The Pittsburgh Steelers have built rivalries with several NFL teams over the years. That includes teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens. However, one team they don’t have a lot of history with is the New Orleans Saints. The two teams have only played each other 17 times. Despite that, they’ll make history this year by playing in the NFL’s first game in Paris. While some people don’t have high hopes for that matchup, Mike Florio made the case for why it could draw a lot of eyes.
“I’ll go Steelers-Saints because they’ve had some compelling games,” Florio said Thursday on his Pro Football Talk podcast about why he is intrigued by the matchup. “We mentioned yesterday, it was eight years ago, the game that went down to the wire, it was a shootout, it was exciting. JuJu Smith-Schuster had a key fumble.
“Two days later, he’s named the team MVP. Antonio Brown blows a gasket over it and that’s that for Antonio Brown in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are the Steelers, and it’s the first game ever in Paris. And the Saints are the obvious team to play there. I think there will just be a lot of hype and build-up and interest.”
The game that Florio references came in 2018, and it was the most controversial matchup between these two teams in recent memory, and maybe ever. It came in Week 16 that year, and the Saints won 31-28. As Florio mentions, the Steelers were driving down the field with a chance to tie things up or win, but Smith-Schuster fumbled in Saints territory with around 40 seconds left, essentially ending the game.
There was also a controversial pass interference call on Steelers corner Joe Haden on a fourth down with around three minutes left in the first quarter. The Steelers were up 3-0, and it looked like they were going to get the ball back close to midfield. However, a bizarre call on Haden in the end zone put the ball at the Steelers’ 1-yard line.
The Saints scored a touchdown right after that, taking the lead. Considering how tight the game ultimately was, that ended up being a huge swing. It was a terrible call, and that loss loomed large for the Steelers, who barely missed the playoffs that year.
That wasn’t the most recent meeting between these two teams, though. That came in 2022, when the Steelers beat the Saints, 20-10. That game wasn’t as memorable, likely because both teams were in transition periods. The starting quarterbacks that day were Kenny Pickett and Andy Dalton.
The Saints lead the all-time series over the Steelers 9-8, and they’re the home team in Paris. Like the Steelers in Ireland last year, this game could mean a little more for the Saints. While both teams still aren’t what they were in 2018, perhaps this game’s historical significance will elevate them.
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