In their final non-divisional game of 2026, the New Orleans Saints will host the Arizona Cardinals in a Week 16 matchup. The game will take place the Sunday following Christmas, on Dec. 27. Hopefully for the Saints, it will be an important game for NFC postseason tiebreakers.
New Orleans has gone five years without a playoff appearance, going 6-11 in 2025 under first-year head coach Kellen Moore. However, there is optimism coming into 2026 after winning four of their last five games and the performance of quarterback Tyler Shough down the stretch. Arizona is coming off a 3-14 record that prompted major roster changes that included both coach and quarterback. However, one of those 2025 wins was against New Orleans in what has been an unusual series between the franchises.
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Saints vs. Cardinals series history
Longest winning streak: 4 by both teams (Saints 1990-93; Cardinals 1977-82)
Last matchup in New Orleans (2025): Cardinals (20-13)
The first 15 games of this series were against the St. Louis Cardinals from 1967 to 1987. New Orleans was just 5-10 against St. Louis, as those Cardinals won 8 of the first 10 meetings. Once they became the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988 and eventually the Arizona Cardinals in 1994, New Orleans is a far more respectable 11-7 in their matchups.
After the Cardinals relocated to Arizona in 1988, the Saints won their first four games against them between 1990 and 1993. It’s been the longest winning streak for New Orleans in this streak to date. Since 1983, the Saints also hold an 8-2 advantage over the Cardinals in the Superdome. The most meaningful of those matchups was a 2009 divisional playoff showdown. On Jan. 16, 2010, the Saints defeated the Cardinals by a 45-14 score. Reggie Bush accounted for 217 all-purpose yards and two spectacular touchdowns in the victory. It was also the final game for future Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner.
Prior to their 2026 matchup, the Saints and Cardinals have played nine times in the month of December. New Orleans has a 5-4 record in those meetings, but have won the last two and four of the last five December clashes. Three of those December clashes took place in New Orleans, with the Saints winning all three encounters. This is the first December meeting of the Saints and Cardinals inside the Superdome since 2007.
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Arizona looks like they might be one of the NFL’s worst rosters coming into the season. New Orleans, meanwhile, is a darkhorse playoff contender for some coming into the 2026 campaign. Remember, though, that an almost equally bad Cardinals squad opened up the 2025 season with a victory in the Superdome against the Saints. It was the first of two straight wins to open the year for Arizona before losing 14 of their final 15 outings. With only two games remaining on the schedule when these teams meet, this could be a potentially important game for the Saints in terms of tiebreaker scenarios against other teams in the NFC.
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2026 Saints Schedule: Previewing Week 2 road matchup vs Ravens
Week 2 at Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Sept. 20, Noon CT
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2026 Saints Schedule: Previewing Week 2 road matchup vs Ravens
Week 2 at Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Sept. 20, Noon CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 3 vs. Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, Sept. 27, 3:25 p.m. CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 4 vs. Atlanta Falcons, Monday, Oct. 5, 7:15 p.m. CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 5 vs. Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Oct. 11, Noon CT
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Pivot points: Six games that could decide Saints’ 2026 season
Week 6 at New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 18, Noon CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 7 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (in Paris, France), 8:30 a.m. CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 8 on bye
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 9 vs. Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Nov. 8, Noon CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 10 vs. Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Nov. 8, Noon CT
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Pivot points: Six games that could decide Saints’ 2026 season
Week 11 at Chicago Bears, Sunday, Nov. 22, Noon CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 12 at Cincinnati Bengals, Nov. 29, Noon CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 13 vs. Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Dec. 6, Noon CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 14 at Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 13, Noon CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 15 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Dec. 20, Noon CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 16 vs. Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Dec. 27, Noon CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 17 at Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Jan. 3, Noon CT
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New Orleans Saints 2026 schedule
Week 18 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, TBD
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This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals: Who holds the series lead?