The New Orleans Saints used a forced fumble to ignite their first scoring drive and they trail the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-7 at halftime in the third game of preseason Friday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Cornerback Delvin Breaux forced the Le'Veon Bell fumble and linebacker Dannell Ellerbe recovered it. Quarterback Drew Brees took over, leading the Saints on a 78-yard drive that was capped by an amazing 17-yard touchdown catch by Willie Snead IV. The ball was knocked out of Snead's hands with a hard hit but he maintained concentration and grabbed as it came back to him.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a strong first half for Pittsburgh, completing 12 of 17 passes for 148 yards with two touchdown passes (57 yards to Antonio Brown and five yards to Jesse James). Landry Jones added an 8-yard touchdown pass to Sammie Coates late in the second quarter.

Brees was pulled late in the second quarter after completing 9 of 12 passes for 78 yards. Snead was his top target with four catches for 58 yards while running back C.J. Spiller had four carries for 20 yards. Luke McCown played the rest of the second quarter.

Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui and left tackle Terron Armstead also left the game in the first half.