Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
As the New Orleans Saints prepare to host the NFL’s first game in Paris on Oct. 25 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the venture, for all that’s new about it, isn’t foreign to the franchise.
While the Saints are no Jacksonville Jaguars, who have played more than 10 games in London throughout the NFL’s international initiative, they aren’t inexperienced with playing abroad either. The site may be a first, but the travel planning and logistics aren’t.
New Orleans has appeared in a trio of international games since the NFL launched its International Series, which was launched in 2007. In fact, the Saints hosted the second ever game of the series with a win over the Los Angeles Chargers in 2008.
Here are all of the Saints’ NFL International Series games and their results
- October 2, 2022: Saints lose to Vikings 28-25 (London)
- October 2, 2017: Saints beat Miami Dolphins 20-0 (London)
- October 26, 2008: Saints beat San Diego Chargers 37-32 (London)
The Saints hold a 2-1 record abroad with all of their games, thus far, being played in London. This year, New Orleans will again be the home team in their partner city, Paris. The Saints were awarded exclusive marketing rights in France via the league’s Global Markets Program in 2023. Italy was added to the team’s ledger during the 2026 offseason.
The Saints will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Paris in 2026. The game is set for Week 7 Sunday, Oct. 25 at 8:30 a.m. CT.
Requesting a Thursday night game for Week 6 would be a wise move, allowing the Saints to optimize their travel ahead of the Parisian matchup. It’s likely that there will be a long list of events leading up to the Oct. 25 game in which a number of Saints brass and players would be involved.
Being able to travel early would allow for some time before those events and would permit the Saints to practice in France leading up to the game, similar to how they approached the 2022 London game. A Thursday game would allow for much more turnaround time between the team’s travel and practices, which was a much tighter timeline in 2022.
Whether or not the NFL would entertain such a request will come to light as the NFL Schedule Release begins Thursday, May 14 at 7:00 p.m. CT.
