2006 New Orleans Saints
The 2006 New Orleans Saints went 10–6, finishing 1st in the NFC South, and lost the conference championship. They scored 413 points and allowed 322.
- Record
- 10–6
- Home
- 4–4
- Road & neutral
- 6–2
- Points
- 413–322
- NFC South
- Place 1 of 4
- Postseason
- Lost conference championship
Where the season ranked
They scored 413 points, the fifth-most among the 32 teams, and allowed 322, the 13th-fewest. Their point differential was +91.
How the season unfolded
The Saints started 3–1 and were 6–2 after eight games. They went 2–2 over the final four weeks to finish 10–6.
Their longest winning streak was three games, from Week 1 to Week 3.
Best and worst games
Their biggest win was 42–17 over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14 (December 10, 2006).
Their heaviest loss was 39–14 to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game (January 21, 2007).
In games decided by eight points or fewer, they went 4–3.
Division and playoff opponents
They went 4–2 against the NFC South, sweeping the Falcons and the Buccaneers and getting swept by the Panthers.
Against teams that reached the playoffs, they went 3–1 in the regular season.
Postseason
In the Divisional round, they beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27–24 at home.
In the NFC Championship Game, they lost to the Chicago Bears 39–14 on the road.
Before and after
That was a seven-win improvement on 2005, when they went 3–13.
It was the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2000.
In 2007, they went 7–9 and missed the playoffs.
2006 schedule and results
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sep 10, 2006 | at Cleveland Browns | W 19–14 |
| Week 2 | Sep 17, 2006 | at Green Bay Packers | W 34–27 |
| Week 3 | Sep 25, 2006 | vs Atlanta Falcons | W 23–3 |
| Week 4 | Oct 1, 2006 | at Carolina Panthers | L 18–21 |
| Week 5 | Oct 8, 2006 | vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 24–21 |
| Week 6 | Oct 15, 2006 | vs Philadelphia Eagles | W 27–24 |
| Week 8 | Oct 29, 2006 | vs Baltimore Ravens | L 22–35 |
| Week 9 | Nov 5, 2006 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–14 |
| Week 10 | Nov 12, 2006 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 31–38 |
| Week 11 | Nov 19, 2006 | vs Cincinnati Bengals | L 16–31 |
| Week 12 | Nov 26, 2006 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 31–13 |
| Week 13 | Dec 3, 2006 | vs San Francisco 49ers | W 34–10 |
| Week 14 | Dec 10, 2006 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 42–17 |
| Week 15 | Dec 17, 2006 | vs Washington | L 10–16 |
| Week 16 | Dec 24, 2006 | at New York Giants | W 30–7 |
| Week 17 | Dec 31, 2006 | vs Carolina Panthers | L 21–31 |
| Divisional | Jan 13, 2007 | vs Philadelphia Eagles | W 27–24 |
| Conference championship | Jan 21, 2007 | at Chicago Bears | L 14–39 |
Counted by WHYNFL from the final score of every 2006 game. Division place uses win percentage, then point differential; the NFL's full tiebreaker procedure is not applied.