The New Orleans Saints open the season against the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football, and won’t have to wait long to add a new chapter to their growing rivalry with the Los Angeles Rams.
And weeks later, the Saints get to celebrate another Thanksgiving by looking squarely at the Atlanta Falcons.
The Saints and Rams will face off in Los Angeles on Week 2 of next season, according to a report from Nick Underhill of The Athletic, and the Saints’ annual game in Atlanta will be on turkey day.
The full NFL schedule is set to be revealed at 7 p.m. on the NFL Network, the league announced. The Saints’ opponents at home and on the road were announced in December, and the preseason slate was announced last week.
The Saints will open the season on Sept. 8 at home against the Houston Texans. The teams last faced in 2015 in Houston, with the Texans winning 24-6.
The Week 2 showdown will mark the fourth consecutive season the Saints and Rams have met in the regular season. The teams most recently played in January for the NFC Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Rams won the game after a controversial no-call late in the game that possibly cost New Orleans a chance to run out the clock and kick a game-winning field goal. The fallout from the no-call set the stage for the NFL to change its rules and allow pass interference, whether called or not, to be challenged by coaches.
The Saints defeated the Rams 45-35 in Week 9 of last season.
The other known game at this point will come on Thursday, Nov. 28 in Atlanta against the Falcons, the second consecutive season the NFC South foes have met on Thanksgiving. The Saints proved too much for the Falcons in the 2018 matchup, winning 31-17. They won the other regular season meeting 43-37 in overtime in Week 3.
A report from WWL-TV’s Doug Mouton detailed the remainder of the schedule.
From a reliable source..
SAINTS SCHEDULE, PT 1MNF vs Houston
Week 2 at rams 3:25
Week 3 at Seattle 3:25
Week 4 SNF vs Dal
Week 5 vs TB noon
Week 6 at JAX noon
Week 7 at Chicago 3:25
Week 8 at ARZ noon
Bye— Doug Mouton (@DMoutonWWL) April 17, 2019
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SAINTS SCHEDULE, pt 2
Week 10 vs ATL noon
Week 11 vs TB noon
Week 12 vs Car noon
Thanksgiving Week 13 at ATL 7:20
Week 14 vs SF noon
Week 15 MNF vs Ind 7:15
Week 16 at TEN noon
Week 17 CAR noon— Doug Mouton (@DMoutonWWL) April 17, 2019
The Saints’ home games will be against the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys
In addition to Atlanta and Los Angeles, the opponents they’ll face on the road will be the divisional rival Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as the Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The full schedule release comes eight days after the Saints’ preseason schedule was announced. The team will open up the four-game preseason slate at home against the Minnesota Vikings, then they head on the road to face the Los Angeles Chargers and the New York Jets before returning home to face the Miami Dolphins.