Pittsburgh Steelers Vs New Orleans Saints: Another Trap Game?
By Lori Paddock
The Steelers history against the New Orleans Saints franchise is not an extensive one. According to Steelers.com, since 1967 the two have faced each other in 14 regular season games and the wins and losses are even: 7-7. However, the NFC South is abysmal this year with many wondering if that division champion will even have a winning record.
The Saints are 4-7 and are second in their division. Conversely, the Steelers are 7-4 with virtually no separation between the AFC North teams. The Saints’ road record is terrible too: only one win out of the five road games played so far. Odds would favor the Steelers, right? So, is this one of those so-called “trap games?”
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I used to scoff at the thought of “trap games” or “playing down to the competition.” However, after the last three years or so, I have to wonder. Do the Steelers take their foot off the gas if they think the opponent is having a bad year?
The New Orleans Saints were predicted to be much stronger, but it hasn’t materialized for them. Drew Brees is about as scrappy a quarterback as there is and has pulled wins out by sheer force it seems, but not this year. However, I don’t think you can ever underestimate the combined power of Brees with Sean Payton and I hope the Steelers don’t.
I don’t want to believe in trap games, but I can’t explain the poor play against the poor teams either. The Saints don’t seem to be clicking and I hope that is to the Steelers advantage.
I root for the Steelers no matter what, but for this game in the back of my mind I think: Yeah, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets are poor teams this year too and they don’t have a Drew Brees under center. Look what happened there. Ugh, that loss to the Jets still stings.
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So, can the historical numbers tell us anything? Perhaps among the division teams. But they rarely help when the teams don’t face each other often.
However, it is interesting that the wins and losses are even in the regular season games over the last nearly 50 years. More importantly: the last time these two teams played was in 2010 and it was in the Superdome. The Saints came out on top in the 20-10 match-up. Interesting tidbit: the last New Orleans score in the game was to WR Lance Moore, which sealed the victory.
Lance Moore, Lance Moore,….is that the Lance Moore who is number 16 with the Steelers now? Yup. Let’s hope he can get the touchdown to put the game away for the Steelers this time. And let’s hope this whole “trap game” thing is only a myth, right?