The Steelers’ quarterbacks made an entrance worthy of the moment in Paris.
As Pittsburgh prepared for its Week 7 matchup with the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France, all four of the team’s quarterbacks, along with quarterbacks coach Tom Arth, showed up with coordinated outfits that had a clear “Peaky Blinders”-style feel.
By order of the Peaky Blinders pic.twitter.com/mwuwMFfooM
The show is set in England, not France, but the look fit the Steelers’ European trip well enough to make the point. The group appeared to be tipping its cap to the Netflix series while overseas this week.
On the field, Pittsburgh enters the game in a strong spot. The Steelers are 4-2 for the fourth straight season, and after reaching the postseason in each of the last three years, they are again sitting well in the AFC race.
Right now, the black and gold are in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC North, though the Cleveland Browns hold the tiebreaker over both Pittsburgh and the Baltimore Ravens because of their 2-0 division record. In the wild-card picture, the Steelers currently sit at No. 6.
The schedule is about to turn on Pittsburgh in a hurry. After returning home next week, the Steelers will face Cleveland at Acrisure Stadium in the second and final meeting between the teams before heading into their bye in Week 9.
That makes these next two games especially important. The division standings are tight, and the AFC wild-card chase is crowded, so Pittsburgh needs to cash in while it has the chance.
The calendar only gets harsher after the bye. Pittsburgh’s next five games include a Sunday Night Football trip to Cincinnati in Week 10, a road game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11, a Black Friday home date with the Denver Broncos in Week 12, a Sunday Night Football matchup with the Houston Texans in Week 13 and a Monday Night Football road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14.
And that’s before the Steelers see the Ravens twice in the final four weeks of the season.
So this trip to New Orleans matters. The Saints won’t be an easy out, especially with an offense averaging 25.3 points per game, which ranks 11th in the league.
But New Orleans is also 2-4, and the defense has been a real problem. The Saints are allowing 29.7 points per game, tied for the most in the NFL, and 377.7 yards per game, which ranks fourth-worst.
Pittsburgh also has the Browns looming again after Cleveland beat the Steelers on Thursday Night Football in Week 4.
Cleveland is playing as well as it has since its last playoff trip in 2023, but this is still a game the Steelers should expect to handle at Acrisure Stadium.
If Pittsburgh can win its next two games and reach 6-2 before the bye, it will be in excellent position. A split with the Saints and Browns would not wreck the season, but it would shrink the margin for error once that brutal stretch after the bye begins.
Lose both, and the Steelers would be in serious trouble.
In Other News...
Steelers Paris Game Suddenly Carries A Serious Question For The NFL
The Steelers trip to Paris for the NFLs first regular-season game in the city has taken on a very different tone with France still dealing with protests and riots. What was supposed to be a landmark overseas showcase now has an unmistakable safety backdrop, and the league is being asked to weigh the optics and logistics of staging a game with fans traveling abroad under those conditions.
NFL insider Mike Florio has publicly urged the league to consider a change, pointing to the closure of NFL events and a U.S. State Department security alert as reasons to rethink the plan. For now, the NFL has not announced any alterations, leaving Pittsburgh and New Orleans in place on the schedule while the larger question hangs over one of the leagues most anticipated international games. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Defense Faces A Bigger Saints Test Than Fans Realize
The Steelers defense has earned some breathing room after a sharper stretch under coordinator Patrick Graham, with the unit giving up only two passing touchdowns and snagging three interceptions over the last three games. But the next test is a different kind of challenge, because New Orleans comes in with Tyler Shough piloting an offense that has been more productive through the air than many expected, especially when he is able to find Chris Olave in rhythm.
Pittsburghs margin for error could also be thinner in the secondary. Brandin Echols is out with a hamstring injury, and Jalen Ramsey is working through a wrist issue, leaving the Steelers to sort out how much they can lean on their recent improvement against a Saints passing game that has already shown real efficiency entering Week 7. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Face A Risky Alex Highsmith Decision They May Regret
The trade deadline always tends to expose where a roster is thin, and Pittsburgh is once again in that familiar spot. According to Daniel Popper of The Athletic, the Steelers front office is weighing a player-for-player deal involving outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, a move that would force the team to balance immediate defensive value against longer-term roster needs elsewhere.
Highsmith has been one of the Steelers most productive edge players, which is why any talk of moving him carries real risk. Pittsburgh is also trying to sort out help in the secondary and at wide receiver, so the temptation to use a major asset to address another hole is obvious, even if the timing ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline makes the decision especially delicate. [Read more 🡒]