SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Eighteen yards rushing. A missed field goal. A red zone interception.
The Saints had high hopes for their big week in Paris, but head back to New Orleans with a 2-5 record and questions following their 16-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Stade de France on Sunday.
“We got to dig into it. We got to evaluate it,” coach Kellen Moore said. “We got to take the emotion out of it. We’re all frustrated and there’s a lot of emotions
with it. You have to take the emotion out of it and truly just evaluate it and find what the next steps are.”
Saints general manager Mickey Loomis had kicked off the week calling for patience for a “young, developing team.”
But their 38-year-old coach fielded plenty of questions about changes, especially about a run game that produced just 18 yards. The Saints have a bye next week, which offers time to make improvements, Moore said.
Moore, in his second year in charge, was asked at what point he'll consider changes.
“Any time you go into a bye week, you go into evaluation mode as far as identifying the things you need to work on and solving those,” he said.
He was then asked if that includes possible staff changes.
“We just got to evaluate everything. I’m not going to jump to anything right now," Moore said. "We just got to get better, and we’ll focus on that.
Moore said he didn’t think kicker Daniel Carlson’s late arrival to Paris this week — his wife was about to give birth — was a factor in him missing wide right on a 52-yard field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
But when asked about changes in the kicking game, the coach said: “I think it’s fair to say we have to evaluate that and go through that process in the bye week.”
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough accepted blame for throwing a red zone interception in the third quarter. Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson stepped in front of a short pass intended for Chris Olave.
“Was the right place to go. I got to put it a little bit more outside, so that’s on me,” Shough said.
The Steelers then went the other way and Chris Boswell's 39-yard field goal increased their lead to 16-10.
After the game, Shough spoke to the locker room.
“I said we have the right dudes in the building. We’re trending in the right direction. We were a couple plays away from winning that game,” he said. “We’re doing the right things, moving the ball. We have to fix some things in the run game.”
Linebacker Kaden Elliss called Shough a “great leader” and said although the defense held Pittsburgh to 16 points, “you need some more three-and-outs, some takeaways, some opportunities where you really give the ball back to the offense with momentum.”
Shough was 30 of 38 for 278 yards, one touchdown and the interception. Alvin Kamara caught seven passes for 57 yards.
Shough’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Devaughn Vele on fourth-and-goal from the 1 had tied the game at 10-10 late in the second quarter.
“We need to be ascending toward where we want to be,” Shough said. “That’s greatness and that’s playoff football. We’re capable of that, but right now we have to evaluate and we have to fix those things.”
New Orleans hasn't reached the playoffs since the 2020 season.
The Saints came under pressure after a 1-4 start when team owner Gayle Benson she would “not accept this level of performance.” They responded by beating the New York Giants 34-27 before flying directly to the French capital.
The Paris trip was significant for the Saints as an organization. They are the only team with NFL-assigned marketing rights in France and have used French-language social media channels to attract fans.
Benson has helped raise funds for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral. She was among VIPs who met with French President Emmanuel Macron to “discuss Sunday’s game and the long-term future of the NFL in Paris.”
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