Marcus WilliamsFSUtah
367Alvin KamaraRBTennessee
376Alex AnzaloneOLBFlorida
3103Trey HendricksonDEFlorida Atlantic
6196Al-Quadin MuhammadDEMiami

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

After three years of holding training camp at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, the Saints opted to move camp back to the team's headquarters facility in Metairie, Louisiana.
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordGame siteNFL.com
recap
1at Cleveland BrownsL 14–200–1FirstEnergy Stadium
2August 20at Los Angeles ChargersW 13–71–1StubHub Center
3Houston TexansW 13–02–1Mercedes-Benz Superdome
4Baltimore RavensL 13–142–2Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Regular season

Schedule

On December 13, 2016, the NFL announced that the Saints will play the Miami Dolphins as one of the London Games at Wembley Stadium in London, England, with the Dolphins serving as the home team. The game will occur during Week 4, and will be televised in the United States. The network and time will be announced in conjunction with the release of the regular season schedule.
The Saints' 2017 schedule was revealed on April 20.
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings

In a playoff preview between these 2 teams, the Saints lost to the Vikings by a score of 29-19. Despite having a 6-3 lead at one time, the Saints were outscored 26-16 for the remainder of the game. With the loss, the Saints began the season 0-1 for the 4th straight season. It was also running back Adrian Peterson's first time playing in Minneapolis since leaving the Vikings via free agency in the offseason.

Week 2: vs. New England Patriots

Week 3: at Carolina Panthers

Week 4: at Miami Dolphins

NFL London Games

Week 6: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 7: at Green Bay Packers

Week 8: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 9: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 10: at Buffalo Bills

Week 11: vs. Washington Redskins

Week 12: at Los Angeles Rams

Week 13: vs. Carolina Panthers

The Saints clinched a winning record for the first time since 2013 and swept the Carolina Panthers for the first time since the Saints' 2011 Season.

Week 14: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 15: vs. New York Jets

Week 16: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Standings

Division

Conference

Postseason

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (#5) Carolina Panthers

NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (#2) Minnesota Vikings