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Pittsburgh Steelers hold off late Minnesota Vikings comeback in Dublin thriller
The Pittsburgh Steelers got their first overseas victory on Sunday afternoon when they managed to stop a late Minnesota Vikings comeback with a 24-21 win at Dublin's Croke Park.
The first NFL regular season game to be staged in the Irish capital looked like it was going to be a procession from the Steelers, but some fourth quarter magic from the Vikings made it nervy finish for the Steelers, who did not want to disappoint their legions of fans who made the trip to the Emerald Isle.
If Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had one too many pints of Guinness the night before, his hangover would not have been helped by the first snap of the game which saw him sacked by Vikings defensive lineman Jalen Redmond.
With Carson Wentz the stop gap for the Vikings under centre while JJ McCarthy recovers from an ankle injury, there was heavy reliance on the running game in the first quarter with the ball frequently being given to Jordan Mason. Getting into a groove, Mason thought he had fumbled on the Steelers 39-yard line with Jalen Ramsey picking up the loose ball and taking it to the endzone. A review by the officials then saw Ramsey’s touchdown run ruled out with the ball deemed dead after Mason touched it following his left knee being out of bounds.
The Vikings opened the scoring with a Will Reichard field goal before the Steelers replied with a touchdown courtesy of a 1-yard run by Kenneth Gainwell. Receiver DK Metcalf was making his physical presence felt early, registering 42 yards over three receptions.
The Vikings' offense continued to struggle in the second quarter, Wentz sacked once more, this time by Nick Herbig after a well worked pincer-like play which saw Herbig and TJ Watt swarm the outside of the Vikings offensive line.
Metcalf added another touchdown on to the scoreboard after connecting with Rodgers on a 80-yard touchdown pass with 12:27 remaining in the half. If it was not clear already, Metcalf was enjoying his time in Dublin with the touchdown taking him past the 100-yard mark for the game.
A 12-play drive for the Vikings ended abruptly after a Wentz pass was intercepted at the Steelers' 36 by DeShon Elliot. Rodgers and Co. made easy progress down the field, but a moment of chaos ensued at the Vikings 20-yard line. Rodgers, who comfortably made the first down with a run, fumbled as he was brought down, but lucky for him, lineman Broderick Jones was on hand to recover.
Following a second sack to Rodgers at the Vikings' 20 by Redmond, the Steelers attempted a field goal which was blocked, keeping the score at 14-3, and more importantly throwing the Vikings a lifeline in a game which felt like it was running away from them.
A 29-yard pass from Wentz to Justin Jefferson to the Steelers' 13 gave the Vikings a glimmer of hope in the first half’s final minute, but in the end had to settle for a second field goal to decrease the deficit to 14-6.
The third quarter was all about the Vikings QB Wentz, but for all the wrong reasons. First, he was sacked for third time barely two minutes in, Herbig and Keeanu Benton sharing the honours.
The Vikings offensive line continued to struggle against this fearsome Steelers defense, and with less than seven minutes remaining in the third, Wentz was sacked again on his own 48 and this time fumbled. Luckily for the Vikings, Will Fries dived on the ball in Steelers territory. Then in the next play, you guessed it, Wentz was sacked on the 50 before throwing an interception to TJ Watt who took the ball to the Vikings 35.
Now was the time for the Steelers to take advantage of a Vikings team in disarray and a three-play drive culminated in a four-yard punching touchdown run from Gainwell with 2:23 remaining in the third quarter. The Steelers registered a sixth sack before the third quarter’s end, again it was Benton who reached Wentz, whose time in the Irish capital was quickly becoming one to forget as the Steelers carried a 21-6 lead into the fourth.
The Steelers extended their lead with a 33-yard Chris Boswell field goal early in the fourth. Then the Vikings finally struck with their first touchdown.
For the first time in the whole game, Wentz managed to get past the Steelers defensive line, leaving him in plenty of space for a 16-yard pass to Zavier Scott with 7:50 remaining in the game. The Vikings added a successful two-point conversion courtesy of Wentz’s successful throw to Jalen Nailor to make it a 10-point game.
As the clock hurtled towards the two-minute warning, the Vikings needed a moment of magic, and they got it!
An 81-yard pass to Jordan Addison saw him charge towards the Steelers endzone before he was stopped by Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson. The Vikings managed to make this field position count, albeit in a stressful manner when a fourth and goal play ended in a touchdown courtesy of a two-yard pass from Wentz to Nailor. A successful Reichard extra point cut the gap three with the Steelers leading 24-21 with 2:08 remaining.
Clock management was the name of the game for the Steelers once the game entered the final two minutes, and Pittsburgh appeared to have messed up and were forced to punt on a four and out with one minute and eight seconds left in the game.
A Wentz pass intended for Nailor was initially intercepted by James Pierre before being ruled an incomplete pass as the game entered its final minute. The panic began to set in for the Steelers defense, which had been dominant all day with penalties for holding and defensive offside being called by the officials.
In the end, the Vikings were unable to get themselves in a scoring position and the Steelers ran out 24-21 winners at Croke Park.
With this win the Steelers move to 3-1, and top of the AFC North heading into a bye week, while the Vikings (2-2) will be hoping to bounce back from this loss next Sunday when they face the Cleveland Browns at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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