Paris, France and Stade de France hosted the first ever NFL game in the country as the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers squared off last Sunday. Pittsburgh won the historic matchup by a 16-10 score. The loss dropped the Saints to 2-5 as they head into a Week 8 bye. New Orleans lost this one in mostly the same ways as the other five.As has been the case most of this season, the Saints were bullied and manhandled in the trenches on both sides. Once again, New Orleans got off to an inexcusable slow start. We take a look at the good, bad, and ugly from the team's fifth loss of the year.
The Good: Tyler Shough
Shough did commit a costly turnover, throwing an interception deep in the red zone. Outside of that, he was mostly sharp in completing 30 of 38 passes for
278 yards while hitting nine different receivers. Shough has kept the Saints in several games with his skill and toughness. Sunday was no exception, completing 10 of 11 throws for 97 yards on third downs alone. While the Saints have a litany of problems and issues, quarterback isn't one of them.
The Good: Chase Young and Carl Granderson
Young and Granderson have been the only two (good) constants on one of the softest defenses in the league. After a slow start against Pittsburgh, Young had 1.5 sacks and got consistent penetration through the final couple quarters. That brought his season total to 7 sacks and 16.5 in his last 17 games. That is elite production. Granderson also had 1.5 sacks against the Steelers. It was his third straight outing with 1.5 takedowns as he brought his season total to 5.5. Always a streaky player, Granderson has been a good complement to Young on a defense that has little else.
The Bad: Pete Werner
Werner was downright putrid against the Steelers. He had 8 tackles, but what that stat doesn't show is the countless times he was grotesquely out of position or was flat-out blown off the ball. Werner has always been a liability in coverage, but he's also regressed badly as a run defender. Why he played every defensive snap (64) against Pittsburgh while Danny Stutsman didn't see the field at all is anyone's guess.
The Bad: Taliese Fuaga
We've previously written about the regression from Fuaga. Sunday was perhaps his worst outing to date. The entire offensive line was abysmal, as the laughable 18 rushing yards proves. Fuaga was also flailing wildly and unsuccessfully in pass protection. More should be expected from the 2024 first round draft choice who looked like a perennial Pro Bowler as a rookie.
The Bad: Finishing Drives (offense and defense)
Pittsburgh converted 10 of 16 third downs, a ridiculous clip of 62.5% Meanwhile, the Saints converted a pedestrian 6 of 12 third downs. Worse yet, New Orleans left crucial points on two separate drives with Shough's interception and another missed field goal by Daniel Carlson. All of Carlson's four misses has come from beyond 50 yards, making him 3 of 7 from that distance. The Saints are simply not good enough, either offensively or defensively, to leave points on the field. Through every game this season, New Orleans has too often put themselves in long down and distance situations on offense because they do not win on early downs. Defensively, the Saints have not created the necessary disruption to put their opponents in similar situations. This is the mark of a bad team, especially when it happens on both sides of the ball.
The Ugly: Running Game
A major reason why the offense finds themselves facing long yardage on second and third downs is the appalling absence of a rushing attack. Few have been worse at it, with the performance against the Steelers of 18 rushing yards on 17 attempts downright pathetic. It's been a uniform effort in futility, with predictable and unimaginative play-calling, ineffective running backs, and a woeful offensive line.
The Ugly: Run Defense
As awful as the rushing attack has been, Saints inability to stop the run has been equally infuriating. Pittsburgh pushed around New Orleans defenders with such ease that they were almost invisible, rushing for 148 yards and nearly five yards per carry. The Saints got absolutely no push from their defensive line and were manhandled throughout the day. Linebackers were either out of position, getting easily stood up, and not athletic enough to get to off-tackle rushes. This has been a regular occurrence in 2026. In fact, the Saints have been routinely dominated in the trenches on both sides, putting up little fight in return as opponents dominate them.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Good, bad, and ugly from Saints' disappointing game in Paris
