The luck of the Irish was with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday as they staved off a comeback effort from the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Dublin, Ireland.
The Vikings trailed 24-6 early in the fourth quarter but rallied to end the game with a slim three-point margin.
“I thought the guys battled to the very end of the football game,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters after the loss Sunday.
Sports Illustrated tallied sacks, turnovers and injuries as among the “biggest killers” for Minnesota.
“This was a 24-6 game early in the fourth that got very dicey for the Steelers down the stretch,” Sports Illustrated’s Will Ragatz wrote. “The Vikings drove 70 yards to score their first touchdown of the day on a Zavier Scott toe-tap reception midway through the final quarter. Then, after a stop on fourth down near their goal line, the Vikings got an 81-yard Jordan Addison reception on a blown coverage and eventually a Jalen Nailor touchdown catch to make it a three-point game.”
Incredibly lucky to lose by only 3 haha!
Just goes to show this team is NEVER out of a game. Even with injuries, slow starts, bad/confusing play calling, opponents clutching out on crucial snaps, etc.
They’ve gone into the 4th quarter of all 4 games this season with a chance…
— Keaton (@keatwins7) September 28, 2025
The coach said the blocked field goal was “big” and the team’s last touchdown gave them a chance even after trailing earlier in the game.
“You’re just never gonna see this team quit,” he said. “They’re going to play till the very end against a good team. We just didn’t do enough things to overcome either our own execution or the injuries or whatever. I don’t really look at anything other than we’ve got to improve and continue to grow as a team.”
ISAIAH RODGERS BLOCKS THE FIELD GOAL
WHAT CAN’T THIS KID DO??pic.twitter.com/fKz8xNR2RM
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 28, 2025
A Forbes headline summed up the team’s struggles to overcome a slew of injuries, including a probable MCL injury right tackle Brian O’Neill suffered during Sunday’s loss: “Offensive Line Injuries Are Ruining Vikings Plans For Success Again.”
This is so depressing. #vikings pic.twitter.com/6aTOs3LPkA
— Ali Siddiqui (@asiddiqui15) September 28, 2025
The Vikings Territory website cited injuries as a key reason for troubles on the Vikings’ offensive line and pointed out the Minnesota team lost the “turnover battle” 2-0.
Despite the loss, Vikings Territory also noted a brighter moment in the game: “Zavier Scott scored his first NFL touchdown, which was sweet because nobody knew (who) he was a few months ago or if he’d earn a spot on the regular season roster.”
In a mailbag of fan reactions posted to the Vikings’ site, one fan who took in the game from Dublin wrote, “The score was not indicative of the game. Six points through three quarters. Six. You can’t run that way. You also can’t win with turnovers and reckless personal foul penalties. Very uncharacteristic.”
There’s no lack of Vikings-Steelers stuff on the streets of Dublin pic.twitter.com/qkNmVeUXKo
— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) September 25, 2025
The Vikings are undoubtedly hoping for a better result when they play their next game, this one in London. The back-to-back stint of games abroad will make the Vikings the first NFL team to play in two foreign countries in the same season, according to BBC.
Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson told reporters after Sunday’s game it was “super tough to come away with a loss.”
“But this group will bounce back,” he said.
Steelers and Vikings fans aren’t messing around in Dublin ???? pic.twitter.com/ysflUjWkWs
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) September 28, 2025
Julia Burdelski is a TribLive reporter covering Pittsburgh City Hall and other news in and around Pittsburgh. A La Roche University graduate, she joined the Trib in 2020. She can be reached at jburdelski@triblive.com.
