Photo: steelers.com
On Sunday, two storied National Football League franchises will go head to head at historic Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland just 12 years after they faced off at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings are 2-1 entering the game. The Steelers don’t want an international loss like they were handed by the Vikings previously. The Vikings would love to play spoiler overseas once again. We look at important storylines for this NFL matchup.
See you soon Dublin @CalvinAustinIII | @AerLingus pic.twitter.com/KvoOOrkeiV
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 26, 2025
Veteran quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Carson Wentz have experience and some history. In Week 13 (2020), the two faced each other in a game that was the beginning of the end for Wentz in Philadelphia (replaced by Eagles QB Jalen Hurts during the game). Rodgers, with the Green Bay Packers, led the offense in a 30-16 victory.
In Kevin O’Connell‘s offense, Wentz was asked to relieve J.J. McCarthy due to injury in Week 3 and threw two touchdown passes in a blowout of the Cincinnati Bengals. He had help from a Vikings defense that created takeaways and scored. Wentz’s biggest target remains receiver Justin Jefferson, but Jordan Addison looks to factor in this coming Sunday.
In his first three games in Arthur Smith’s offense, Rodgers has dealt with some adversity in communication along the offensive line, but is ranked second in the NFL with seven passing touchdowns. That the Steelers’ leading receiver entering Week 4 is running back Jaylen Warren is a bit concerning. D.K. Metcalf will likely draw a majority of the attention from a stingy Vikings defensive backfield, so Rodgers will need to remain calm under pressure while selecting targets and push the ball downfield.
Pittsburgh is coming off of a five turnover and five sack performance. They’ll need to play bigger than they did against the New England Patriots this weekend. That starts with the defensive front.
Jordan Mason stepped in for the Vikings due to an injury to Aaron Jones in Week 3 and ripped off 116 yards on 16 carries for two touchdowns against the Bengals. The Steelers have allowed 139.3 rushing yards per game through three weeks. To make the Vikings more dimensional, Pittsburgh will need Cameron Heyward‘s veteran leadership to help rookies Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black get big in the gaps and stop the run. The Steelers need to keep the edges sealed as well, requiring stiffer sideline to sideline play from their interior linebackers when T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig are set loose to pressure Wentz.
In the pregame podcast from Dublin, Joe Kuzma and Brian E. Roach broke down a great preview of the upcoming game, asking whether the Steelers need some of that luck o’ the Irish. The Steelers, designated as the “home” team, need to play as if that is the case.
Pittsburgh’s offense has sputtered on and off through three games with consistency and continuity of drives. If the offensive line can limit penalties while improving on the zero sacks they allowed last week, there is a chance for Rodgers to orchestrate some magic.
Finding a way to unlock the run game could be the very thing that helps them create positive momentum in front of fans on the Emerald Isle. In their lone loss, the Vikings were gashed in the ground game (by the Atlanta Falcons). Warren has been the workhorse, but Kenneth Gainwell getting more snaps would be a way to get the crowd into the action.
Kenneth Gainwell doing THIS on somebody’s fantasy football bench… #HereWeGo
— Bodog (@BodogCA) September 21, 2025
Gainwell has added a spark as a receiver, at times, as well this season. Paired with Warren, and possibly Trey Sermon on situational downs, the Steelers adding more RPOs mixed with ground and pound has the potential to slow the Vikings defense down and set up better matchups in the receiving game.
Defensively, the Steelers need to let “Renegade” play in their minds for the full 60 minutes of field time. Turnovers would be a difference-maker, but improvement in tackling would be the best way to dominate the Vikings. They enter the game with a missed tackle total of 28. Clean that up and add some tackles for a loss and the black and gold won’t need luck.
