Pittsburgh Steelers @ New Orleans Saints
Final Score: Steelers 16, Saints 10
Writer: Kevan Downs (kdsportsnet on Instagram)
Two Up
- Jaylen Warren — Fears of Rico Dowdle coming back and taking too many of Warren’s touches have been greatly exaggerated. While still in a split, Warren saw 18 carries and had his normal couple catches in the passing game. He’s explosive, breaking one off for a game-long 29 yards, and nearly always turns his touches into positive yardage.
- Rico Dowdle — Despite Warren leading in touches out of this backfield (21-15), Dowdle still got his. He saw a little more action in the passing game, leading to some weekly PPR upside, while also getting his rushing touches, although a handful of his nine did come near the end of the game when the Steelers were trying to wind down the clock.
Three Down
- DK Metcalf — After some quick early targets, Metcalf still only finished with six while only catching two. He and Aaron Rodgers have still not demonstrated much of a connection this season and if the offense can stay flowing through the running backs, Metcalf likely won’t see the volume needed to outweigh the lack of chemistry.
- Germie Bernard — After a couple hot weeks and being a desired waiver target, Bernard found himself seeing only five targets in this one, similar to the rest of the receiver group, due to the running back duo. His remainder of the season may be more inconsistent than hoped after seeing his potential with Rodgers over the last two weeks, but still remains a flex-worthy option.
- Kendre Miller — First sitting behind Travis Etienne Jr., now ceding touches to Alvin Kamara. Miller had nothing going for him on the ground in this game and limited passing work.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers: 19/30, 212 Yards, 1 TD | 3 Carries, 6 Yards
Notes
- The Saints’ defense put pressure on Rodgers a lot in this game, but looking a little like vintage Rodgers, he was very good at avoiding the rush, scrambling to extend the play, finding a receiver in the scramble drill, or putting it in the dirt to live to fight another down. He even ran for a crucial first down late in the game to convert a third-and-6.
RODGE KEEPER‼️ @AaronRodgers12 pic.twitter.com/jg7ooqNPaY
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2026
- Unlike vintage Rodgers, he had a couple poor throws in this game. While a handful of his incompletions game from throwaways, just a many came from poor throws that did not give the receiver a chance to make a play.
Missed Opportunities
- Rodgers missed on most of his deep balls in this game, only connecting on one to DK Metcalf where he got tackled at the 4-yard line.
Running Back
Jaylen Warren: 18 Carries, 101 Yards | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 36 Yards
Notes
- “Jaylen Warren for 3 yards, for 29 yards, for 9 yards, for 5 yards, for 7 yards.” All this man does is run forward and churn out positive plays. He was also able to bounce a couple inside zone runs to the outside once he saw he had nothing available to him up the middle, and turn those into larger gains too.
Biiig gains 💪 @Nunless2 pic.twitter.com/jeVaFcPWA2
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2026
Missed Opportunities
- In the Steelers’ lone goal-line opportunity, Dowdle got the first carry, then Rodgers threw to Darnell Washington for the touchdown, leaving Warren without a goal-line attempt on the day.
Rico Dowdle: 9 Carries, 41 Yards | 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 45 Yards
Notes
- Ever since Week 3, the Steelers’ offense has lived and died with the run game. While Dowdle was banged-up, it was all Warren. You had one camp saying it was a sure thing Dowdle was going to eat into his touches, possibly commanding more than 50% of the backfield touches, while others thought no way do Warren’s touches would decrease with how well he’d been playing. Well, turns out it looks like it will fall somewhere down the middle of the two extremes, of course. Warren still got about 60% of the backfield touches, but with how effective Warren and Dowdle have been, it looks like there just may be enough for the both of them to flourish. Dowdle was most effective in his pass-catching work, turning short dumps into larger gains after the catch. Dowdle did get three of his rushes and one catch on the last drive of the game, so the Steelers are still relying on Warren to keep the offense moving over most of the game, but Dowdle is worth a hold as a possible PPR fill in if he can keep up getting three or four catches per week, or a high-upside handcuff should anything happen to Warren.
Missed Opportunities
- Following the big Metcalf reception, the Steelers found themselves at the 4-yard line. Instead of having that closer opportunity, they got pushed back 5 yards off a delay-of-game penalty. Dowdle still got the first carry of their first-and-goal situation, running it down to the 4, then, on the ensuing play, Washington caught the touchdown pass.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
DK Metcalf: 6 Targets, 2 Receptions, 56 Yards
Notes
- Metcalf got a couple targets early, giving the illusion that they may be trying to force the ball his way a little to try to build some rhythm, but his day ended as usual, with not enough target volume and inefficient catch rate on the targets he did get. He and Rodgers did connect for one big catch for 51 yards, but they were unable to connect on the other handful of deep passes sent his way.
Going looooooong @dkm14 pic.twitter.com/ovFMTE53R5
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2026
Missed Opportunities
- On his 51-yard catch, Metcalf was unfortunately in a position where he couldn’t do much after the catch to try to extend the play for those last couple yards to reach the end zone.
- Metcalf and Rodgers missed on a couple deep balls, leaving a lot of unrealized air yards in this one.
Germie Bernard: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 27 Yards
Notes
- Bernard still plays most offensive snaps, and ran just as many routes as DK. On days where the run game isn’t quite as dominant, I would definitely expect Bernard to see more targets. When Rodgers did pass in this game, he was far better on shorter and intermediate routes as opposed to the downfield routes, which is where Bernard will excel. He will likely see some inconsistency week to week as his targets might be more script-orientated than hoped, but if the run game doesn’t have the same juice, and the opposing offense is scoring more, the opportunities will be there for Bernard.
Missed Opportunities
- Like with DK, Bernard and Rodgers just missed on some throws further down the field. I am still far more bullish on Bernard than I am Metcalf as he plays just as many snaps as Metcalf, and has demonstrated some level of chemistry with Rodgers, lending to some PPR upside.
Darnell Washington: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards, 1 TD
Notes
- While playing more snaps than fellow tight end Pat Freiermuth, Washington only saw one target. He made the most of it, housing a touchdown, but most of the day he was in to block, which worked wonderfully for Warren and Dowdle.
BALL UP TOP @_Dwfootball11 pic.twitter.com/JMkbZiZ3ry
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2026
Pat Freiermuth: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards
Notes
- Freiermuth played fewer snaps this week than Washington, largely in part due to the run game success and wanting blockers out there for them, furthermore, the Steelers even played some snaps with an extra lineman out there, eating even more into Pat’s snaps. He ran routes on the majority of snaps he played, but the overall snap share leaves him as a lower-ceiling option at the tight end position.
Brandon Smith: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 24 Yards
Activated off the practice squad for this one as Ben Skowronek was ruled out. He played less than half of the offensive snaps as the Steelers play a lot of two-TE sets with Washington and Freiermuth.
New Orleans Saints
Quarterback
Tyler Shough: 30/38, 278 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | 3 Carries, 7 Yards
Notes
- Shough seemed very aware of the presence of the elite pass rush of the Steelers. He ended the day with only 278 yards despite throwing the ball 38 times largely due to needing to get rid of the ball quick. The Steelers didn’t even send in a blitz until the fourth quarter, just their normal pass rush was able to be that disruptive to that point. Despite the rush, he was able to stay mostly clean during this game only being sacked twice.
- The run game had absolutely nothing in this game so the entire offense relied on Shough and his ability to pass. While he was efficient going 30-of-38, too often drives would get stalled off poor run plays and pass plays not going for enough yards as they didn’t have enough time to allow for longer developing routes.
Missed Opportunities
- *Near-missed opportunity: early in the game, it looked like T.J. Watt successfully stripped the ball when the Saints were nearing the goal line. The play was ultimately overturned but the offense still only got a field goal.
- Again, nearing the goal line, Shough attempted a pass to Chris Olave on a quick out route, seeing Olave work those fast developing routes all day, Peyton Watson read Shough perfectly and jumped the route for the interception.
Running Back
Alvin Kamara: 6 Carries, 5 Yards | 7 Targets, 7 Receptions, 57 Yards
Notes
- Little bit of vintage Kamara in this one out of the backfield, only on passing downs, however. The Saints’ run game was nonexistent, with Kamara and Miller averaging less than a yard per carry. They had trouble dealing with the Steelers’ defensive front, ending the day with six tackles for loss.
- If and when Travis Etienne Jr. returns, I expect Kamara to be the back who retains most of his current value, as the bulk of his work will come out of the passing game which Etienne didn’t see much action in when healthy to begin with.
Missed Opportunities
- Kamara took a reception down to the Pittsburgh 2-yard line, just narrowly missing the end zone. In the ensuing goal line stance, he did not get a chance to punch it in.
Kendre Miller: 8 Carries, 6 Yards | 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 22 Yards
Notes
- What an awful game for Miller. Averaging less than 1 yard per carry going into the bye week when Etienne will be eligible to return from IR.
Missed Opportunities
- On third-and-goal from the 1, Miller was unable to score the touchdown. On the initial play, it was ruled that he fumbled, recovered by the Steelers, before being overturned.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Devaughn Vele: 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 54 Yards, 1 TD
Notes
- Not a high target share day for Vele, but he made the most of it. While Shough and Miller kept missing the goal line, Vele was able to capitalize on soft goal-line coverage by the Steelers and make for an easy touchdown reception on a quick out to the left of the formation.
Shough – Vele: TOUCHDOWN SAINTS!
📺: NFL NETWORK pic.twitter.com/XfvrGb9qc4
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 25, 2026
Chris Olave: 10 Targets, 6 Receptions, 56 Yards
Notes
- Another quieter week for Olave after a high-flying start to the season. He’s been working the shorter, developing routes, which makes for some good PPR potential, but also means more chances for lower yards-per-catch weeks. This one was no different. Shough was finding him short, some quick out type routes, he converted a first down off of mesh. Although later in the game, the defense started to recognize the routes, and Peyton Wilson was able to perfectly jump one of his routes for the interception. Throughout the game, Shough seemed very aware of the potential of the Steelers pass rushers to get to him quick, and therefore, was trying to get rid of the ball quick, leading to more of these shorter route concepts.
We'll be taking that 😏 @payton_wilson21 pic.twitter.com/SPSaIHFNGT
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2026
Barion Brown: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 57 Yards
Notes
- Brown didn’t play much in this one, only on the field for 12 snaps, but saw a target on one-fourth of those snaps, finishing with a quality 57 yards for his limited work. Given his low snap count, he shouldn’t be expected to see much of anything in future weeks.
Juwan Johnson: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 7 Yards
Noah Fant: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards
Notes
- Fant and Johnson have reached a near even split of snaps and it doesn’t bode well for either of their values. Johnson still ran double the amount of routes that Fant did, but ended the day with only one more target to show for it. A troubling trend for Johnson following such a promising start over the first couple weeks. Based on his recent target volume and decreasing snap counts, he can safely be a drop.