Saints Face Steelers in Paris With QB Shough Under Pressure

The New Orleans Saints will travel to Stade de France in Saint-Denis to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 9:30 AM EDT in the NFL's first regular-season game played in France. The Saints enter Week 7 with a 2-4 record and a one-game winning streak, seeking their first home victory after an 0-3 start in games played in New Orleans. The Steelers arrive at 4-2, holding the seventh conference seed with a two-game winning streak and a plus-3 turnover margin.

The matchup centers on contrasting offensive and defensive strengths. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough has thrown for 1,443 yards and 12 touchdowns through six games, but faces significant pressure from a Steelers pass rush led by T.J. Watt (4.5 sacks) and Alex Highsmith (3 sacks). Saints offensive tackles Taliese Fuaga and Asim Richards have combined to allow 41 pressures, with Fuaga ranking 69th among 73 tackles in pass-blocking grade and Richards 72nd. The Saints' offensive weapons—running back Alvin Kamara and tight end Juwan Johnson (25 catches, 248 yards, 3 touchdowns)—present potential advantages against Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson, who has a 53.1 coverage grade ranking 50th among 75 linebackers.

Pittsburgh's offensive balance depends heavily on running back Jaylen Warren, who accounts for 460 of the Steelers' 595 rushing yards. The Saints' returning linebackers Kaden Elliss and Anfernee Jennings, both back from three-game absences, will be tasked with containing Warren. However, the Saints' run defense remains a weakness: New Orleans allows 4.8 yards per carry and has surrendered 11 rushing touchdowns, the most in the league, with nose tackle Davon Godchaux's 35.9 run-defense grade ranking 118th among 130 interior defensive linemen.

Defensively, the Saints rank 10th in scoring offense (25.3 points per game) but 30th in points allowed (29.7 per game), while the Steelers rank tied for fifth in interceptions and tied for ninth in sacks. Pittsburgh's plus-3 turnover margin contrasts sharply with New Orleans' minus-3. Field goal kicker Daniel Carlson, who arrived in Paris on Friday after his wife awaited the birth of their fourth child, has missed three of ten field goal attempts this season. The Steelers are favored by 3.5 points, and with Pittsburgh allowing just 10 red zone visits—the fewest in the NFL—field position could prove decisive. The winner will emerge from an encounter between a Saints team fighting to extend a winning streak and a Steelers team looking to strengthen its playoff positioning.