Sean Payton’s NFL journey has been quite rocky since he left the New Orleans Saints following the 2021 season. A year away from the game led to his high-profile trade to the Denver Broncos in 2023, but his marriage with former Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson barely lasted one season, and now he’s trying to keep a rookie signal-caller in Bo Nix competitive in the tough AFC West.
The Saints, meanwhile, haven’t fared much better. Turning to Payton’s defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, as the new head man, they’ve gone a combined 27-30 since the start of 2022, flipping between Andy Dalton, Jameis Winston, Derek Carr and now rookie fill-in Spencer Rattler under center. The defense has generally remained sound, but playoff games have been especially hard to come by.
Now, on Thursday night, the two sides will reconvene for a chance to stay relevant, kicking off Week 7 in a showdown of potential spoilers. How can you tune in? Which players could be X factors? And who’s actually primed to win? Here’s our preview and sports betting prediction: