The Saints started the season with a loss. But the loss wasn’t that bad considering it was to the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers and the game came down to the final series. The Saints were stuffed by the Packers defense on the 1 yard line and fell 42-34 to the champs.

Following their opening night loss to the Packers, the Saints trounced the Chicago Bears at home Week 2. After trailing in the first quarter, 7-3, the Saints outscored the Bears in each of the three remaining quarters to win 30-13.

Week 3 pitted the Saints against an undefeated Houston Texans team. The Texans looked strong and went up 10-0 on the Saints in the first quarter. But Brees lead the Saints comeback, capped with a 23-point 4th quarter en route to a 40-33 win.

The Saints jumped out to an early seven-point lead and never looked back in their 23-10 Week 4 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham stepped up for the Saints catching 10 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown.

The Saints trailed Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers with 12 minutes to go in the fourth quarter but two possessions later Brees led the Saints down the field for a score and the win. The final score? 30-27.

The Saints notched their second loss of the year Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints spent the majority of the game without head coach Sean Payton who suffered a leg injury in a freak sideline accident. The game didn’t get better for the Saints as the Bucs outscored them 17-3 in the second quarter and managed to hold on for a 26-20 win that dropped the Saints to 4-2.

The matchup between the Saints and the Indianapolis Colts took on a distinctly different palor this year with the absence of Indy’s quarterback Peyton Manning. Indianapolis still seemed in disarray at this point and the final score showed it. The Saints hung 62 points on the Colts — yes, 62 points!

The Saints dropped to 5-3 after losing to the previously winless St. Louis Rams. The Rams jumped on the Saints by 17 in the second quarter and although the Saints scored 21 points in the second half it wasn’t enough. The Rams prevailed 31-21.

The Saints avenged their Week 6 loss to the Tampa Bay Bucs with a 27-16 win in Week 9. Quarterback Drew Brees passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns while the Saints’ running game broke out for 195 yards on the ground.

The week before their bye, the Atlanta falcons pushed the Saints to the limit — forcing them to play their first overtime game of the season. The Saints won on the foot of kicker John Kasay and took the game 23-20.

After remaining deadlocked at 0 throughout the first quarter, Drew Brees and the Saints flexed some offensive muscle throughout the next three quarters putting up 49 points. The Giants managed 24 points of their own but fell woefully short of the Saints.

Without a suspended Ndamukong Suh, the Detroit Lions struggled against the Saints. Drew Brees maintained his high quality play passing for 342 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints breezed past the Lions 31-17.

The Saints didn’t score their first touchdown against the Tennessee Titans until the fourth quarter. With only three field goals on the board at the end of three, the Saints trailed the Titans 10-9. However, they scored 13 points in the fourth squeezing by the Titans for a 22-17 victory taking them to 10-3.

The Minnesota Vikings had a tough season in 2011 and their Week 15 meeting with the Saints was no different. The Saints more than doubled the amount of points the Vikings put up. Again, Brees had a monster throwing day with 412 yards and five touchdowns propelling the Saints to a 42-20 win.

Brees didn’t take down just any record in the Week 15 matchup against the Falcons – Brees broke Dan Marino’s nearly 30-year old record for most passing yards in a season. With Brees’ 307 yards in the game, he amassed 5,087 yards for the season. In addition to standing alone atop the quarterback mountain for the day, the Saints also clinched a playoff spot with their 45-16 win.
 

Much to the chagrin of the Carolina Panthers, their second game of the season against the Saints followed a vastly different script than the first. This game was not close and the Saints blew out the Panthers, 45-17.