2012 New Orleans Saints season The New Orleans Saints season was the franchise ' s 46th season in the National Football League , and the 37th with home games at the Superdome . It " was " going to be the seventh season under head coach Sean Payton ; however , he was suspended by the NFL for the entire 2012 season as part of the punishment for the team ' s bounty scandal . On April 12 , 2012 , linebackers coach Joe Vitt was named interim head coach to replace Sean Payton while he served his one year suspension . On August 22 , 2012 , it was announced that Aaron Kromer would take over while Vitt himself served a six - game suspension to start the regular season . The Saints attempted to make history as the first host team to play the Super Bowl on their own home field , but they were eliminated from post - season contention in Week 16 . The Saints set an NFL record for most yards given up by a defense , 7 , 042 yards , surpassing the 1981 Baltimore Colts record of 6 , 793 yards . Personnel changes . After his contract expired , defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was hired by the St . Louis Rams to the same position on January 16 , 2012 . Former Rams ' head coach Steve Spagnuolo is set to replace Williams . Williams was later handed an indefinite suspension from the NFL for his role in the bounty scandal . Roster changes . 2012 draft class . The Saints did not have a first - or second - round selection . Undrafted free agents . All undrafted free agents were signed just after the 2012 NFL Draft concluded on April 28 . Schedule . Preseason . The Saints ' 2012 preseason will begin when they face the Arizona Cardinals in the 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Sunday , August 5 , 2012 at Fawcett Stadium in Canton , Ohio . The game will air on the NFL Network , and it will mark be the fourth time for the Cardinals and the fifth time for the Saints playing in the Hall of Fame Game . Game summaries . Week 1 : vs . Washington Redskins . With the loss , the Saints started their season 0 - 1 . Week 2 : at Carolina Panthers . With the loss , the Saints fell to 0 - 2 . Week 3 : vs . Kansas City Chiefs . With the close loss , the Saints fell to 0 - 3 . Week 4 : at Green Bay Packers . With the loss , the Saints face their first 0 - 4 start since 2007 . Week 5 : vs . San Diego Chargers . Drew Brees broke Johnny Unitas ' record of consecutive games with a touchdown in the first quarter . The record touchdown was witnessed by Unitas ' son Joe . With the surprising win , the Saints go into their bye week at 1 - 4 . Week 7 : at Tampa Bay Buccaneers . With the win , the Saints improved to 2 - 4 . Also , QB Drew Brees increased his number of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 48 . Week 8 : at Denver Broncos . With the loss , the Saints fell to 2 - 5 . However , despite the loss , QB Drew Brees increased his record of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 49 . Week 9 : vs . Philadelphia Eagles . With the win , the Saints improved to 3 - 5 . Also , QB Drew Brees increased his streak of games with at least one passing touchdown to 50 . Week 10 : vs . Atlanta Falcons . After their huge win over the Eagles , the Saints stayed home for a game against their heated rival Falcons . Sitting at 3 - 5 , the Falcons came into this game at 8 - 0 . The Saints surprisingly won their 4th - straight game against the Falcons and improved their record to 4 - 5 while the Falcons dropped to 8 - 1 . Drew Brees brought his total of games with a passing touchdown to 51 . Week 11 : at Oakland Raiders . After 2 straight dominant home wins , the Saints traveled to Oakland to take on the Raiders . The Saints again dominated this game after the Raiders took the first points of the game . The Saints would win and improve to 5 - 5 on the season keeping their playoff hopes alive . Also Drew Brees brought his streak of at least 1 passing touchdown in a single game to 52 . Week 13 : at Atlanta Falcons . After the tough road loss to the Niners , the Saints traveled to take on the Falcons in a TNF matchup . The Saints ' 4 - game winning streak against the Falcons would be snapped as the team dropped to 5 - 7 . Also , QB Drew Brees ' streak of consecutive games with at least 1 passing touchdown would come to an end as he threw a career - high 5 interceptions in one game on the night . Regardless , his total passing touchdowns at this point was 31 bringing him his 5th straight season with 30 + passing touchdowns . Week 15 : vs . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . With the win , The Saints improved to 6 - 8 and swept the Buccaneers for the first time since 2006 and posted their first shutout win since 1995 to the New York Jets 12 - 0 Week 16 : at Dallas Cowboys . With the win , the Saints improved to 7 – 8 . However , the Saints were eliminated from postseason contention , thus rendering them unable to play Super Bowl XLVII on their own home turf ( no team still has not done this in Super Bowl history ) . Week 17 : vs . Carolina Panthers . With the loss , the Saints finished with their first losing season since 2007 at 7 - 9 . Also , the team was swept by the Panthers for the first time since 2008 .