New Orleans Saints – Arizona Cardinals
On the face of it, this matchup doesn’t jump off the page, but, let us tell you, this is one finely matched rivalry! The first 30 matches these two teams played, were split right down the middle, with both sides winning 15 apiece.
Let’s take a closer look at these two NFC rivals…
One playoff game so far (look away Arizona fans)
These two sides have only met once in the playoffs, coming face to face in the 2010 NFC divisional game, and while we talked about how close this rivalry has been over the years, this match was anything but. The Cardinals travelled to New Orleans, and let’s just say, they might have been better staying out west. A Reggie Bush inspired Saints put a shellacking on the visiting team, beating them 45-14, on their way to their first, and so far only, Super Bowl victory.
Ouch
The NFL loves a ‘gate’ incident, and much like ‘Deflategate’, two of the biggest in the history of the sport, have involved teams that ultimately won the Super Bowl that year. ‘Bountygate’ was a scheme concocted by the Saints coaches, that ultimately saw players paid bonuses to injure the opposition. Interestingly, Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner was briefly knocked out of the aforementioned divisional clash, but let’s be honest, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. The Saints were eventually heavily fined, and a number of coaches, including then head coach Sean Payton, suspended.
The Kliff Kingsbury connection
Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury was a member of New Orleans’ practice squad in 2004, and knocked around in the league a little while longer, before forging a successful career in NFL Europe, and then moving on to the Canadian Football League. Other notable players who have represented both the Cardinals, and the Saints in the NFL include running back Tim Hightower, safety Tyrann Mathieu, and before he was getting knocked out in a boxing ring by LeVeon Bell (yes, that is a real sentence), Adrian Peterson.
Arizona, you’re winning the banner race
New Orleans fans, known as ‘Who Dat Nation’, are renowned as being some of the best supporters in the NFL, and at least they’ve had one Super Bowl to celebrate. Arizona fans, not so much. They are one of the least successful teams in the history of NFL, which considering teams like the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns exist, is an achievement in itself. Their ineptitude has led to one of the best banners we’ve seen at NFL game though. It simply read, ‘Thanks for the memories, both of ‘em’. Incredible from the ‘Red Sea’.
30 is the magic number
No, this is not a De La Soul remake for the 21st century. But rather, 30 represents at least the number of points one of these teams have scored in their matchups, going all the way back to the year 2000. These games are usually high scoring, so keep that in mind, when sizing up bets for games involving these two. By the way, the 2022 matchup resulted in a 76 total score @ Arizona's State Farm Stadium! The Cardinals beat the Saints 42:34.