If you’re watching from Pittsburgh, the Steelers’ game might be part of your breakfast. On the West Coast, you may need an alarm just to catch kickoff. And in Saint-Denis, just outside Paris, the Steelers and Saints will make history in front of a crowd watching the NFL’s first regular-season game in France.

That’s a pretty big stage for a game on at nine in the morning.

Pittsburgh comes in at 4–2 and tied in a crowded AFC North race. New Orleans is 2–4, coming off a badly needed win and trying to show that their offense can build on that momentum. The Saints are technically the home team, but they won’t have the usual comforts of a Sunday in the Superdome.

Kickoff is Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET and 6:30 a.m. PT on NFL Network. So, yeah, get the coffee ready.

Paris Is The Backdrop. The Turnovers Are The Story.

The NFL has been taking regular-season games abroad for years, and France is the newest stop on a 2026 schedule that includes nine international games. The Steelers went to Dublin last season, so this type of environment isn't completely foreign to them.

New Orleans has already been in France for days. After beating the Giants in New Jersey last Sunday, the Saints flew straight to Paris and set up their practice week there. That should help with the time change and give them a little more routine. It won’t fix the problem that’s followed them through six games, though: They can move the ball and score points with anybody. But they always seem to give an opponent too many extra chances.

Here’s the strange part of this matchup. New Orleans averages 25.3 points per game, compared to Pittsburgh’s 22.8. The teams are separated by exactly one yard per game in total offense: 321.5 for the Saints, 320.5 for the Steelers. This isn’t a case of one offense moving up and down the field while the other can barely get anything going.

The difference shows up when a drive gets tough — and in who walks away with the ball.

Pittsburgh has 16 sacks, six interceptions, and a plus-three turnover margin. New Orleans is at minus-three. For the Saints, those numbers should immediately make them think of their loss to the Raiders. They gained 381 yards and converted nine of 15 third downs, then committed four turnovers in the fourth quarter. Four. You can play a lot of good offense and still lose when you finish a game that way.

Tyler Shough gives New Orleans a real chance to push back. The second-year quarterback has 12 touchdown passes, and his connection with Chris Olave has been one of the best in the league. Olave has 43 catches for 580 yards through six games. Alvin Kamara's still dangerous when Shough gets him the ball in space; last week, a short pass to Kamara turned into a long touchdown.

But Shough needs time to work through his reads, and Pittsburgh’s front is built to not let that happen. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith get a lot of attention off the edges, Nick Herbig had two sacks against Tampa Bay, and Jalen Ramsey showed last week that the pressure can come from somewhere else, too. Ramsey had two sacks of his own, including one on fourth down in overtime that ended the game.

That’s the question New Orleans has to answer: Can Shough and the Saints string together enough drives to keep Pittsburgh from teeing off on obvious passing downs? And when the rush does get home, can they live to play the next snap instead of trying to save the entire drive with one risky throw?

Neither Team Got A Clean Win Last Week

Both teams got to Paris feeling better than they did a week ago. Neither of them should be feeling too good about themselves, though.

The Steelers were behind against Tampa Bay for most of Sunday before Aaron Rodgers led a late rally and found rookie Germie Bernard for the winning touchdown in overtime. Jamel Dean’s fourth-quarter interception played a huge role in getting them there. Pittsburgh found a way through an uneven offensive day, which matters. It’s also a reminder that the defense has had to do more than their share of the rescuing.

New Orleans’ 34–27 win over the Giants was even tougher to explain. The Saints scored 34 straight points to get a 34–10 lead and then let New York right back into the game. Shough threw three touchdowns without an interception, and New Orleans’ takeaways helped create the separation. Then the finish got way closer than it ever should’ve been.

So, yes, both teams won. Both also gave their coaches plenty of film to put on the screen this week.

Pittsburgh has a way to control this game without asking Rodgers to win a passing contest with Shough. Jaylen Warren's averaging 5.5 yards per carry, and the Saints are allowing 138 rushing yards a game, one of the worst in the league. Warren just put up 188 yards from scrimmage against Indianapolis in Week 5. If he finds room again, Pittsburgh can stay out of third-and-long, keep Rodgers comfortable, and make New Orleans watch long drives from the sideline.

That could be huge because the Saints’ defense has been the bigger problem behind their record. They're allowing 29.7 points and 377.7 yards per game. New Orleans can’t expect Shough and Olave to clean up every mistake if Pittsburgh keeps picking up easy first downs on the ground.

Can the Saints Right the Ship?

The standings make this about more than just a postcard from France. Pittsburgh is one of three 4–2 teams in the AFC North, along with Baltimore and Cleveland, and the Browns are waiting next on the schedule. A win in Paris keeps the Steelers right in the mix. A loss puts an awful lot of pressure on next week.

For New Orleans, a win would move the Saints to 3–4 and give them a little breathing room heading into their Week 8 bye. Being in the worst division in football, they're far from out of it.

The Saints can score enough to make Pittsburgh sweat. We’ve already seen that. What we haven’t seen nearly enough is New Orleans pairing that offense with a full game of smart, clean decisions. Against this Steelers defense, one sloppy stretch could be all it takes.

Prediction: Steelers, 23-20

All stats courtesy of Fantasy Points Data.

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