Steelers Top Saints, 20-10; Reaction To Clash Between Two Bad Teams

PITTSBURGH, PA — Here's what football writers across the country are saying about Sunday's game between the Steelers and the New Orleans Saints:

• Bryan DeArdo, CBS Sports: "Pittsburgh (3-6) played its best game of the season on both sides of the ball. The Steelers largely had their way with the Saints offense despite not having Minkah Fitzpatrick in the secondary. The Steelers offense put together the franchise's first 200-yard game since Le'Veon Bell ran for a franchise-record 239 yards in December 2016."

• Brooke Pryor, ESPN: "T.J. Watt's return made all the difference for the Steelers' defense in their 20-10 win over the New Orleans Saints for the team's third win of the season. Although Watt, who routinely drew extra attention by Saints blockers, didn't record a sack, he finished with four tackles and a quarterback hit."

• Luke Johnson, New Orleans Times Picayune: "The Steelers dominated. Pittsburgh had 28 first downs to the Saints' 10;ran for more yards (217) than the Saints entire offensive attack mustered (186); nearly doubled (38:56) the Saints (21:04) in time of possession; committed three penalties to the Saints' 10; did not turn it over while taking it away twice from the Saints."

• Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: "The Steelers saw a more confident Kenny Pickett after the bye, avoiding mistakes, running when needed and hitting on the big plays that become available. The defense also went back to being disruptive with T.J. Watt."

• Nick Shook, NFL.com: "The Saints aren't a good team, of course, but at 2-6 entering Sunday,Pittsburgh wasn't exactly feared, either. Thanks in part to T.J. Watt's return and opportunistic play from Pittsburgh's defense, the Steelers recorded their second win over an NFC South opponent in 2022."