2013 New Orleans Saints season

The 2013 season was the New Orleans Saints' 47th in the National Football League and their 38th playing home games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. It also marked the seventh season under head coach Sean Payton, who returned to the team after serving a one-year suspension for his involvement in the team's 2012 bounty scandal.
The Saints improved their 7–9 record from last season, going 11–5 and making the playoffs as the sixth seed. They earned the franchise's first road postseason victory, with a 26–24 win over the [2013 2013 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles] in the Wild Card round, ending the drought at 0–5. However, the Saints were eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round, by a score of 23–15. The 2013 season was also the second time in three years the Saints went 8–0 at home. This was the Saints last playoff appearance and winning season until 2017.

2013 draft class

Notes
The Saints did not have selections in the second, fourth, or seventh rounds. They forfeited their second-round selection as part of the punishment for the team's 2012 bounty scandal. They acquired the No. 82 selection in a trade that sent two fourth-round selections, Nos. 106 and 109 overall, to the Miami Dolphins. The No. 106 selection had been acquired in a trade that sent running back Chris Ivory to the New York Jets. The Saints traded their seventh-round selection to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for linebacker Barrett Ruud.

Regular season

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons

With the win against Atlanta, the Saints began their season to 1-0.

Week 2: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Coming off a Week 1 win against Atlanta, the Saints face the Buccaneers. The Saints narrowly won over the Buccaneers 16–14, thus improving them to 2-0.

Week 3: vs. Arizona Cardinals

After a 2-0 start, the Saints faced the Cardinals. With a dominant 31-7 win, they improved to 3-0.

Week 4: vs. Miami Dolphins

With the win, the Saints improved to 4-0.

Week 5: at Chicago Bears

With the win at Chicago, they improve to 5-0. This was the second time the Saints beat the Bears.

Week 6: at New England Patriots

The Saints meet the Patriots on the road. Despite stopping Tom Brady and the Patriots offense twice in the last 3 minutes of the game, the Saints defense proceeded to give up a game-winning touchdown pass with 5 seconds left on the clock. With the close loss, the Saints fall to 5-1, their first loss of the season.

Week 8: vs. Buffalo Bills

Coming off a loss to New England on the road, they face the Bills at home. With the win, they improve to 6-1.

Week 10: vs. Dallas Cowboys

The Saints would dominate the Cowboys at home in the Superdome, recording an NFL-record 40 first downs and 625 total yards of offense. This improves their record to 7-2.

Week 11: vs. San Francisco 49ers

The Saints beat the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers with a game-winning field goal. With the victory, they improve to 8-2.

Week 12: at Atlanta Falcons

The Saints beat the Falcons on the road. This not only brought the Saints' record to 9-2, but they also sweep the Falcons for the first time since the 2011 season.

Week 13: at Seattle Seahawks

In a Monday Night matchup, the Saints were dominated from the start by the Seahawks. Russell Wilson threw for 310 yard and three touchdowns and rushed for another 47 yards while Seattle's "Legion of Boom" defense limited Drew Brees to 147 yards passing. The loss brought the Saints record down to 9-3.

Week 14: vs. Carolina Panthers

The Saints would beat the Panthers 31-13, thus improving to 10-3.

Week 15: at St. Louis Rams

The Saints meet the Rams on the road. The Rams, however, were able to pull off an upset victory. The Saints drop to 10-4.

Week 16: at Carolina Panthers

At Bank of America Stadium, the Saints meet the Panthers again. The Saints fall to a close loss by 4 points, allowing a go-ahead touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining. This drops their record to 10–5. This loss cost the Saints clinching a playoff berth, the NFC South, and a first-round bye. In addition, the Panthers moved ahead of the Saints in the NFC South.

Week 17: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Saints were able to sweep the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the second straight season with the victory. They finished the season 11-5, clinching a playoff berth as the NFC's #6 seed and would face the #3 seeded [2013 Philadelphia 2013 Philadelphia Eagles season|Eagles season|Eagles] in the wild-card round.

Postseason

Schedule

Playoff round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
Wild Card		at Philadelphia Eagles	W 26–24	1–0	Lincoln Financial Field
Divisional		at Seattle Seahawks	L 15–23	1–1	CenturyLink Field

Game summaries

NFC Wild Card Round: at #3 Philadelphia Eagles

In their first playoff matchup since the 2006 season, the Saints defeated the Eagles and earned their first postseason win on the road. Drew Brees threw for 250 yards and one touchdown, Mark Ingram rushed for 97 yards and another touchdown, and Shayne Graham went 4-for-4 on field goals, including the game winner with no time left on the clock. Graham started the scoring with a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter. Philadelphia struck back with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Nick Foles to Riley Cooper, but Graham hit another field goal at the end of the half to pull the Saints to within one at 7-6. Early in the third quarter the Saints got their first touchdown when Brees connected with Lance Moore for a 24-yard touchdown pass to take a 13-7 lead, and the Saints extended it to 20-7 on a one-yard run by Ingram. However, Philadelphia came back with a touchdown drive of their own to pull to within six at 20-14 on the strength of a 40-yard completion from Foles to DeSean Jackson to the Saints 9-yard line and a one-yard run by McCoy for the TD. The Eagles got the ball back in the fourth quarter and pulled to within three on the strength of a 31-yard field goal by Eagles K Alex Henery. The Saints responded with Graham's third field of the night from 35 yards out to make the score 23-17, but Philadelphia went on a 73-yard drive to take the lead, aided by a pass interference on Saints cornerback Corey White and a three-yard touchdown pass from Foles to TE Zach Ertz. On the ensuing kickoff, Saints returner Darren Sproles returned the ball to the Saints 37 and then had fifteen more tacked on because of a horse-collar tackle by the Eagles' Cary Williams. Brees then methodically led the Saints on a 10-play, 34-yard drive to the Eagles' 14 where Graham put his fourth field goal through the uprights for a 26-24 lead as time expired.

NFC Divisional Round: at #1 Seattle Seahawks

In a much different game than the earlier Monday Night Football matchup, the Saints lost to the Seahawks under stormy and freezing conditions in Seattle. Despite Drew Brees' 309 yards passing, the Saints fumbled once and PK Shane Graham missed two field goal attempts. Seattle jumped out to a 16-0 lead on three Stephen Hauschka field goals and a 15-yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch. The Saints got back into the game in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown rush by Khiry Robinson and a two-point conversion run by Mark Ingram. However, Seattle struck again, this time with a 31-yard touchdown rush by Lynch. The Saints scored their final touchdown on a 9-yard pass from Brees to Marques Colston with only 26 seconds remaining, but the Saints had a chance to tie the game when they recovered the onsides kick. A final attempt at a pass followed by laterals fell short as time expired, sending Seattle to the NFC Championship and the Saints home with a 12-6 record. Lynch finished with a game-high 140 yards on 28 attempts for Seattle while Colston caught 11 balls for 144 yards in a losing effort for the Saints.