Saints are already seen as one of the Steelers' easiest matchups

It'll be the Pittsburgh Steelers joining the New Orleans Saints for the NFL's first game in Paris this October, but the Saints are already being seen as one of Pittsburgh's easiest matchups on the 2026 schedule. That's frustrating given how positively things have been moving for the Saints -- Tyler Shough built up some momentum down the stretch in 2025, and now he's been surrounded with weapons like first-round draft pick Jordyn Tyson.

At the same time, the Saints didn't show much to be wary of in their last meeting with the Steelers. At the time they were quarterbacked by Andy Dalton and languishing with Dennis Allen at head coach, which led to a rare win for first-round draft bust Kenny Pickett in Pittsburgh. But a lot has changed since then, and the Saints aren't a team to be overlooked, at least according to Andrew Vasquez over at Steelers Wire. Vasquez listed the Saints among the Steelers' easiest matchups this season with an important caveat.

"The Saints could be the wild card of the list, as they managed to snag one of the best wide receivers of the 2026 NFL Draft while also picking up talented free agents in David Edwards and Travis Etienne. It is difficult to overlook their 6-11 record in 2025, however, hence their placement on this list," Vasquez wrote.

In his defense, Vasquez listed the Cleveland Browns twice (once as an honorable mention), along with the . Pittsburgh's other games include five matchups with playoff teams, four tilts with Super Bowl contenders when and are healthy, and a couple of AFC South teams that seem to have gotten their acts together. That left the Saints and the rest of the NFC South, and of that group, the Saints did have the worst record last year. We'll find out if really was the weakest opponent out of that group when these two teams .