Sunday morning in Paris sets up as a sneaky-fascinating spot for touchdowns, with Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on second-year quarterback Tyler Shough and the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints bring plenty of offense into Week 7 - they’re a top-seven scoring team - but the efficiency has lagged behind the production. They’re sitting in the bottom 10 in yards per play after a 2-4 start, which makes this a tricky group to fully trust against a Steelers defense that has been one of the 10 best in the league. That Pittsburgh unit has helped push the reigning AFC North champs to a 4-2 start in 2026.
The betting market has the total at 44.5, and New Orleans has already given up the most points in the league through six weeks. That at least gives Rodgers and a Steelers offense that ranks 20th in yards per play a chance to get rolling. Pittsburgh had a rough first half in Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but there are still two Steelers I’m backing to score in Paris.
On the New Orleans side, the aerial attack has been aggressive all season, and that keeps Chris Olave in the mix to find the end zone for the third time in 2026.
Olave enters with two touchdowns this season, and his target volume has actually cooled off lately. He’s seen 13 total targets over the last two weeks after opening the year with four straight games of double-digit looks.
Even so, this feels like a spot to buy low on the former Ohio State standout. Pittsburgh has allowed only six passing touchdowns this season and ranks sixth in the league in EPA/Pass, but Olave remains the centerpiece of a Saints offense that throws the ball almost as much as anyone in the NFL.
New Orleans is third in the league in pass attempts in 2026, and Olave has drawn 61 targets in six games. Devaughn Vele and Juwan Johnson are in the conversation too, but the true No. 1 receiver at nearly 2/1 is the one I’d rather take.
Jaylen Warren also stands out in a big way. This matchup leans heavily his direction, since the Saints have allowed the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL with 11 through six weeks.
Warren has basically taken over this backfield while Rico Dowdle has been dealing with a toe injury. Even with Dowdle back in Week 6, Warren handled 14 carries, added four targets and played more than 74 percent of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps.
That kind of usage should stick in Week 7, especially with the Steelers giving him at least 10 carries in every game in 2026. The touchdown numbers have been modest so far - just two on the season - but the matchup is too good to ignore against a defense that ranks 32nd in EPA/Rush and is giving up 4.8 yards per carry.
Pat Freiermuth may be the cleanest value play of the Pittsburgh group. Rodgers hasn’t stretched the field much this season, and that has funneled more chances toward the red zone. He’s gone to tight ends like Freiermuth and Darnell Washington often, and Freiermuth has caught all five of his red-zone targets.
He already has four touchdowns in 2026, and the Saints have been vulnerable to tight ends, allowing the third-most receiving yards to the position at 455 along with three scores. With Pittsburgh banged up at receiver, Freiermuth could be in line for an even bigger role on Sunday.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
In Other News...
Saints Paris Game Could Decide How Hot Kellen Moores Seat Gets
The Saints trip to Paris carries more than international flair for Kellen Moore and a team still searching for traction. Against the Steelers, the result will be judged not just in the standings but in the broader conversation around a first-year coach trying to steady the locker room and establish trust. Owner Gayle Benson is the one voice that matters most in that equation, and this game has quickly become a marker for how much patience remains as the season moves forward.
A win would at least give the Saints something tangible to build on, while a loss would only intensify the noise around Moores future. The range of possibilities is wide because the stakes are so awkwardly high: one game in a marquee setting, a team still feeling its way, and a coach whose standing could shift dramatically depending on how this one plays out. For New Orleans, Paris is about more than a novelty showcase. It is the kind of stage that can shape how the rest of the season feels. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Paris Game Just Revived A Nightmare Fans Never Forgot
The NFLs assignment for the Saints game in Paris against the Steelers carries a familiar name for New Orleans fans, and not for a comforting reason. Bill Vinovich is set to work the matchup overseas, a notable call because the league had steered clear of putting him on Saints games in recent years, keeping an obvious distance from a memory that still lingers in the fan base.
For New Orleans supporters, the optics are hard to miss, even with the league trying to spread its product internationally. A Paris showcase is supposed to feel fresh and celebratory, but the referee assignment revives old frustration and puts an unwelcome spotlight back on a chapter the Saints would probably prefer stay buried. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Need These Young Players To Deliver In Paris
As the Saints get ready for a pivotal game against the Steelers in Paris, a few young players loom larger than usual on a stage that will draw plenty of attention. Barion Brown, Taliese Fuaga and Kool-Aid McKinstry all have paths to influence the game, and New Orleans needs that next wave of contributors to match the moment if it wants to come home with a win.
Browns recent play has given the Saints another intriguing option, while Fuagas assignment figures to be one of the tougher individual battles on the field. McKinstry also enters the matchup with plenty to prove after an uneven start and a brief exit from the last game, leaving New Orleans with some real questions about whether its young talent can stabilize under pressure in a setting unlike anything else on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]