The 1977 New Orleans Saints season was the team's eleventh as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to improve on their previous season's output of 4–10, winning only three games. The most notable part of the season was when they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won their first game in franchise history after losing their first 26 games.1977 New Orleans Saints The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the eleventh consecutive season, while coach Hank Stram was fired following the season. In his two seasons as coach the Saints only won seven games.

Offseason

NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season The first victory overall for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, did not come until week 13 on the road against the Saints, almost two seasons after their first game against the Houston Oilers in 1976. The Bucs led at halftime by a score of 13–0. Dave Green had two field goals, while Gary Huff threw a touchdown pass to Morris Owens. Upon their arrival in Tampa Bay, the Bucs were greeted by 8,000 fans.

The Saints were 11-point favorites before the game, and fans booed as the Buccaneers scored. "Eleven years I've supported this franchise!" one shouted, adding, "With all this money I've spent on this lousy team I could have bought some land in Colombia and raised pot." Losing to a team with a 0–26 losing streak was so humiliating that safety Tom Myers said, "We've been made the laughingstocks of the business ... I'm too embarrassed to say that I play for the team that got beat by Tampa Bay." Said head coach Hank Stram, "We're all very ashamed of what happened today. Ashamed for our people, for our fans, the organization, everybody. It is my worst coaching experience." Team owner John Mecom said during the loss that the Saints "is a poorly coached team", and Stram was fired January 28, 1978.

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 18 Green Bay Packers L 20–24 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 56,250 2 September 25 at Detroit Lions L 19–23 0–2 Pontiac Silverdome 51,458 3 October 2 at Chicago Bears W 42–24 1–2 Soldier Field 51,488 4 October 9 San Diego Chargers L 0–14 1–3 Louisiana Superdome 53,942 5 October 16 at Los Angeles Rams L 7–14 1–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 46,045 6 October 23 at St. Louis Cardinals L 31–49 1–5 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,417 7 October 30 Los Angeles Rams W 27–26 2–5 Louisiana Superdome 59,023 8 November 6 at Philadelphia Eagles L 7–28 2–6 Veterans Stadium 53,482 9 November 13 San Francisco 49ers L 7–10 2–7 Louisiana Superdome 41,564 10 November 20 Atlanta Falcons W 21–20 3–7 Louisiana Superdome 43,135 11 November 27 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–20 3–8 Candlestick Park 33,702 12 December 4 New York Jets L 13–16 3–9 Louisiana Superdome 40,464 13 December 11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 14–33 3–10 Louisiana Superdome 40,124 14 December 18 at Atlanta Falcons L 7–35 3–11 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 36,895 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1: vs Green Bay Packers

Week 3 at Chicago Bears

Week 4: vs San Diego Chargers

Week 10 vs. Atlanta Falcons TV Network: CBS Announcers: Gary Bender, Johnny Unitas Atlanta, which had never given up more than 14 points in a game this year, tried to keep it that way with one minute to go, in front of a Regional TV Audience - in New Orleans - And Archie Manning was waiting. The Saints quarterback, back in action for the first time in six weeks, throw a 18-yard TD Pass, his second scoring strike to Henry Childs. It was Hank Stram's 136th victory as a head coach.

Standings

Notes

References