The 2001 season was the New Orleans Saints' 35th in the National Football League (NFL), their 26th playing home games at the Louisiana Superdome, and second under head coach Jim Haslett. The Saints failed to improve on their 10âÂÂ6 record and NFC West division championship from 2000 and finished 7âÂÂ9, thus missing the playoffs for the eighth time in the past nine seasons.
The Saints were outscored 160âÂÂ52 in their final four games, including losses of 40âÂÂ10 and 38âÂÂ0 in their last two games, against the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers.
One of the Saints most famous games that year occurred on December 17, 2001, a day after the Cleveland Browns Bottlegate. During the game against the St. Louis Rams, with 9:39 left in the fourth quarter, a defensive pass interference call was made against Saints player, Kevin Mathis, who was covering Rams receiver Torry Holt in the end zone during a pass. As a result, Saints fans in the Superdome became angry and started throwing beer bottles, cups, ice and paper onto the field. In the end, 13 fans were arrested.