The 1979 New Orleans Saints season was the team's thirteenth season in the National Football League. The Saints finished the season at 8–8, the franchise's first non-losing season. After starting 0–3, New Orleans won seven of its next 10 and was tied for first place with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West with three weeks to play, but the season unraveled in a Monday Night Football contest at home vs. the Oakland Raiders, when the Saints squandered a 35–14 lead and lost, 42–35. The Raiders returned to the Superdome a little over a year later and won Super Bowl XV.