PITTSBURGH - The Steelers’ international trip to Paris was supposed to be about the game itself. Instead, the officiating crew kept barging into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Pittsburgh and New Orleans were part of the NFL’s first contest in Paris, France, giving the crowd there its first look at live NFL action. It was the Steelers’ second straight year taking part in the league’s inaugural game in another country, after their win over the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland, in 2025. But this one is likely to be remembered less for the football than for the flags, whistles and long stretches of confusion from the officials.
From the opening series, the tone was off.
Aaron Rodgers went after DK Metcalf on a fade route toward the end zone, and the play turned into a hand-fighting battle with the Saints cornerback. The defender’s free hand appeared to tug on Metcalf’s chest plate, but no flag came.
Metcalf still got both hands up to try for the catch, and that gave the officials something to lean on after the fact. Even so, the standard one-on-one matchup with a hand on the receiver’s equipment is usually the kind of play that gets flagged.
Rodgers was understandably livid, and the crew’s day started on the wrong foot.
It wasn’t the only clear miss or questionable call. Late in the first half, Mason McCormick jumped on top of the pile after Germie Bernard picked up 20 yards, and the guard was flagged for joining too late. That one actually fits the league’s rules about eliminating dangerous pile-on plays, even if it doesn’t make for pretty viewing.
The uglier stuff came on the personal fouls.
Brandon Smith drew one while blocking a Saints defensive back and then getting into a post-play exchange. After the Saints player pushed him back, Smith responded by pushing his facemask into the defender’s. The contact looked more like a reaction than an escalation, and it was hard to see how that rose to the level of a flag.
The second half brought even more trouble. On the Saints’ first series, rookie guard Jeremiah Wright was penalized for personal foul while battling Keeanu Benton one-on-one and finishing the block to the ground. On the very next play, Payton Wilson was hit with a personal foul after tracking Alvin Kamara toward the sideline and forcing him out of bounds, with the two players falling into the Steelers’ bench.
None of those three fouls looked like personal fouls. They were ordinary football plays, and the crew missed badly on each one.
There was also a strange delay late in the third quarter. After Chase Young sacked Rodgers and forced Pittsburgh into a 39-yard field goal try, Chris Boswell had to wait several minutes before converting his third field goal of the day. The holdup came because the officials and the scoreboard operations team were out of sync, and Bill Vinovich had to stop the play more than once before the snap to fix the game and play clock.
For a game that should have been about a landmark NFL moment in Paris, the officiating became the story instead.
In Other News...
Aaron Rodgers Just Gave Steelers Fans A New History Debate
Aaron Rodgers added another layer to the rsum Sunday, and it came in a setting that already felt a little different for Pittsburgh. Against the Saints in Paris, the Steelers quarterback kept climbing the NFLs all-time lists, this time nudging past Peyton Manning in career touchdown passes and moving into third place as one of the most prolific passers the league has ever seen.
For Steelers fans, it is the kind of milestone that turns into a debate almost as quickly as it turns into a stat update. Rodgers is still chasing bigger ground in passing yards, and the Week 7 numbers now give Pittsburgh a clearer picture of where he sits in the broader history conversation, even if the next chapter in that climb is still waiting to be written. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Paris Game Will Feature A Look Fans Rarely See
The Steelers are set to bring a different look to Paris for their game against the Saints, blending a familiar road jersey with pieces fans do not often see together. Pittsburgh will pair its white road tops with black pants from the Color Rush set and black helmets, a combination meant to keep the team recognizable while giving the international stage something a little fresh.
Around the locker room, the change has already drawn notice from players such as Nick Herbig and Darnell Washington, who said the uniform stands out from the standard road outfit. For a franchise so closely tied to tradition, even a subtle tweak like this carries some weight, especially when it is being unveiled in a showcase game meant to introduce the Steelers to a wider audience. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Fans Had Every Reason To Be Furious Over This T.J. Watt Reversal
The early sequence of the Steelers game against the Saints had all the ingredients to send the home crowd into a fury. T.J. Watt came screaming off the edge and nearly turned a sack into a turnover, only for the play to go through review and come back in New Orleans favor. Pittsburgh also thought it had another takeaway when a forced fumble was initially ruled in its favor, only for officials to wipe it out after determining the ball carrier had gone to the ground first.
Those reversals made the turnover battle feel like a moving target for much of the night, even as Pittsburgh kept pressing for a break. The Steelers finally got one later when Payton Wilson picked off a pass from Saints quarterback Shough, giving the defense at least one clean takeaway after a stretch of frustration and second-guessing. [Read more 🡒]