Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen (6) sacks on New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) during an NFL football game in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen (6) sacks on New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) during an NFL football game in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.
PARIS — The Steelers’ quarterbacks showed up for the first-ever NFL game in France dressed as the characters from “Peaky Blinders.”
Their defense left looking like the Avengers.
For the second game in a row, the Steelers put the bite back in their defense. They have closed out each of their past two wins, including Sunday’s 16-10 victory against the New Orleans Saints, with a sack that ended any last-minute threat.
They created another takeaway that effectively put the game away. And, one week after the Saints rushed for 178 yards, the Steelers smothered them like a croque monsieur, holding them to 18 yards on 17 carries.
[Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle (13) gets away from New Orleans Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss (55) during an NFL football game in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle (13) gets away from New Orleans Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss (55) during an NFL football game in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.](https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2026/10/25/steelers-report-card-saints-week7/stories/202610250084)
It was the second-fewest rushing yards by a Steelers opponent in the past 11 years. Quarterback Tyler Shough, who passed for 278 yards, was New Orleans’ leading rusher, with seven yards — the first team since Week 3 of the 2022 season to not have a player rush for at least 10 yards in a game, according to ESPN research.
“We have a lot of confidence in creating turnovers and creating those splash plays,” said outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who had one of the two sacks to up his season total to 5.5. “We’ve done a really good job trying not to press too hard to make those plays happen, and they’ve been coming to us.”
The performance was especially impressive because the Steelers were without two defensive linemen, Derrick Harmon and Sebastian Joseph-Day, each of whom is on injured reserve.
What’s more, coach Mike McCarthy said he was also aware the Steelers were coming off of an overtime game in Tampa, Fla., in which the defense was on the field for 73 plays in 86-degree temperatures.
Factor in the travel to Paris and the adjustments in the practice schedule, but it seemed to have little effect — maybe none — on the defense.
It certainly had no effect on inside linebacker Patrick Queen, who had a game-high 10 tackles and was flying around Stade de France like the motorcycles on the streets of Paris. He snuffed the Saints’ final attempt when he sacked Shough for an eight-yard loss on third down from his own 40.
Queen and inside linebacker partner Payton Wilson combined for 16 tackles. It was Wilson’s interception at the Steelers 10-yard line that turned out to be the biggest play of the game.
[Steelers running back Jaylen Warren runs with the ball past Saints cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. during a game in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.
Steelers running back Jaylen Warren runs with the ball past Saints cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. during a game in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.](https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2026/10/26/steelers-week-7-analysis-nfl-afc-north/stories/202610250086)
“It was awesome,” Watt said. “Those guys have had a really good week of preparation — obviously limited preparation just because of the schedule — but we knew they were going to come alive. The splash, man, it comes in bunches. I’m really happy for the two.”
Offense lagging?
The Steelers had 250 of their 343 offensive yards and converted six of nine third-down chances in the first half but still managed just one touchdown and 13 points.
Kicker Chris Boswell, who had three field goals against the Saints, has kicked nine in the past three games — his most in a three-game stretch in two years.
But the offense that struck a nice balance against the Saints — 30 rushes, 30 pass attempts — is lagging behind last year’s point production.
After seven games, the Steelers have scored 153 points — 22 fewer than after seven games in 2025.
“We need to adjust a little better,” said quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has thrown for over 200 yards and at least one touchdown in six of the seven games. “Teams just don’t really play us the way they played other teams. You watch film during the week, they play certain coverages. Maybe you plan a lot for those coverages. They were playing a lot of very soft coverages on film, and we’ve just got to execute better.”
First Published: October 26, 2026, 8:00 a.m.