2014 New Orleans Saints season

Last updated

2014 New Orleans Saints season
Owner Tom Benson
General manager Mickey Loomis
Head coach Sean Payton
Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr.
Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan
Home stadium Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Results
Record7–9
Division place2nd NFC South
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
Uniform
Saints uniforms12.png

The 2014 season was the New Orleans Saints' 48th in the National Football League (NFL), their 39th playing home games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and their eighth under head coach Sean Payton.

Contents

After they lost to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16, the Saints were officially eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2012. [1]

2014 draft class

2014 New Orleans Saints Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
1 20 Brandin Cooks Wide receiver Oregon State
258 Stanley Jean-Baptiste Cornerback Nebraska
3None — see draft trades below
4126 Khairi Fortt Inside linebacker California
5167 Vinnie Sunseri Safety Alabama
5169 Ronald Powell Outside linebacker Florida
6202 Tavon Rooks Offensive tackle Kansas State
7None — see draft trades below

Draft trades

Staff

2014 New Orleans Saints staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Final roster

2014 New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 14 reserve, 8 practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

In March 2014, the Saints announced an agreement with The Greenbrier resort to hold the team's training camp at the hotel, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, for three years beginning with 2014. The hotel has committed to build three football fields and other facilities for the Saints, at an estimated cost of $20–25 million, adjacent to its sports medicine facilities. The project will be partially subsidized by tax breaks recently approved by the state legislature. The relationship between the hotel and the Saints reportedly grew out of a visit by Saints head coach Sean Payton to the 2013 Greenbrier Classic golf tournament to play in its pro-am competition and then to serve as caddie for his friend, PGA Tour golfer Ryan Palmer. [2]

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1August 8at St. Louis Rams W 26–241–0 Edward Jones Dome Recap
2August 15 Tennessee Titans W 31–242–0 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
3August 23at Indianapolis Colts W 23–173–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap
4August 28 Baltimore Ravens L 13–223–1Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap

Regular season

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1September 7at Atlanta Falcons L 34–37 (OT)0–1 Georgia Dome Recap
2September 14at Cleveland Browns L 24–260–2 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap
3September 21 Minnesota Vikings W 20–91–2 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
4September 28at Dallas Cowboys L 17–381–3 AT&T Stadium Recap
5October 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 37–31 (OT)2–3Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
6 Bye
7October 19at Detroit Lions L 23–242–4 Ford Field Recap
8October 26 Green Bay Packers W 44–233–4Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
9October 30at Carolina Panthers W 28–104–4 Bank of America Stadium Recap
10November 9 San Francisco 49ers L 24–27 (OT)4–5Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
11November 16 Cincinnati Bengals L 10–274–6Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
12November 24 Baltimore Ravens L 27–344–7Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
13November 30at Pittsburgh Steelers W 35–325–7 Heinz Field Recap
14December 7 Carolina Panthers L 10–415–8Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
15December 15at Chicago Bears W 31–156–8 Soldier Field Recap
16December 21 Atlanta Falcons L 14–306–9Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
17December 28at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–207–9 Raymond James Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Atlanta Falcons

Week One: New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter1234OTTotal
Saints614014034
Falcons0101410337

at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 2: at Cleveland Browns

Week Two: New Orleans Saints at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Saints0107724
Browns1067326

at FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

This was the Browns' first home opener win since 2004, and also marked Johnny Manziel's NFL debut. The defense, primarily by rotating DB's Tashaun Gipson, Buster Skrine, rookie Justin Gilbert and Joe Haden, were able to neutralize TE Jimmy Graham and QB Drew Brees for almost the entire first half. Rookie Terrence West, who had 2500+ all-purpose yards at Division II-school Towson Univ., ran for almost 70 yards and one touchdown. Billy Cundiff hit the game-winning FG as time expired.

Week 3: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week Three: Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Vikings06309
Saints1300720

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

After initially stating that Adrian Peterson would return to the active roster for their Week 3 game at New Orleans, the Vikings later placed the running back on the inactive list indefinitely, pending the outcome of the court case against him. Despite coming into the game at 0–2, the Saints started well, scoring two touchdowns on their first two drives, although DE Everson Griffen was able to block the extra point attempt on the second. The Vikings responded to going 13–0 down with two field goals from 25 and 30 yards respectively, but an injury to Matt Cassel meant a debut for rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater.

Week 4: at Dallas Cowboys

Week Four: New Orleans Saints at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Saints0031417
Cowboys7177738

at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Game information

Week 5: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Five: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Quarter1234OTTotal
Buccaneers010147031
Saints67711637

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

Week 7: at Detroit Lions

Week Seven: New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Saints0107623
Lions0371424

at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

  • Date: October 19
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
  • Game attendance: 63,271
  • Referee: Terry McAulay
  • TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Ronde Barber and Jennifer Hale
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 8: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week Eight: Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Packers1060723
Saints106141444

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Date: October 26
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
  • Game attendance: 73,146
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli
  • TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

This would be only the third game in NFL history to not have a single punt. [3] The Saints also beat the Packers for the first time since the 2008 season.

Week 9: at Carolina Panthers

Week Nine: New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Saints0147728
Panthers007310

at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Game information

Week 10: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week Ten: San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Quarter1234OTTotal
49ers14703327
Saints3777024

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Date: November 9
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
  • Game attendance: 73,129
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
  • Preview, Gamebook
Game information

With 5 seconds left in regulation, Drew Brees passed a potential game winning pass to Jimmy Graham until he was flagged with offensive interference, which sent the game into overtime where San Francisco won with a field goal after recovering a fumble by Brees. With the loss, the Saints dropped their record to 4-5.

This would snap an 11-game winning streak for Saints when playing at home. [4]

Week 11: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week Eleven: Cincinnati Bengals at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Bengals767727
Saints300710

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

Week 12: vs. Baltimore Ravens

Week Twelve: Baltimore Ravens at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Ravens77101034
Saints71001027

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

Week 13: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week Thirteen: New Orleans Saints at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Saints01414735
Steelers3371932

at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

The Pittsburgh Steelers was the only team the Saints were able to beat in the AFC North.

Week 14: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week Fourteen: Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Panthers17714341
Saints030710

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Date: December 7
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
  • Game attendance: 73,006
  • Referee: Walt Coleman
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 15: at Chicago Bears

Week Fifteen: New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Saints01410731
Bears0001515

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: December 15
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C), rain showers
  • Game attendance: 60,996
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and Lisa Salters
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 16: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week Sixteen: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Falcons31071030
Saints700714

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Date: December 21
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
  • Game attendance: 73,164
  • Referee: John Parry
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

With this loss, the Saints were eliminated from playoff contention.

Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Seventeen: New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Saints0701623
Buccaneers3170020

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Game information

Standings

Division

NFC South
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(4) Carolina Panthers 781.4694–26–6339374W4
New Orleans Saints 790.4383–36–6401424W1
Atlanta Falcons 6100.3755–16–6381417L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2140.1250–61–11277410L6

Conference

#TeamDivisionWLTPCTDIVCONFSOSSOVSTK
Division leaders
1 [a] Seattle Seahawks West1240.7505–110–2.525.513W6
2 [a] Green Bay Packers North1240.7505–19–3.482.440W2
3 [a] Dallas Cowboys East1240.7504–28–4.445.422W4
4 Carolina Panthers South781.4694–26–6.490.357W4
Wild Cards
5 [b] Arizona Cardinals West1150.6883–38–4.523.477L2
6 [b] Detroit Lions North1150.6885–19–3.471.392L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
7 Philadelphia Eagles East1060.6254–26–6.490.416W1
8 San Francisco 49ers West880.5002–47–5.527.508W1
9 [c] New Orleans Saints South790.4383–36–6.486.415W1
10 [c] Minnesota Vikings North790.4381–56–6.475.308W1
11 [d] New York Giants East6100.3752–44–8.512.323L1
12 [d] Atlanta Falcons South6100.3755–16–6.482.380L1
13 [d] St. Louis Rams West6100.3752–44–8.531.427L3
14 Chicago Bears North5110.3131–54–8.529.338L5
15 Washington Redskins East4120.2502–42–10.496.422L1
16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers South2140.1250–61–11.486.469L6
Tiebreakers [e]
  1. 1 2 3 Seattle, Green Bay and Dallas were ranked in seeds 1–3 based on conference record.
  2. 1 2 Arizona defeated Detroit head-to-head (Week 11, 14–6).
  3. 1 2 New Orleans defeated Minnesota head-to-head (Week 3, 20–9).
  4. 1 2 3 The NY Giants defeated both Atlanta and St. Louis head-to-head (Atlanta: Week 5, 30–20; St. Louis: Week 16, 37–27), while Atlanta finished ahead of St. Louis based on conference record.
  5. 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.

References

  1. "New Orleans Saints stunned by Falcons, 30-14, eliminated from playoff contention".
  2. Kate White & David Gutman, "NFL's Saints to train at The Greenbrier: Resort constructing 3 fields, facilities for Super Bowl XLIV champs", The Charleston Gazette , March 13, 2014.
  3. "The Packers-Saints game had no punts. That's only the third time in history that's happened".
  4. "Kaepernick's ad-libbing helps 49ers end Saints 11-game home winning streak, 27-24 in OT". Fox News . March 24, 2015.
  5. "2014 Conference Standings". NFL.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.