Saints open 60th season by echoing 1967 kickoff magic, take 20-6 lead at halftime vs. Jaguars

The New Orleans Saints’ celebration of their 60th season received a fitting opening script on Saturday night at the Caesars Superdome. In the first half of the 2026 preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Saints built an early cushion and carried a 20-6 lead into halftime after an explosive start that felt eerily familiar to the franchise’s first game story.

The tone was set immediately on kickoff. New Orleans’ return game delivered first, with a long return getting the play moving fast before it ultimately ended with veteran running back Ty Chandler being tackled at the 9-yard line. The Saints’ opening burst started with field position and intent, and it came close to turning the first moments of the game into the same kind of dramatic touchdown opener that the franchise remembers from its beginning.

That connection is not just an emotional parallel. The Saints’ official account noted that the matchup “almost started exactly like” their 1967 season opener, when John Gilliam returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown at old Tulane Stadium. The Saints’ 2026 preseason opener did not end with another 94-yard finish, but it did begin with a kickoff return that quickly placed New Orleans in scoring range and established the same kind of early momentum.

From there, the Saints converted the advantage almost instantly. According to the team’s halftime update, Audric Estime then raced around the left side for a 9-yard touchdown just 21 seconds into the game. The timing mattered, not only because it punctuated the kickoff success, but because it turned momentum into points before Jacksonville could settle defensively.

New Orleans continued to control the flow of the opening stretch, turning early opportunities into a steady offensive rhythm. The halftime update characterized the Saints’ first-half play as dominant, and the 20 points they put on the board reflected a half where they were able to translate big moments and short fields into scoring drives.

Jacksonville, meanwhile, managed to get its own work done during the half, but the deficit remained. With the Saints up 20-6 at halftime, the Jaguars faced the typical preseason challenge of trying to answer a strong start while also working through personnel adjustments and the experimental nature of early-game rotations.

The storyline going forward is how New Orleans sustains the sharpness that showed up immediately. In preseason football, early scoring can come from a mix of execution and matchups, but the Saints’ unique 60th-season framing makes the kickoff-to-touchdown identity especially worth watching. For Jacksonville, the emphasis will be on tightening play after the first burst and limiting how quickly New Orleans can convert good field position into early points.