PARIS, France — The New Orleans Saints have spent the week in Paris getting ready for a game no NFL team has played before, and on Sunday they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Stade de France in the first NFL regular-season contest ever held in France.
New Orleans is the designated home team. Kickoff is at 8:30 a.m. Central time back in Louisiana.
The Saints arrive at 2-4 after snapping a three-game losing streak with a 34-27 win over the New York Giants, a game they nearly let slip late. That win came after public criticism from team owner Gayle Benson, and a second straight victory would send the team into its bye week on a high note. Running back Alvin Kamara has told reporters he wants the Saints to have a win in France to brag about for years.
Pittsburgh comes in at 4-2 and on a two-game winning streak. Aaron Rodgers, the 42-year-old four-time MVP, rallied the Steelers in the fourth quarter last week to a 26-19 overtime win over Tampa Bay despite being sacked five times.
The matchup carries a coaching connection. Saints coach Kellen Moore was the offensive coordinator for Steelers coach Mike McCarthy in Dallas from 2020 to 2022.
Stopping the run is the big worry for New Orleans. The Saints give up 138 rushing yards a game, 30th in the league, and Steelers back Jaylen Warren has 460 yards on the ground, seventh most in the NFL. On the other side, receiver Chris Olave ranks second in the league with 580 receiving yards. The Saints have lost all three of their home games this season and are 2-1 elsewhere.
The trip has been shaped by street protests in the French capital, some of them violent. The team’s Saints House fan event, first set for Saturday at Place Vendome, was pushed back to Sunday. It features a live set by The Soul Rebels, football challenges and exhibits of team history.
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