“Sometimes you’ve got to suck it up and make a play for your guys,” Aaron Rodgers said after the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New Orleans Saints 16-10 on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at Stade de France in the NFL’s first regular-season game in France. They won on the ground: Jaylen Warren ran for 101 yards while the Saints managed 18 as a team.
Pittsburgh (5-2) won its third straight game. New Orleans fell to 2-5 and heads into its bye week, according to the Associated Press.
Steelers Run 5:52 Off the Clock to Close It Out
The Saints trailed by six with almost six minutes left when they punted. Pittsburgh then took the final 5:52 off the clock on an 11-play, 49-yard drive with four first downs, Nola reported.
Saints Owner Gayle Benson, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Steelers Owner Art Rooney II met with French President Emmanuel Macron today at the Élysée Palace in Paris to discuss Sunday’s game and the long-term future of the NFL in France 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/KeHaULEmlW
The Steelers added an extra offensive lineman on the first five plays. All were runs, gaining 16, 6, 5, 1 and 3 yards.
When New Orleans finally forced a third down, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 42, scrambled eight yards on third-and-6 from the Saints’ 34, carrying the clock to the two-minute warning. Saints linebacker Isaiah Stalbird was then offside as he tried to block a 37-yard field goal. Pittsburgh took the penalty’s first down instead of the points and kneeled out the game.
“I think maybe it’s looking like tomorrow is going to be a bad day in France, so you worry about it,” Trump told reporters. “I would have said the NFL could have probably postponed that match … because France is really in trouble.”https://t.co/pBgIjZ1dBD
“Sometimes you’ve got to suck it up and make a play for your guys,” Rodgers said of the scramble, per the AP. Saints defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said: We’ve just got to find a way to get off the field,
and linebacker Kaden Elliss called it a frustrating drive because the defense felt it had a chance at a stop.
Pittsburgh Keeps Running on Third Down
Warren carried 18 times for 101 yards and caught three passes for 36, NBC Sports reported. Rico Dowdle added nine carries for 41 yards and six catches for 45. Behind the Steel Curtain put Warren’s average at 5.6 yards a carry.
We'll be taking that 😏 @payton_wilson21 pic.twitter.com/SPSaIHFNGT
The team’s own recap counted 20 first downs: nine rushing, 10 passing and one by penalty. The Steelers converted four third downs by running in their first two possessions, and five of the nine rushing first downs came on third down. Coach Mike McCarthy said third down had been an area to improve and that staying in manageable distances, then running, was huge for us today.
Rodgers said the team knew coming in it could run against the Saints, and I thought those guys played really well.
Go inside the Steelers win over the SaintsThe run game was one of the big differenceshttps://t.co/Nq8n1Frja0 pic.twitter.com/oKuQJ2dLXJ
Saints Rush for Just 18 Yards
Alvin Kamara had six carries for five yards and Kendre Miller eight for six, per NBC Sports. The Steelers’ recap puts the pair at 11 yards on 14 attempts, which matches. Nola noted it was the fourth time in seven games the Saints allowed an opponent 4.9 yards per carry or better.
Quarterback Tyler Shough was 30 of 38 for 278 yards, one touchdown and one interception, WDSU reported. His one-yard fourth-and-goal pass to Devaughn Vele tied it 10-10 late in the second quarter.
Wilson Intercepts Shough, Carlson Misses Wide
Trailing 13-10, New Orleans opened the second half with a 13-play drive inside the Pittsburgh 10. Linebacker Payton Wilson stepped in front of a pass intended for Chris Olave and intercepted it at the 11. Shough accepted blame. Pittsburgh then got a 39-yard field goal from Chris Boswell for 16-10.
In the fourth quarter, kicker Daniel Carlson missed wide right from 52 yards. Coach Kellen Moore said the Saints would evaluate the kicking game during the bye week. Of the loss, he said: We got to dig into it. We got to evaluate it,
per WDSU.
Aaron Rodgers threw one touchdown pass and Chris Boswell kicked three field goals in Pittsburgh’s 16-10 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in the NFL’s first regular-season game in France. https://t.co/mRx1pi0gOe
Steelers Settle for Field Goals in the Red Zone
The win had a flaw. Rodgers threw a four-yard touchdown to tight end Darnell Washington, which moved him past Peyton Manning’s 539 for third on the NFL’s career touchdown-pass list, Sky Sports reported. He finished 19 of 30 for 212 yards. Boswell kicked three field goals, and Behind the Steel Curtain wrote that the offense must turn such drives into touchdowns. The team’s recap listed red-zone efficiency at 1-of-4.
Safety Justin Reid left with a concussion and running back CJ Donaldson with a shoulder injury, NBC Sports reported.
Game Played Under a Cloud of Unrest
Attendance was 78,488, per the AP. The Saints are the only team with NFL-assigned marketing rights in France. The week was tense after unrest that began with demonstrations on October 17, and the NFL cancelled a Steelers fan event in Paris on October 22, Yahoo reported.
Pittsburgh hosts the Cleveland Browns next. New Orleans is off.