Steelers vs. Saints: Three must-know storylines for NFL's first-ever Paris game

Bienvenue, NFL fans, to a new venue for American football.

The Stade de France will play host to the league's first game in France on Sunday, pitting the Pittsburgh Steelers against the New Orleans Saints, who are the sole team to own NFL marketing rights in the nation and represent a city with long ties to the country.

It was the French who established the city of "La Nouvelle-Orléans" in 1718 -- and ultimately sold it, as part of the Louisiana territory, to the United States in 1803 for just $15 million, a few million more than Alvin Kamara's 2026 cap hit. (Napoleon gets an F trade grade for that one.) Since then, the city has become a melting pot of French, Spanish, American, Caribbean and other cultures, bringing the world jazz, Creole cuisine, Mardi Gras and, of course, the Saints.

So closely has the city and its identity been aligned with French culture that the Saints' logo -- the fleur-de-lis -- was a symbol of the French monarchy. Somewhat fittingly, New Orleans has trained this week in Versailles -- not at the famous palace of Louis XIV of Bourbon (House, not Street), but close enough.

Pittsburgh isn't without French influence -- Fort Duquesne, built in the 18th century, was a French outpost until the end of the Seven Years' War -- but the Steelers will officially be the away team when they take the field Sunday. Mike McCarthy's squad chose to arrive later in the week than the Saints.

Stade de France -- the national stadium located in Saint-Denis, just outside the arrondissements of Paris -- is no stranger to major events. It hosted the 1998 World Cup final, which France won on home soil, and most recently athletics events and the closing ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

But it has never seen anything quite like an NFL game day.

Sunday's contest, a meeting of American and French cultures in the City of Light, is an event over 300 years in the making. By the end of Steelers-Saints, which franchise will always have Paris?

Three must-know storylines

1) Which Pittsburgh playmaker will perform in Paris? 

Aaron Rodgers is a household name among football fans. He'll be by far the most accomplished player to take the field at Stade de France on Sunday and is sure to command the most attention, akin to Cristiano Ronaldo drawing huge crowds around the U.S. this past summer in the World Cup. But like Ronaldo, Rodgers is in his 40s and isn't hitting the shots he used to in his younger years. His air-yards-per-attempt figures over the last two weeks have been below 4.2, which has limited his pressure rate (30.6% on the season, third-lowest among qualified passers) but also kept explosives at a minimum. Rodgers also ranks 29th in the NFL in EPA per drop back (-0.19), between the likes of Daniel Jones and Malik Willis.

In recent weeks, Rodgers has relied on his ball carriers and pass catchers to make plays -- mainly RB Jaylen Warren and rookie WR Germie Bernard, who is stepping up in an injury-riddled receiving corps. 

After a sensational Week 5 in which he was voted AFC Offensive Player of the Week, Warren saw his production decrease in Week 6 upon the return of Rico Dowdle from injury. Against a Saints defense that is among the league's worst against the run -- allowing a 45.3% success rate on designed runs, the highest rate in the NFL -- Warren is a prime candidate to make a name for himself in Paris. That is, if Pittsburgh leans on him.

Bernard has filled in nicely in place of injured receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson. He leads the NFL with 133 yards on underneath targets (less than 10 air yards) in the last two weeks, a good metric vs. a New Orleans defense that has allowed the fifth-most yards (845) and fifth-highest success rate (56.9%) on underneath throws in the league this season, per Next Gen Stats.

DK Metcalf remains an obvious target, especially after a season-high 11 catches in Week 6, as do fellow big bodies Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, but if Pittsburgh's offense continues to play small ball, Warren and Bernard will be the ones to watch.

2) Can Shough, Saints survive Steelers defense?

There are few more boom-or-bust quarterbacks in the NFL this season than Tyler Shough. The second-year Saints starter is tied with MVP candidates Josh Allen and Brock Purdy for third in the NFL with 14 offensive touchdowns, adding four in last week's win over the Giants. But Shough is also a giveaway machine, tied for fourth with eight. 

Which Shough will we see in Paris? If T.J. Watt, Jalen Ramsey and Pittsburgh's defense have their way, it'll be the latter. 

The Steelers are tied for third in the league with 10 takeaways this season, while the Saints, largely thanks to Shough, are tied for the third-most giveaways with 12. In games between inconsistent teams, turnover margin is often the difference, and given this imbalance, it may be Pittsburgh's day in Paris.

It doesn't help New Orleans that Shough's struggles through the air align with Pittsburgh's strengths. Shough has thrown five picks against zone coverage this season, tied for second-most, while the Steelers have played zone on 82.8% of opponent dropbacks, the seventh-highest rate in the NFL, and five of their six interceptions have come in zone.

The Saints QB better be in the zone on Sunday, or Pittsburgh will punish the passer.

3) Last licks for Loomis era?

Ahead of the Saints' entrée into France this week, team owner Gayle Benson laid down the gauntlet for her then-1-4 team: "I will not accept this level of performance as our standard."

That was as strong a statement as we've heard from Benson on the state of the franchise in some time. It has been taken as a warning to second-year coach Kellen Moore but especially longtime executive Mickey Loomis that things need to turn around in New Orleans -- or else, like in the French Revolution, heads may roll.

Loomis, who has been in his GM role in New Orleans for a quarter-century now, said Wednesday that he likes the direction of the team under Moore, Shough and others, despite New Orleans' aging roster and poor performance thus far.

The Saints responded to Benson's shot across the bow last Sunday by turning a 10-0 deficit against the Giants into a 34-10 lead and then scaringly hanging on for a far narrower 34-27 victory.

A rousing win in the organization's designated global market would be a boon for Loomis and Moore in making their case that the current structure is delivering at home and abroad. But if the Saints fall to 2-5 on this grand stage heading into their bye, the New Orleans brass might have exile in their future.