New Orleans Saints Win Total Prediction Following 2022 NFL Schedule Release

The New Orleans Saints no longer have longtime head coach Sean Payton roaming the sidelines in 2022, as longtime defensive coordinator Dennis Allen takes over for their retired head coach. The overall core of the team, however, remains largely in tact.

The Saints missed the playoffs after a 5-2 start to 2021, sputtering to a 4-6 finish in their final 10 games. While they did win four of their final five, the Saints' five game losing streak ultimately did them in, as Jameis Winston went down with a torn ACL and was lost for the remainder of the season.

With Winston back in the fold, the Saints remain behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the NFC South at WynnBET Sportsbook, coming in +325 behind Tampa at -300.

New Orleans has another tough schedule ahead in 2022, tied for seventh in strength-of-schedule with a 2021 opponent record of 152-136-1. The good news is that their division rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has the fourth-hardest schedule in the entire league.

Here's who the Saints face in Weeks 1-18 of this season.

New Orleans Saints 2022 Schedule

New Orleans Saints 2022 Win Total Odds (consensus)

Although not available at WynnBET Sportsbook at this time, the consensus number for the Saints' win total during the 2022 season is set at 8.

How Many Games will the Saints Win in 2022?

Lucky for New Orleans, their schedule sets up very well to get off to a fast start. Despite going on the road in two of their first three games, they match up against the projected bottom feeders of their division in Atlanta and Carolina. In Week 2, a home date with Tampa Bay looms large down the road, with the Saints playing Tom Brady as well as anyone over the past two seasons as a member of the Bucs.

That stretch is followed by three straight games against beatable teams in Minnesota (in London), followed by two home games against the Seahawks and Bengals, a team set to regress from their Super Bowl season in 2021. I have the Saints as a 5-1 team through their first six games; losing either their Week 2 game vs. Tampa Bay, or their Week 6 home game vs Cincinnati, but not both.

Then things get a bit slightly more challenging. They head to Arizona on Thursday Night Football in a quick turnaround, host the Raiders and then the Ravens the following week on Monday Night Football. That's followed up with a difficult trip to Pittsburgh, and them three straight games against playoff teams from last year in L.A, at San Francisco and at Tampa Bay. By this point, the record has now moved to 8-5.

To close out the season, New Orleans has two more winnable matchups at home vs. the Falcons and Panthers, while likely falling on the road at Cleveland and Philadelphia, bringing their overall record to 10-7.

It should be a Wild Card birth for the Saints in 2022.

PREDICTION: 10 wins

Follow all of Ben Heisler's betting plays in real-time HERE