| Team: | New Orleans Saints |
| Year: | 2002 |
| Record: | 9–7 |
| Division Place: | 3rd NFC South |
| Coach: | Jim Haslett |
| General Manager: | Mickey Loomis |
| Stadium: | Louisiana Superdome |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | Deuce McAllister (RB) Joe Horn (WR) Michael Lewis (KR) Fred McAfee (ST) |
| Ap All-Pros: | Deuce McAllister (1st team) Michael Lewis (ST) Fred McAfee (ST) |
| Shortnavlink: | Saints seasons |
The 2002 season was the New Orleans Saints' 36th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 27th playing home games at the Louisiana Superdome. They improved upon their previous season's performance of 7–9, winning nine games.[1] Despite the winning season, and ranking third in total offense in 2002, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons. As of 2022, this remains the only season in which the Saints have worn their gold jerseys.
A bright moment during the season for the Saints was sweeping the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those two wins were almost guaranteed to make New Orleans a playoff team; however, three consecutive losses, all to losing teams, including one to the 1–13 Cincinnati Bengals, knocked New Orleans out of playoff contention.
| Additions | Subtractions | |
|---|---|---|
| WR Jerome Pathon (Colts) | RB Ricky Williams (Dolphins) | |
| TE David Sloan (Lions) | T Willie Roaf (Chiefs) | |
| CB Ken Irvin (Bills) | DT La'Roi Glover (Cowboys) | |
| WR Jake Reed (Vikings) | CB Fred Weary (Falcons) | |
| T Victor Riley (Chiefs) | DE Joe Johnson (Packers) | |
| CB Dale Carter (Vikings) | T Daryl Terrell (Jaguars) |
See main article: 2002 NFL draft. [2]
| Jeff Reed | Placekicker | North Carolina |
Under the NFL's new scheduling formula, the Saints' non-divisional conference opponents in 2002 were primarily from the NFC North, although they also played former divisional rival the San Francisco 49ers from the NFC West, and the Washington Redskins from the NFC East. Their non-conference opponents were from the AFC North.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 26–20 | 1–0 | 65,554 | |
| 2 | September 15 | Green Bay Packers | W 35–20 | 2–0 | 67,958 | |
| 3 | September 22 | at Chicago Bears | W 29–23 | 3–0 | 63,216 | |
| 4 | September 29 | at Detroit Lions | L 21–26 | 3–1 | 60,023 | |
| 5 | October 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 32–29 | 4–1 | 67,734 | |
| 6 | October 13 | at Washington Redskins | W 43–27 | 5–1 | 80,768 | |
| 7 | October 20 | W 35–27 | 6–1 | 67,903 | ||
| 8 | October 27 | Atlanta Falcons | L 35–37 | 6–2 | 67,883 | |
| 9 | Bye | |||||
| 10 | November 10 | at Carolina Panthers | W 34–24 | 7–2 | 72,566 | |
| 11 | November 17 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 17–24 | 7–3 | 70,382 | |
| 12 | November 24 | Cleveland Browns | L 15–24 | 7–4 | 68,295 | |
| 13 | December 1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 23–20 | 8–4 | 68,226 | |
| 14 | December 8 | W 37–25 | 9–4 | 69,334 | ||
| 15 | December 15 | Minnesota Vikings | L 31–32 | 9–5 | 67,851 | |
| 16 | December 22 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 13–20 | 9–6 | 43,544 | |
| 17 | December 29 | Carolina Panthers | L 6–10 | 9–7 | 66,946 | |