Steelers 16, Saints 10: Pittsburgh wins the NFL's first game in Paris
Chris Boswell's three field goals and a halftime fire drill carried the Steelers to 5-2 at Stade de France.
The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New Orleans Saints 16-10 on Sunday in the first regular-season NFL game ever played in Paris, moving to 5-2 while the Saints fell to 2-5. Pittsburgh never trailed, though New Orleans pulled level twice.
How the scoring went
Chris Boswell opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal in the first quarter. Daniel Carlson answered with a 38-yard kick for the Saints early in the second to make it 3-3. Aaron Rodgers then threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Washington, set up by a 51-yard completion to D.K. Metcalf, to put Pittsburgh up 10-3. Devaughn Vele's 1-yard touchdown catch tied it again at 10-10 with under two minutes left in the half.
Pittsburgh closed the half with a 47-yard Boswell field goal as time expired, after a sequence in which Rodgers was sacked on third down with no timeouts remaining and the offence had to scramble to get the kick off, according to Yahoo Sports. Boswell added a 39-yard field goal early in the third quarter, and that was the last of the scoring. The Steelers ran more than five minutes off the clock on their final drive and knelt out the win.
What decided it
The Saints opened the second half with a long drive that reached the Steelers' 11-yard line, and it ended when linebacker Peyton Wilson intercepted a pass intended for Chris Olave. Carlson also missed a 52-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter, per Yahoo.
Jaylen Warren led Pittsburgh's ground game with 101 rushing yards on 18 carries, plus three catches for 36 yards. Rodgers finished 19 of 30 for 212 yards and a touchdown, according to CBS News Pittsburgh. Yahoo reports the touchdown moved him to third on the NFL's all-time regular-season passing touchdowns list, ahead of Peyton Manning.
For New Orleans, Tyler Shough was 30 of 38 for 278 yards with a touchdown and the interception. The Saints' box score shows Pittsburgh with 343 net yards to New Orleans' 281, and a time-of-possession edge of 32:03 to 27:57. CBS News Pittsburgh lists the attendance at 78,488.
What it means
The win was Pittsburgh's third straight and, per Yahoo, put the Steelers atop the AFC North pending the afternoon games. They host the Cleveland Browns on November 1 at 1 p.m., a chance to avenge a 27-24 Thursday-night loss to Cleveland earlier this season. The Saints, now 2-5, have a bye week next.
It was not a flashy night for either offence. New Orleans moved the ball through the air and could not turn it into points when it mattered; Pittsburgh took its points where it found them and let its kicker decide the margin.