Steelers-Saints Preview: Big, but Not Easy for New Orleans

In a battle of the last two Super Bowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers look to remain alone atop the AFC North with a win over the New Orleans Saints this Sunday at the Superdome.

The Steelers have not traveled to New Orleans since 2002, when they lost 32-39. Meanwhile, the last time these two teams met was in Pittsburgh in 2006, with the Steelers stealing a 38-31 win behind Ben Roethlisberger’s three touchdowns.

At this juncture, these are two teams heading in decidedly different directions.

The Steelers are coming off a controversial win at Miami in which Roethlisberger fumbled on the goal line, and despite replay determining that he in fact fumbled before crossing the goal line, it could not be determined who recovered the football. Thus, the Steelers kept the ball inside the 1-yard-line.

Trailing 22-20 at the time, they would go on to take the lead with an 18-yard Jeff Reed field goal. They went on to win, 23-22.

The Saints, on the other hand, are coming off a 30-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns, a game the Saints were never really in at all.

Drew Brees had a horrific performance, tossing four interceptions, while the running game never got going, mounting just 58 yards against the league’s 19th-ranked run defense.

The Saints fell to 4-3, and those three losses not only include that loss to the lowly Browns, but a 30-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals win Week 5 as well.

Now, they’re out to prove that their Super Bowl hangover will be short-lived, and a win over the Steelers could turn the Saints’ season around, as they get the 1-5 Panthers in Week 9 before their bye in Week 10.

But they’ll have to do it with defense.

The Saints pass defense is currently third in the league, allowing 179.7 yards per game. This will come in handy against Roethlisberger, who, in his two games after coming back from suspension, has thrown five touchdowns and just one pick with a 122.4 quarterback rating.

Meanwhile, the Saints have committed 14 turnovers in their last five games, in which they’re 2-3, and it doesn’t get any easier against the Steelers’ top-ranked scoring defense at 13.7 points per game.

However, part of the Steelers’ plus-eight turnover ratio is pressure on the quarterback, and defensive end Aaron Smith was lost for perhaps the season with a torn triceps in last Sunday’s win. Additionally, LaMarr Woodley and Brett Keisel are also nursing injuries and are still question marks, so the Saints may be catching the Steelers defense at just the right time. 

Key Players

Saints: Saints Running Backs

Whether it’s Chris Ivory, Ladell Betts or Julius Jones, someone has to bring some kind of balance to the Saints offense if they wish to keep the Steelers defense guessing. The last thing the Saints need is to become predictable against the league’s top scoring defense, which happens to be one of the hardest-hitting units as well.

Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger

Get a lead early and make the Saints beat you with the passing game, something I never thought I‘d hear anyone say. It’s not likely that Brees will have another off day like last Sunday, so if Big Ben can shoot it out with Brees, the Steelers should be in good position to improve to 6-1.

The Saints host the Steelers in the "battle of the Super Bowl hangovers" at the Superdome at 12 p.m. CDT Sunday.

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