The Saints have released their 2025 schedule; and for the first time in 25 years, they will not be on primetime television. WWL Saints Analyst Mike Detillier says it’s not exactly surprising, with the team not making the playoffs for four years in a row and in a total rebuild mode.
“It sort of surprised me you didn’t get one. Maybe set up a game, maybe against the Falcons, but it really wasn’t a major surprise,” Detillier said.
Detillier notes that the Saints made three primetime appearances last season and stunk up the field in each and every one of them, and the NFL doesn’t want to risk losing its audience in the latter stages of its primetime games.
“For the NFL, this is all about ratings and having people watch games throughout the game. And the Saints haven’t come through for them like they had, certainly when Sean Payton and Drew Brees were, in their prime, doing this.
That doesn’t mean that they won’t later in the season; with flex scheduling, NBC, ESPN or Amazon Prime can flex them into a primetime slot if they surprise the naysayers. Detillier says in order for that to happen, they will need to take advantage of their early season home games, since seven of their last 11 games will be away from the Superdome.
“They’ve got to start fast. They’ve got to come out of the box quickly, because this season schedule really is difficult toward the end,” Detillier emphasized.
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