Steelers beat Vikings 24-21 in Ireland's first regular-season game

DUBLIN — The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-21 on Sunday in the first regular-season NFL game held in Ireland, prevailing at Croke Park before a crowd of 74,512. The Steelers, designated the home team, built a late fourth-quarter lead and held off a furious Vikings rally to improve to 3-1 on the season, while Minnesota fell to 2-2.

Pittsburgh took a 24-6 lead in the fourth quarter behind two touchdown runs from Kenneth Gainwell and an 80-yard scoring catch from DK Metcalf, a play that capped a productive day for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers completed 18 of 22 passes for about 200 yards. Carson Wentz, starting for the injured J.J. McCarthy, finished 30 of 46 for 350 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson had 10 catches for 126 yards and Jordan Addison returned from suspension to record 114 receiving yards.

The game featured a dominant tone from Pittsburgh’s pass rush and opportunistic defense. The Steelers harried Wentz throughout the afternoon, forcing multiple turnovers including interceptions by DeShon Elliott and T.J. Watt and pressuring the Vikings on numerous occasions. Defensively, Pittsburgh also limited...