2015 New Orleans Saints season

Last updated

2015 New Orleans Saints season
Owner Tom Benson
General manager Mickey Loomis
Head coach Sean Payton
Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr.
Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan (Weeks 1–10, fired)
Dennis Allen (Weeks 11–17)
Home field Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Results
Record7–9
Division place3rd NFC South
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers Cameron Jordan (DE)
Uniform
Saints uniforms12.png

The 2015 season was the New Orleans Saints' 49th in the National Football League (NFL), their 40th playing home games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and their ninth under head coach Sean Payton. On November 16, 2015, the Saints hired Dennis Allen to replace fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. However, the Saints still missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The Saints set a new league record for the most passing touchdowns allowed with 45.

Contents

Draft

2015 New Orleans Saints Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
1 13 Andrus Peat OT Stanford
31 Stephone Anthony ILB Clemson
244 Hau'oli Kikaha OLB Washington
375 Garrett Grayson QB Colorado State
78 P. J. Williams CB Florida State
5148 Davis Tull OLB Chattanooga
154 Tyeler Davison DT Fresno State
167 Damian Swann CB Georgia
7230 Marcus Murphy RB Missouri

Notes

Staff

2015 New Orleans Saints staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


Final roster

2015 New Orleans Saints final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 15 inactive, 6 practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1August 13at Baltimore Ravens L 27–300–1 M&T Bank Stadium Recap
2August 22 New England Patriots L 24–260–2 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
3August 30 Houston Texans L 13–270–3Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
4September 3at Green Bay Packers L 10–380–4 Lambeau Field Recap

Regular season

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1September 13at Arizona Cardinals L 19–310–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
2September 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 19–260–2 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
3September 27at Carolina Panthers L 22–270–3 Bank of America Stadium Recap
4October 4 Dallas Cowboys W 26–20 (OT)1–3Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
5October 11at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–391–4 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
6October 15 Atlanta Falcons W 31–212–4Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
7October 25at Indianapolis Colts W 27–213–4 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap
8November 1 New York Giants W 52–494–4Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
9November 8 Tennessee Titans L 28–34 (OT)4–5Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
10November 15at Washington Redskins L 14–474–6 FedExField Recap
11 Bye
12November 29at Houston Texans L 6–244–7 NRG Stadium Recap
13December 6 Carolina Panthers L 38–414–8Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
14December 13at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–175–8 Raymond James Stadium Recap
15December 21 Detroit Lions L 27–355–9Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
16December 27 Jacksonville Jaguars W 38–276–9Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
17January 3at Atlanta Falcons W 20–177–9 Georgia Dome Recap

Game summaries

Week 1: at Arizona Cardinals

Week One: New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period1234Total
Saints373619
Cardinals7731431

at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

With the loss, the Saints began 0-1.

Week 2: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Two: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period1234Total
Buccaneers3713326
Saints0701219

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

Hoping to avoid an 0-2 start the Saints met Tampa Bay, led by new quarterback Jameis Winston.

The defense struggled to stop Winston as his heroics stunned New Orleans' home crowd.

Drew Brees left the game with an injured shoulder. The Saints wound up losing the game, 26-19.

Week 3: at Carolina Panthers

Week Three: New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Period1234Total
Saints376622
Panthers01010727

at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Game information

This game marked the first game Drew Brees missed as a Saint due to injury. Luke McCown, playing in relief of Brees, played well, throwing for 310 yards, before trying to hit Brandin Cooks in the end zone with roughly a minute left in the game. Josh Norman made a diving interception to seal the Panthers win and the Saints 0-3 start.

Week 4: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week Four: Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period1234OTTotal
Cowboys3737020
Saints7067626

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

In overtime, Drew Brees, who returned from an injured shoulder, nailed an 80-yard pass to C. J. Spiller for the game-winning touchdown. Brees now has 400 career touchdown passes. It was also the fastest regular season overtime in NFL history, with only 13 seconds being played before the touchdown.

This win would make the Lions the only winless team.

Week 5: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week Five: New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Period1234Total
Saints703717
Eagles010161339

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

The Saints returned to Philadelphia for their first meeting with the Eagles since their last second victory in the 2013 playoffs, but the Eagles would get their revenge in a blowout. With the loss, the Saints fell to 1-4. This also marked the Saints' first loss to the Eagles since the 2007 season.

Week 6: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week Six: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period1234Total
Falcons0701421
Saints14010731

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

The Saints would upset the undefeated Falcons on Thursday Night Football. With the win, the Saints improved to 2-4.

Week 7: at Indianapolis Colts

Week Seven: New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts – Game summary
Period1234Total
Saints7137027
Colts0014721

at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana

  • Date: October 25
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), mostly cloudy — retractable roof open
  • Game attendance: 66,420
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

In a Super Bowl rematch between the teams, the Saints would lead 27-0 at one point. Indianapolis would make it 27-21, but New Orleans would hold on for the win. With the win, the Saints improved to 3-4.

Week 8: vs. New York Giants

Week Eight: New York Giants at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period1234Total
Giants71472149
Saints1414141052

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

In a battle of passing offenses, Drew Brees threw a career-high 7 touchdown passes. The game was tied 49-49 late in the fourth quarter and the Saints returned a punt for 50 yards, good for the game-winning field goal to seal the Saints 52-49 victory.

Week 9: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week Nine: Tennessee Titans at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period1234OTTotal
Titans10738634
Saints14707028

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

New Orleans would lead 28-20 with 7 minutes left, but the Titans would go down the field to tie it at 28. The Titans would then win the game after Marcus Mariota won it with a touchdown to Anthony Fasano.

With the loss, the Saints fell to 4-5.

Week 10: at Washington Redskins

Week Ten: New Orleans Saints at Washington Redskins – Game summary
Period1234Total
Saints770014
Redskins1413101047

at FedExField, Landover, Maryland

  • Date: November 15
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 75,086
  • Referee: John Parry
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Laura Okmin
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Traveling to Washington to take on the Redskins, Drew Brees and the Saints suffered a moment of embarrassment as they would go on to be blown out 47-14. Kirk Cousins threw a career-high four touchdowns in the blowout.

A day after, the Saints fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, replacing him with Dennis Allen, who would take over for Ryan for the remainder of the season.

Week 12: at Houston Texans

Week Twelve: New Orleans Saints at Houston Texans – Game summary
Period1234Total
Saints06006
Texans14010024

at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

Game information

The Week 12 clash against the Houston Texans would be no better than how the previous game unfolded, with the Saints offense being held to only two field goals (failing to score a touchdown for the first time since Christmas Eve 2005) and Brees failing to throw a touchdown pass the entire game, snapping his 45 game streak of doing so.

With the loss, the Saints fell to 4-6.

Week 13: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week Thirteen: Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period1234Total
Panthers013141441
Saints14281438

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

The Saints made history in this game, becoming the first team in NFL history to block an extra point and return it for two points under new NFL rules that took effect that season (prior to this season, NFL rules did not allow players to return a blocked extra point). [1] Saints rookie Stephone Anthony was the one who returned it, with Kevin Williams blocking it. The Saints, unfortunately, would eventually lose in a shootout and dropped their record to 4-8.

Week 14: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Fourteen: New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period1234Total
Saints7107024
Buccaneers0100717

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Game information

The highlight of the game was Drew Brees passing Dan Marino for 4th on the league's all-time passing touchdowns list.

Week 15: vs. Detroit Lions

Week Fifteen: Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period1234Total
Lions7147735
Saints3071727

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

With the loss, the Saints fell to 5-9.

Week 16: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week Sixteen: Jacksonville Jaguars at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period1234Total
Jaguars0613827
Saints14107738

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

With the win, the Saints improved to 6-9.

Week 17: at Atlanta Falcons

Week Seventeen: New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period1234Total
Saints773320
Falcons3140017

at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Date: January 3, 2016
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
  • Game attendance: 69,699
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen, Matt Millen and Peter Schrager
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

With the win, the Saints ended their season 7-9 for the second straight season. This also marked the first sweep against the Falcons since 2013.

Standings

Division

NFC South
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(1) Carolina Panthers 1510.9385–111–1500308W1
Atlanta Falcons 880.5001–55–7339345L1
New Orleans Saints 790.4383–35–7408476W2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6100.3753–35–7342417L4

Conference

#TeamDivisionWLTPCTDIVCONFSOSSOVSTK
Division Leaders
1 Carolina Panthers South1510.9385–111–1.441.438W1
2 Arizona Cardinals West1330.8134–210–2.477.457L1
3 Minnesota Vikings North1150.6885–18–4.504.449W3
4 Washington Redskins East970.5634–28–4.465.403W4
Wild Cards
5 [lower-alpha 1] Green Bay Packers North1060.6253–37–5.531.450L2
6 [lower-alpha 1] Seattle Seahawks West1060.6253–37–5.520.431W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
7 Atlanta Falcons South880.5001–55–7.480.453L1
8 [lower-alpha 2] St. Louis Rams West790.4384–26–6.527.482L1
9 [lower-alpha 2] Detroit Lions North790.4383–36–6.535.429W3
10 [lower-alpha 2] Philadelphia Eagles East790.4383–34–8.508.473W1
11 [lower-alpha 2] New Orleans Saints South790.4383–35–7.504.402W2
12 [lower-alpha 3] New York Giants East6100.3752–44–8.500.396L3
13 [lower-alpha 3] Chicago Bears North6100.3751–53–9.547.469L1
14 [lower-alpha 3] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South6100.3753–35–7.484.406L4
15 San Francisco 49ers West5110.3131–54–8.539.463W1
16 Dallas Cowboys East4120.2503–33–9.531.438L4
Tiebreakers [lower-alpha 4]
  1. 1 2 Green Bay finished ahead of Seattle based on head-to-head victory.
  2. 1 2 3 4 St. Louis and Detroit finished ahead of Philadelphia and New Orleans based on conference record. St. Louis finished ahead of Detroit based on head-to-head victory.
    Detroit finished ahead of Philadelphia and New Orleans based on head-to-head sweep, while Philadelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.
  3. 1 2 3 The New York Giants and Chicago each finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on head-to-head victory, while the Giants finished ahead of Chicago based on conference record.
  4. 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.

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References