The New Orleans Saints are set to enter the 2026 NFL season with one of the easiest schedules. Saints’ opponents for 2026 had a win percentage of .434 in 2025, just .005 better than the Cleveland Browns’ opponents, who had a win percentage of .429. New Orleans finished last in the NFC South in 2025 with a 6-11 record.
With their division placement, the Saints are awarded a 4th-place schedule, matching them up with other 4th-place finishers. The Saints will face the Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, and their Week 1 opponent, the Detroit Lions, thanks to finishing last in the division. Also factoring into their weak strength of schedule is the lack of power in the NFC South. Each of the Saints’ division rivals finished 8-9 in 2025. While the black and gold finished last in 2025, there are expectations that they will place better in 2026 with an improved roster and questions among their rivals. Outside the Carolina Panthers, who finished first in 2025, the entire NFC South has a strength-of-schedule rating under .500.
Despite this, Carolina is the favorite to win the division in 2026. The Atlanta Falcons are expected to take a step back, and there are plenty of questions surrounding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While New Orleans has the quote-unquote easiest schedule in the NFC South, their schedule isn’t as easy as it seems. The Lions are a better team than they finished last season, and they’ll follow that tough Week 1 matchup with a tough road trip to the Baltimore Ravens. While an easier strength of schedule should result in more wins for the Saints in 2026, it’s still the NFL.
Any team can win on any given Sunday, and that’s true for New Orleans, who are projected to enter as underdogs for a majority of their matchups for the upcoming season. The plan should be simple.
Go in every week and give it your all, no matter the opponent.
