Wilson spoiled a methodical drive for the Saints that covered 68 yards over 14 plays and ate up 7:28 of clock. The Steelers didn’t get a touchdown off that takeaway, but they did get points in the form of a 38-yard field goal from Chris Boswell with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Steelers allowed just 18 rushing yards, second-fewest so far in an NFL game this season, and rushed for 150 yards themselves before kneeling out the clock. They also went 10 for 16 on third down.
“We felt as a football team we needed to own the line of scrimmage on both sides,” said head coach Mike McCarthy. “We felt that, going through the game plan process, that was going to be an important factor in the game. We definitely hit the target there.”
Jaylen Warren rushed for 101 yards on 18 carries and added 3 catches for 36 yards to go over 100 from scrimmage for the fourth time in the past five games. Rico Dowdle was also solid as a complement to Warren, racking up 86 yards from scrimmage and getting better as the game went on. Aaron Rodgers threw for 212 yards and a touchdown on 19-of-30 passing, including a 51-yard deep shot to DK Metcalf.
Queen had a game-high 10 tackles, Keeanu Benton tallied 2 tackles for loss and Watt had 2 quarterback hits.
Shough completed 30 of 38 passes for 278 yards, targeting Chris Olave 10 times. Olave caught 6 passes for 56 yards but it was Alvin Kamara who led the Saints with 7 receptions out of the backfield for 57 yards.
The Steelers set the tone with a dominant opening drive, averaging 9.6 yards per carry. They lined up Spencer Anderson as an eligible receiver to give themselves a sixth offensive lineman, and Warren popped off a run of 29 yards on the first such snap.
But they had to settle for a Boswell 28-yard field goal to make it 3-0 with 10:51 left in the first quarter. That made Boswell the first NFL player to put points on the board in France in league history.
The Steelers took that 3-0 lead into the second quarter. Warren had 67 yards from scrimmage in the first quarter, including 57 yards on seven carries.