1988 New Orleans Saints season

1988 New Orleans Saints season
Head coach	Jim Mora
General manager	Jim Finks
Owner	Tom Benson
Home field	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1988 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 22nd as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to match their previous season's output of 12–3, winning only ten games and missing the playoffs (and losing the division) by a tiebreaker.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1988 NFL Draft

1988 New Orleans Saints draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	24	Craig Heyward *	Running back	Pittsburgh
2	52	Brett Perriman	Wide receiver	Miami (FL)
3	81	Tony Stephens	Defensive tackle	Clemson
4	106	Lydell Carr	Running back	Oklahoma
5	112	Greg Scales	Tight end	Wake Forest
5	134	Keith Taylor	Defensive back	Illinois
6	162	Bob Sims	Guard	Florida
7	190	Brian Forde	Linebacker	Washington State
8	218	Glenn Derby	Offensive tackle	Wisconsin
9	246	Clarence Nunn	Defensive back	San Diego State
10	274	Todd Santos	Quarterback	San Diego State
10	276	Vincent Fizer	Linebacker	Southern
11	302	Gary Couch	Wide receiver	Minnesota
12	330	Paul Jurgensen	Defensive end	Georgia Tech
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1988 New Orleans Saints staff
	Front office Owner/General Partner – Tom Benson President/General Manager – Jim Finks Vice President of Administration – Jim Miller Director of Player Personnel – Bill Kuharich Head coaches Head Coach – Jim Mora Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Carl Smith Running Backs – Jim Skipper Wide Receivers – Steve Walters Tight Ends – Joe Marciano Offensive Line – Paul Boudreau			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers – Steve Sidwell Defensive Line – John Pease Outside Linebackers – Vic Fangio Defensive Backs – Dom Capers Special teams coaches Special Teams – Joe Marciano Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Russell Paternostro

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 4, 1988	San Francisco 49ers	L 34–33	66,357
2	September 11, 1988	at Atlanta Falcons	W 29–21	48,901
3	September 18, 1988	at Detroit Lions	W 22–14	32,943
4	September 25, 1988	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 13–9	66,671
5	October 3, 1988	Dallas Cowboys	W 20–17	68,474
6	October 9, 1988	at San Diego Chargers	W 23–17	42,693
7	October 16, 1988	at Seattle Seahawks	W 20–19	63,569
8	October 23, 1988	Los Angeles Raiders	W 20–6	66,249
9	October 30, 1988	Los Angeles Rams	L 12–10	68,238
10	November 6, 1988	at Washington Redskins	L 27–24	54,183
11	November 13, 1988	at Los Angeles Rams	W 14–10	63,305
12	November 20, 1988	Denver Broncos	W 42–0	68,075
13	November 27, 1988	New York Giants	L 13–12	66,526
14	December 4, 1988	at Minnesota Vikings	L 45–3	61,215
15	December 11, 1988	at San Francisco 49ers	L 30–17	62,977
16	December 18, 1988	Atlanta Falcons	W 10–9	60,566

Game summaries

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Saints 3 9 10 7 29 Falcons 7 7 7 0 21 Date: September 11 Location: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 48,901 Game weather: 75°F; wind 10

Scoring summary Q1 NO Andersen 41 yard field goal NO 3–0 Q1 ATL Whisenhunt 12 yard pass from Miller (Davis kick) ATL 7–3 Q2 ATL Higdon 34 yard pass from Miller (Davis kick) ATL 14–3 Q2 NO Andersen 29 yard field goal ATL 14–6 Q2 NO Martin 14 yard pass from Hebert (kick failed) ATL 14–12 Q3 NO Andersen 28 yard field goal NO 15–14 Q3 ATL Settle 1 yard run (Davis kick) ATL 21–15 Q3 NO Mayes 17 yard run (Andersen kick) NO 22–21 Q4 NO Hilliard 4 yard run (Andersen kick) NO 29–21

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total • Saints 0 7 12 3 22 Lions 7 7 0 0 14 Date: September 18 Location: Pontiac Silverdome Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 32,943 Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary Q1 DET Bland 9 yard pass from Long (Murray kick) DET 7–0 Q2 NO Hill 29 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 DET Bland 10 yard pass from Long (Murray kick) DET 14–7 Q3 NO Andersen 37 yard field goal DET 14–10 Q3 NO Safety, Long tackled by Jackson in end zone DET 14–12 Q3 NO Hilliard 4 yard run (Anderson kick) NO 19–14 Q4 NO Andersen 29 yard field goal NO 22–14

Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total Buccaneers 0 6 0 3 9 • Saints 10 3 0 0 13 Date: September 25 Location: Louisiana Superdome Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 66,671 Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary Q1 NO Hill 5 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO 7–0 Q1 NO Andersen 28 yard field goal NO 10–0 Q2 TB Igwebuike 25 yard field goal NO 10–3 Q2 NO Andersen 41 yard field goal NO 13–3 Q2 TB Igwebuike 35 yard field goal NO 13–6 Q4 TB Igwebuike 35 yard field goal NO 13–9

Week 5

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 0 7 7 3 17 • Saints 7 7 3 3 20 Date: October 3 Location: Louisiana Superdome Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 68,474 Game weather: Indoors (dome) Television network: ABC

Scoring summary Q1 NO Hill 7 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO 7–0 Q2 NO Perriman 17 yard pass from Hebert (Anderson kick) NO 14–0 Q2 DAL Martin 13 yard pass from Pelluer (Ruzek kick) NO 14–7 Q3 DAL Martin 14 yard pass from Pelluer (Ruzek kick) Tie 14–14 Q3 NO Andersen 27 yard field goal NO 17–14 Q4 DAL Ruzek 39 yard field goal Tie 17–17 Q4 NO Andersen 49 yard field goal NO 20–17

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total • Saints 0 13 7 3 23 Chargers 14 0 3 0 17 Date: October 9 Location: Jack Murphy Stadium Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 42,693 Game weather: 72°F; wind 8

Scoring summary Q1 SD Miller 47 yard pass from Laufenberg (Abbott kick) SD 7–0 Q1 SD Roy Bennett recovered fumble in end zone (Abbott kick) SD 14–0 Q2 NO Andersen 27 yard field goal SD 14–3 Q2 NO Andersen 35 yard field goal SD 14–6 Q2 NO Hill 19 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) SD 14–13 Q3 NO Martin 10 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO 20–14 Q3 SD Abbott 35 yard field goal NO 20–17 Q4 NO Andersen 34 yard field goal NO 23–17

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total • Saints 0 10 7 3 20 Seahawks 3 3 6 7 19 Date: October 16 Location: Kingdome Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 63,569 Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary Q1 SEA Johnson 22 yard field goal SEA 3–0 Q2 NO Martin 19 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO 7–3 Q2 SEA Johnson 47 yard field goal NO 7–6 Q2 NO Andersen 23 yard field goal NO 10–6 Q3 SEA Johnson 46 yard field goal NO 10–9 Q3 NO Waymer 58 yard blocked field goal return (Andersen kick) NO 17–9 Q3 SEA Johnson 42 yard field goal NO 17–12 Q4 NO Andersen 31 yard field goal NO 20–12 Q4 SEA Blades 3 yard pass from Stouffer (Johnson kick) NO 20–19

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total Raiders 0 6 0 0 6 • Saints 3 0 14 3 20 Date: October 23 Location: Louisiana Superdome Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 66,249 Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary Q1 NO Andersen 51 yard field goal NO 3–0 Q2 LA Fernandez 85 yard pass from Schroeder (kick failed) LA 6–3 Q3 NO Heyward 73 yard run (Andersen kick) NO 10–7 Q3 NO Hilliard 7 yard run (Andersen kick) NO 17–7 Q4 NO Andersen 25 yard field goal NO 20–7

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total • Saints 0 7 7 0 14 Rams 0 3 0 7 10 Date: November 13 Location: Anaheim Stadium Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 63,305 Game weather: 61°F; wind 6

Scoring summary Q2 NO Hilliard 4 yard run (Andersen kick) NO 7–0 Q2 LA Lansford 23 yard field goal NO 7–3 Q3 NO Mayes 3 yard run (Andersen kick) NO 14–3 Q4 LA Bell 1 yard run (Lansford kick) NO 14–10

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total Broncos 0 0 0 0 0 • Saints 14 7 14 7 42 Date: November 20 Location: Louisiana Superdome Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 68,075 Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary Q1 NO Mayes 2 yard run (Andersen kick) NO 7–0 Q1 NO Hilliard 2 yard run (Andersen kick) NO 14–0 Q2 NO Martin 40 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO 21–0 Q3 NO Gray 66 yard punt return (Andersen kick) NO 28–0 Q3 NO Tice 8 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO 35–0 Q4 NO Martin 6 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO 42–0

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total Falcons 0 3 3 3 9 • Saints 7 0 0 3 10 Date: December 18 Location: Louisiana Superdome Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 60,566 Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary Q1 NO Hilliard 13 yard pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO 7–0 Q2 ATL Davis 27 yard field goal NO 7–3 Q3 ATL Davis 43 yard field goal NO 7–6 Q4 ATL Davis 39 yard field goal ATL 9–7 Q4 NO Andersen 30 yard field goal NO 10–9

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers(2)	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	369	294	L1
Los Angeles Rams(5)	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	407	293	W3
New Orleans Saints	10	6	0	.625	3–3	6–6	312	283	W1
Atlanta Falcons	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	244	315	L3