The NFL has checked another country off its bucket list.
For the first time ever, the league played a game in Ireland at Dublin’s Croke Park.
Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers held on to defeat Carson Wentz and the Minnesota Vikings, 24-21, after the Steelers surrendered 15 unanswered points to finish the fourth-quarter to make it a three-point margin.
Here are three takeaways from the Steelers-Vikings game:
1. Mike Tomlin keeps getting away with it
Just when you thought the Steelers might finally fade below mediocrity, they win two straight games behind an opportunistic defense. Sound familiar?
No matter the quarterback, head coach Mike Tomlin always puts his team in position to win games. The Steelers dropped to 1-1 with a discouraging Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, where their defense was among the worst in the NFL through two games.
Since then, they forced five turnovers in a road win over the New England Patriots and two in the Dublin win over the Vikings. After recording five sacks of Drake Maye last Sunday, Pittsburgh took down Carson Wentz six times in its latest win.
Rodgers set the tone early with a long touchdown to DK Metcalf and took care of the ball the rest of the way. His statline doesn’t stand out (18 for 22, 200 yards and a touchdown), but that mistake-free play is critical against a Brian Flores defense. Kenneth Gainwell, with Jaylen Warren out, carried the load in an impressive rushing performance (19 carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns).
2. The Vikings have a quarterback problem
J.J. McCarthy struggled in the first two weeks before being benched with an ankle injury. His backup Wentz was serviceable in Week 3 as the defense carried Minnesota to a blowout win, but his limitations were on full display Sunday.
Wentz went 30 for 46, 350 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, with many of his numbers coming in the fourth quarter while down multiple scores. Injuries across the offensive line didn’t help (backups at center, left guard and right tackle), but there’s a reason he’s started for six different teams in the last six years. Now 2-2, the Vikings have two quarterbacks on the roster that don’t look capable of keeping them in the playoff picture.
This all comes back to the Vikings’ decision to let Sam Darnold walk in free agency. The former first-round pick was terrific in Kevin O’Connell’s offense last season, leading the team to a 14-3 record. Now in Seattle, he has the Seahawks at 3-1 and looking like a legitimate division contender.
McCarthy, meanwhile was trusted as a 2024 first-round pick who missed last year due to injury — but another injury following his brief ineffective stint is making this choice look more and more like the wrong one.
3. DK Metcalf is just what Pittsburgh needed
Since Antonio Brown was traded after 2018, the Steelers have been searching for a WR1. It wasn’t JuJu Smith-Schuster, it wasn’t Diontae Johnson and it wasn’t George Pickens — who was traded last offseason.
Enter Metcalf, acquired in a trade with the Seahawks in March. It’s only been four games, but the two-time Pro Bowler is already proving his worth.
Metcalf had his best game of the season on Sunday, with five catches for 126 yards and an 80-yard touchdown. He’s scored in three of the Steelers’ four games and had 83 yards in the one game he didn’t reach the end zone. Most of the 50-50 balls that Rodgers throws his way end up in his hands, and the Steelers are designing plays to get him open space to run.
There’s still plenty of football to be played as September comes to a close, but Metcalf has been one of the best pickups of the season through the first month.