Steelers at Saints
In a city in which the hangover has become part of its lore, the local pro football team is enduring a head-splitting one.
The defending champion Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints will be looking to shake off its season-long malaise when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night at the Louisiana Superdome.
A stunning home loss (30-17) to the Cleveland Browns last week, coming off a wretched performance two weeks earlier in a 30-20 defeat at Arizona, have ratcheted up the "what's wrong" questions with the Saints (4-3).
Many observers are attributing New Orleans' struggles to a Super Bowl hangover, a notion that gains added relevance with the Steelers coming to town.
Pittsburgh won Super Bowl titles following the 2005 and 2008 seasons, and on both occasions failed to land a spot in the playoffs the following year.
That's the path the Saints are currently stumbling down - and a visit by the Steelers doesn't bode well for a reversal of the home team’s fortunes.
Pittsburgh (5-1) sits atop the AFC North and is tied with the New England Patriots for the best record in football. That the Steelers have started off so well with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sitting out the first four games due to a league-mandated suspension speaks volumes to their level of play.
Defense again is in vogue in the Steel City, with Pittsburgh allowing an NFL-low 82 points through six games.
Having Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu healthy has been an enormous factor for the defense, which lost defensive end Aaron Smith for an indefinite period with a torn triceps suffered in last week's 23-22 win in Miami.
The one positive the Saints can glean from facing the Steelers is that their defense is especially stingy against the run, allowing a league-low 63.7 yards per game.
New Orleans’ rushing attack has been a non-factor for much of the season, with injuries to running backs Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush playing major factors.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees is still piling up numbers – he’s third in the league with 2,029 yards and has tossed an NFL-high 14 touchdowns – but he’s been intercepted 10 times already, one short of his entire season total from 2009.
Brees went to the air 56 times and was picked off four times in last week’s stunning loss to Cleveland. Two of those interceptions were brought back for touchdowns by Browns linebacker David Bowens.
The reigning Super Bowl MVP needs to get untracked against a Pittsburgh defense that is vulnerable through the air, ranking 24th in the league by allowing an average of 235.7 yards per game.
Brees’ counterpart looks like he hasn’t missed a snap this season. Roethlisberger has thrown for 559 yards with five touchdowns and one interception in his first two games.
The Steelers got a break last week when Roethlisberger fumbled into the end zone late in the game vs. the Dolphins. The play, originally ruled a touchdown, was overturned on replay but officials could not decipher who recovered the ball.
Pittsburgh maintained possession and Jeff Reed kicked a go-ahead field goal with 2:26 remaining to keep the Steelers unbeaten on the road at 3-0.