The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to grab a win over in Paris, France in Week 7 as the team beat the New Orleans Saints. It was a defensive game as the Steelers won by a score of 16-10, and there are some clear things that the offense is going to have to work on moving forward. Red zone efficiency is probably at the top of the list as the team went one for three on meaningful possessions inside the Saints' 20-yard line. However, the defense's performance from Sunday should be celebrated. The secondary played well enough, while the front shut the run game down for New Orleans.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Gabriel Rubio arrives for Pittsburgh's Week 7 game in 2026 against the New Orleans Saints in Paris, France.
The defensive front for Pittsburgh is something that has been in question over the last couple of weeks due to some injuries that have occurred. Second-year defensive tackle Derrick Harmon went down back in Week 4 against the Cleveland Browns, and he was placed on Injured Reserve (IR) the following week. He was a big reason the Steelers had some success in stopping the run during the 2025 season, so his injury obviously caused some worry. Ahead of Pittsburgh's game against the Saints, it was reported that Sebastian Joseph-Day would be placed on IR, which means the Steelers were down two important interior defensive linemen.
Despite the losses up front, Pittsburgh held the Saints to just 18 yards rushing, and the Steelers also recorded two sacks, and had multiple balls batted down at the line of scrimmage. The defensive line played great, and Gabriel Rubio stepped up when it came to stopping the run, which was noted by beat writer Gerry Dulac during a recent appearance on The DVE Morning Show.
"Gabe Rubio, Mike and I thought this on the pregame, Max Starks as well, he's not real pretty," Dulac said. "But man, he gets in the way. He has a knack for kind of finding the ball, but to your point, yeah they're down two guys. They held them to 18 yards on 17 carries, I just went back and looked that's the second-fewest rushing yards by an opponent in the last 11 years. That was a team that just came off 175 yards the week before, their ability to stuff the run was very impressive."
New Orleans ran for 175 yards in Week 6 against the New York Giants, which shows that the offense is capable of running the football efficiently. The Steelers and Rubio just did not allow that to happen on Sunday.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio kneels on the playing surface while the team gets together for stretching prior to a 2026 training camp practice at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Rubio was more of a questionable draft pick as the organization selected him in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Not many people had heard of him as he dealt with injuries in his final season at Notre Dame. He has proven that the pick was a good one, even though he started the year as a healthy scratch. The rookie has played in the last three games for the Steelers, and against New Orleans he recorded two tackles while playing just 14 defensive snaps. He isn't a flashy player, but he clogs up running lanes well.
Steelers Set To Get Derrick Harmon Back Soon
Harmon initially suffered his injury in Week 4 and was placed on IR afterwards, so he has already missed three games. After Pittsburgh's Week 8 matchup with the Browns the second-year defender will have missed the minimum amount of games to return for IR. It is unclear if he will be ready to return after the bye week, but it is certainly a possibility. Joseph-Day has only missed one game, so he will miss the game against the Browns and then the next three weeks at least. Rubio certainly has played well enough to potentially remain active once Harmon returns.
What do you think about Rubio's performance so far? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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