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Saints Down 13-10 to Steelers at the Half. Our Halftime Studs & Duds

Saints riding the broad shoulders of their quarterback to make it close near the end of the half.
Doug Joubert|
Oct 23, 2026; Paris, France; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Barion Brown (19) Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Oct 23, 2026; Paris, France; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Barion Brown (19) Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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The New Orleans Saints are trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers at the half at the Stade de France, 13-10. Here is what we thought worked and what didn't.

The Studs

Tyler Shough

Despite no running game at all (see The Duds later), Saints quarterback Tyler Shough has put this team on his shoulders and carried them to 10-points in the first half.

Shough is 15-for-19 passing, 152-yards and that Devaughn Vele touchdown.

Barion Brown

You knew if the blocking was there, Saints return specialist Barion Brown would pop one. After the first touchdown of the game, the LSU alum proved you right.

And while he was at it, Brown and quarterback Shough displayed speed and accuracy on this deep bomb down field in the second quarter that led to a Saints field goal.

It's the longest play from scrimmage of the year for New Orleans.

The Duds

NFL Network Announcers

First, the announcers for the NFL Network said the crowd in Stade de France was heavily for the Steelers. Seriously?

In addition, the amount of incorrect speculation being done by the color announcers on this broadcast is mind-boggling. They guess at what an officiating call might be or why a coach might be making a particular call, and they are so wrong it's almost laughable.

If this is the best the NFL Network has to offer, they should try again.

Saints Run Offense

For the life of them, the Saints cannot run the ball. The offensive line is not opening the holes necessary to give running backs room to roam. First and goal inside the Steelers' five at the end of the 1st half and the team could not push the ball into the end zone in for a possible game-tying touchdown. After three rushing tries, it took a fourth-and-goal pass play to get the game knotted up.

If this team doesn't learn how to run the ball, quarterback Tyler Shough, who reportedly hurt his throwing hand in the 2nd quarter, will end up with more than two broken bones in his left hand.

Saints Run Defense

While the Saints offense cannot run the ball to save their lives, the Saints defense came into this game as one of the worst run defenses in the league, ranked 30th out of 32 teams.

Why do the Steelers even throw the ball? Just run Jaylen Warren every time. He's averaging almost 9-yards every time he rushes the ball and has almost 80-yards already.

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Doug Joubert
DOUG JOUBERT

Doug has been around Saints football since its inception. He was in Tulane Stadium when John Gilliam ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown in 1967. Though he was in attendance for the Tom Dempsey field goal in 1970, he left early, something he regrets to this day. He covered the Saints at their training camp in Ruston, Louisiana in 1985 while he was working in Monroe, Louisiana as an award-winning radio sportscaster. He was the host of the New Orleans Saints Pre-Game and Post-Game show on Sports 1280, WQUE in the early 1990s. Doug is also the publisher of the Tulane site for On SI.

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