Photo via Fox News

NFL overcomes civil unrest, Trump concerns and calls to postpone as Steelers and Saints kick off in Paris

Read the original at Fox News ↗
Cite

Salguero, A. (2026, October 25). NFL overcomes civil unrest, Trump concerns and calls to postpone as Steelers and Saints kick off in Paris. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/nfl-overcomes-civil-unrest-trump-concerns-calls-postpone-steelers-saints-kick-off-paris

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-10-25 · by Armando Salguero

Quick Summary

The National Football League (NFL) proceeded with its first-ever regular-season game in Paris on Sunday, despite significant civil unrest in the city over the weekend and calls to postpone or relocate the event. The Pittsburgh Steelers faced the New Orleans Saints at Stade de France near full capacity, while security was heightened significantly. This decision came after President Donald Trump expressed concerns about safety, but the NFL maintained its stance that the game would go ahead as planned, reflecting the league's history of playing through challenging conditions.
Written by AI on 2026-10-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The New Orleans Saints lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-10 in the NFL's first regular-season game held in France on Sunday at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. Despite protests and unrest in Paris, the match proceeded as planned with heightened security measures. The Saints struggled with a paltry 18 yards rushing, contributing to their poor performance that leaves them with a 2-5 record for the season.

Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers of the Steelers moved past Peyton Manning on the all-time touchdown passing list during this game and threw one touchdown pass, bringing his career total to 540. The win secured the Steelers' third consecutive victory, improving their record to 5-2. Despite the successful outcome for Pittsburgh, concerns remain about the Saints’ performance, particularly their run game and overall team development under a young coaching staff. Coach Kellen Moore emphasized the need for evaluation and potential changes during their upcoming bye week. The match marked a historic moment in NFL history but also highlighted the logistical challenges of hosting an international game amidst civil unrest.

Written for “NFL Paris Game Controversy And Security” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 21 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 NFL Paris Game Controversy And Security
Sports · 22 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 11% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Independent
Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 59/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 5 of 33 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 34 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 39 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 44 claims Outlet record 64/100
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 37 claims Outlet record 66/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 37 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
2 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
22
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6257 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Armando Salguero
95 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The NFL said in a statement Saturday that it is reviewing the previously unreported allegations that Jacobs physically abused multiple women whose existence came to light amid the investigation into the May 23 incident that was well-chronicled.
🔮 The joke will be that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers set back the modern-day NFL offense by decades on Sunday by failing to complete even one pass, something which had happened only one other time during the Super Bowl era.
🔮 This is a breaking story and will be updated.
🔮 If the Ravens' worst fears about a dislocation or fracture become the situation they must navigate, Jackson will probably miss more than just the remainder of this game.
🔮 You may have a great offense, but you will not win a Super Bowl.
🔮 The Packers' interest, at whatever level that has reached, shows the team's willingness to move on from Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs, who is currently on their roster but has been a disappointment and something of a headaches because of his legal problems.
🔮 And as the most curious calls went against the Packers, it doesn't surprise that team's postgame media session was replete with a withering review of the poor officiating work – led by safety Xavier McKinney who called the officiating "bulls–t." This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
🔮 "Qu’un sang impur abreuve nos sillons" means "May impure blood water our furrows/fields."
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
Also by Armando Salguero
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 95 articles by Armando Salguero →

Topics

America France NFL Paris the United States

Subjects

NFL ORG · 11× France GPE · 5× OutKick ORG · 2× the United States GPE · 2× America GPE · 1× Miami GPE · 1× New Orleans Saints ORG · 1× Paris GPE · 1× pro-Palestine Muslims NORP · 1× the Pittsburgh Steelers ORG · 1×

Narrative

The intriguing thing about this game and the NFL's recent misadventure in London, where Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts flew approximately 11 hours roundtrip while battling a blood clot that got worse after the return flight home, is that more players have openly questioned the league's embrace of international games.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-25
🔮 And while the teams and players will tell the tale of this game, the story of how it remained as scheduled despite the surrounding violence is an equally compelling and perhaps controversial narrative.

Claims (19 extracted, 2 hedged)

After the wisdom of America's most popular sport was questioned over its insistence to play its first-ever game in France in the wake of a Saturday filled with protests and violence, the NFL kicked off inside Paris's Stade de France on Sunday. asserted
NFL → question → Sunday
So, we've learned a lesson: The league that played the fabled Ice Bowl in temperatures of minus-13°F, played the Fog Bowl in zero visibility, and played Super Bowl XXIII just days after riots in Miami, has a new a benchmark for playing despite difficult circumstances. asserted
that → learn → circumstances
Surrounded by a heavier security presence than perhaps any NFL regular-season game before, the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints kicked off just as the league planned for months at around 3:30 p.m. Paris time (9:30 a.m ET in the United States). asserted
league → surround → States
The game is being played in the wake of an exhausting Saturday in which a government estimated 110,000 protesters consisting of students, workers, farmers, socialists, communists, pro-Palestine Muslims, anarchists, Antifa and other radicals took to the streets to march, battle police, and cause civil unrest. asserted
protesters → play → unrest
And although that unrest forced the shuttering of Saturday's three official fan events planned by the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints, it didn't claim Sunday's game. Stade de France, approximately nine miles north of the Eiffel Tower, was near capacity at kickoff. It is unknown if the game has faced any credible security threats prior to kickoff. uncertain
game → force → kickoff
Emails to the league's security department and the Prefecture de Police de Paris have not been answered by publication time. asserted
Emails → answer → time
And while the teams and players will tell the tale of this game, the story of how it remained as scheduled despite the surrounding violence is an equally compelling and perhaps controversial narrative. asserted
it → tell → violence
The NFL is playing this first game in France after calls from pundits, at least one player's wife, and even the President of the United States to postpone or relocate. asserted
NFL → play → States
Paris Saint-Germaine rescheduled its Saturday match to Monday because of the unrest and that fed the chorus of voices calling for the NFL to do the same. asserted
NFL → reschedule → same
But when asked by OutKick if it still expected to play the game amid the postponement of the soccer match and the shuttering of its own pregame fan events, the NFL had a one word answer: "Yes." asserted
NFL → ask → answer
The NFL reached that decision even though President Donald Trump admitted he was "worried about it," and went on to admit, "I would've said the NFL could've probably postponed that match, if you want to know the truth." The NFL faced similar calls to back down throughout the past week. uncertain
NFL → reach → week
But the week was filled with the league officials saying they were moving ahead with the game, with the understanding it had contingencies for doing something else if necessary. asserted
it → fill → something
NFL executive vice president for Club Business and International Peter O'Reilly said last week the league was being "vigilant" about the situation in France but still confident the game would go forward. asserted
game → say → France
"We've got confidence in the plans both from an ops and security standpoint," he said. asserted
he → get → standpoint
That confidence was echoed by Commissioner Roger Goodell, who informed reporters that he had been in contact not just with the U.S. Department of State but with Secretary of State Marco Rubio himself. asserted
he → echo → Rubio
Rubio confirmed to OutKick that the U.S. Embassy and France believed the game would "be fine." asserted
game → confirm → OutKick
The intriguing thing about this game and the NFL's recent misadventure in London, where Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts flew approximately 11 hours roundtrip while battling a blood clot that got worse after the return flight home, is that more players have openly questioned the league's embrace of international games. asserted
players → fly → games
Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf was asked in France if there is a country he would like to play a next international game? asserted
he → ask → game
"No, sir," Metcalf said, "because I really don't like traveling outside the U.S. to play football." asserted
I → say → football
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support