The 2012 season was the New Orleans Saints' 46th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 37th playing home games at the Superdome. The Saints head coach was Sean Payton, but he was suspended by the NFL for the entire 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 Payton while he was suspended. 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 for the first time since 2008 in Week 16. The Saintsâ defense struggled all season and began a long stretch of defensive futility that began to hold the team back from playoff contention. They 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.
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 replaced Williams. Williams was later handed an indefinite suspension from the NFL for his role in the bounty scandal.
The Saints did not have a first- or second-round selection.
All undrafted free agents were signed just after the 2012 NFL draft concluded on April 28.
With the loss, the Saints started their season 0âÂÂ1.
With the loss, the Saints fell to 0âÂÂ2.
With the close loss, the Saints fell to 0âÂÂ3.
With the loss, the Saints faced their first 0âÂÂ4 start since 2007.
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. Head coach Sean Payton, interim head coach Joe Vitt and general managerMickey Loomis were granted permission to attend the game, despite their suspensions. Brees specifically requested for the three to be in attendance at the Superdome. With the surprising win, the Saints go into their bye week at 1âÂÂ4.
With the win, the Saints improved to 2âÂÂ4. Also, QB Drew Brees increased his number of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 49.
With the loss, the Saints fell to 2âÂÂ5. However, despite the loss, QB Drew Brees increased his record of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 50.
With the win, the Saints improved to 3âÂÂ5. Also, QB Drew Brees increased his streak of games with at least one passing touchdown to 51.
After their huge win over the Eagles, the Saints stayed home for a game against their heated rival Falcons. Sitting at 3âÂÂ5, the Falcons came into this game at 8âÂÂ0. The Saints surprisingly won their 4th-straight game against the Falcons and improved their record to 4âÂÂ5 while the Falcons dropped to 8âÂÂ1. Drew Brees brought his total of games with a passing touchdown to 52.
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 5âÂÂ5 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 53.
The loss dropped the team to 5âÂÂ6, but Brees's record of games with at least 1 passing touchdown stood at 54. This loss was brought up by the ejection of nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley.
After the tough home 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 5âÂÂ7. Also, QB Drew Brees's 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.
The Saints were dominated by the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. They fell to 5-8 with the loss.
With the win, the Saints improved to 6âÂÂ8 and swept the Buccaneers for the first time since 2006 and posted their first shutout win since 1995 to the New York Jets 12âÂÂ0. The Saints did not post another shutout until 2021, when they beat the Buccaneers 9-0. This is also the Saints' largest margin of victory over the Buccaneers in franchise history.
With the win, the Saints improved to 7âÂÂ8. However, the Saints were eliminated from postseason contention, thus rendering them unable to play Super Bowl XLVII on their own home turf.
With the loss, the Saints finished with their first losing season since 2007 at 7âÂÂ9. Also, the team was swept by the Panthers for the first time since 2008.