We know now what the New Orleans Saints will be wearing in Sunday’s wild-card round game with the Minnesota Vikings: white jerseys and white pants. It’s a clean look, and the Saints have had success in its debut season, winning all five games in which they used the combination in 2019. But we could have so much more.
According to The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell, the Saints requested special permission from the NFL to wear their “Color Rush” alternate jerseys against the Vikings, but were denied. New Orleans already hit the three-game limit for alternate uniforms in a single season, having previously worn their widely-loved gold-on-white duds in wins over the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, and Atlanta Falcons. Now that the playoffs are upon us, the Saints must have argued that the alternate jersey rule only applies to the regular season; the No Fun League and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell must have disagreed.
So, at least the Saints are going to look great when they line up against the Vikings. It’s just a shame that they won’t be looking their best. For superstitious fans, the white-on-white jerseys and pants are undefeated in 2019, and have the highest winning percentage of any uniform worn by the Saints since Sean Payton was hired as head coach, way back in 2006:
- White jerseys, white pants: 5-0 (1.000)
- “Color Rush” alternates: 6-2 (.750)
- Black and gold throwbacks: 2-1 (.667)
- Black jerseys, gold pants: 23-13 (.639)
- White jerseys, black pants: 38-25 (.603)
- Black jerseys, black pants: 41-27 (.603)
- White jerseys, gold pants: 31-24 (.564)
The Saints also once used alternate gold jerseys during a 2002 loss to the Vikings, but it’s probably for the best that those weren’t considered this week, bad juju and all.
