History will be made on Sunday when the New Orleans Saints take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game will be played in Paris, France, the first NFL game ever in that location. It is considered a home game for the 2-4 Saints, coming off a 34-27 win at the New York Giants. Pittsburgh comes in at 4-2 and winners of two straight.
While France will host their first ever NFL game, this will be the 18th all-time meeting between the Steelers and Saints. It's been a pretty even series, with no team owning an extended win streak over the other. Here's a look through the numbers.
Saints vs. Steelers series history
- Overall: 9-8
- Home: 3-4
- Away: 6-4
- Last 5 matchups: 3-2
- Last 10 matchups: 6-4
- Longest winning streak: 3 by each team (Saints 2010-18 and 1968-69; Steelers 1974-81)
- Last meeting in New Orleans (2018): Saints (31-28)
- Last meeting in Pittsburgh (2022): Steelers (20-10)
At one time, these teams were actually divisional opponents. That was in 1968, the Saints second year of existence, when both played in the NFL Century Division. The Saints finished third in the four-team division with a 4-9-1 record, with the Steelers finishing fourth at a 2-11-1 mark. That season, the Saints took a 16-12 victory in Pittsburgh and defeated the Steelers in Tulane Stadium during the season finale by a 24-14 score. It was the last game as Steelers head coach for Bill Austin, as Pittsburgh replaced him with the legendary Chuck Noll the following year. The Saints would beat Noll and the Steelers again in the 1969 season finale by a 27-24 margin in Tulane Stadium. At that year's conclusion, the AFL-NFL merger took place and the Saints were moved into the NFC West while the Steelers were placed in the AFC Central. It would be five years before the team's met up again.
After the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, the Steelers became one of the league's greatest dynasties through the 1970s. They defeated New Orleans in all three of their meetings in 1974, 1978, and 1981. New Orleans finally snapped the steak in 1984 with a 27-24 defeat of the Steelers in the Superdome. In 1987, the Saints traveled to Pittsburgh for a late-season matchup. New Orleans would come away with a 20-16 victory, clinching their first ever winning season in franchise history.
Since 2002, games between the Saints and Steelers have often been close and high scoring battles. Four of their six matchups in that span have been decided by a touchdown or less, with three of those just three points being the difference. The other two were identical 20-10 scores with each squad winning in their own stadium.
Before this year's meeting, the Saints and Steelers have met six times in the month of October. The series is tied 3-3 in October meetings, with the Saints going 2-2 at home against Pittsburgh that month. Remember that even though this is considered a home game for New Orleans, it will take place at a neutral site. The Steelers have played two overseas games in their history, a 34-27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London during the 2013 season and a 24-21 win over the Vikings in Ireland last year. New Orleans has played overseas three times, all in London. The Saints beat the San Diego Chargers 37-32 in 2008, defeated the Miami Dolphins by a 20-0 score in 2017, and in 2022 lost 28-25 to the Vikings.
Pittsburgh head coach Mike McCarthy, in his first year with the franchise, was an offensive coordinator for five years with the Saints from 2000 through 2004. While head coach for the Dallas Cowboys from 2020-2024, McCarthy had Kellen Moore as his offensive coordinator for three of those years through the end of 2022. Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier was also on that Cowboys staff. Moore and Nussmeier were both relieved of their duties by McCarthy and the Cowboys at the end of the 2022 season. Legendary Saints offensive lineman and former New Orleans assistant coach Jahri Evans was added to McCarthy's coaching staff in Pittsburgh this offseason.
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has faced New Orleans seven times in his career. All were when he played for the Green Bay Packers. Five of those were with McCarthy as his head coach in Green Bay. The Saints are 3-4 against Rodgers, allowing an average of 244 passing yards per game with Rodgers throwing 13 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and the Saints sacking him 9 times.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Looking at Saints-Steelers history leading into historic Paris matchup