Minnesota Vikings @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
September 28, 2025 – 2:30 p.m. BST/IST

The Minnesota Vikings managed to get their season back on track on Sunday with a history-making 48–10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, meaning they head into a two-week international tilt with a winning record. Their trip across the Atlantic begins this weekend with a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Dublin’s famous Croke Park stadium.

The Vikings will be hoping for continued success against AFC North opposition, as well as a repeat result of the last time these two teams met at an international venue, Minnesota having previously recorded a 34–27 win in London back in 2013. It’s a new venue this time, for these two teams and the NFL as a whole, but with 40% of the stadium expected to be decked out in purple, it won’t feel like the road game it’s been billed as.

The Vikings will be looking to defend a perfect record in International Series matchups, particularly in front of a brand new crowd in Dublin. Will Carson Wentz, Isaiah Rodgers and co. be able to repeat the heroics of last week on the Emerald Isle? Read on for all the important news ahead of this Sunday, including how you can catch the game surrounded by your fellow UK & Ireland Vikings fans!

How to watch Vikings vs. Steelers

• Vikings vs. Steelers date: Sunday, September 28th
• Vikings vs. Steelers kickoff time: 2:30 p.m. BST
• Vikings vs. Steelers UK channel: Channel 5 / Sky Sports NFL (Sky 408, Virgin Media 507, Now TV) / NFL Game Pass on DAZN (stream)
• Vikings vs. Steelers IE channel: Virgin Media One (channel 103) / Sky Sports NFL (channel 416)

As the first international game to be played in Europe this season, the game will be available live and in full across all broadcast platforms on offer in the UK and Ireland. Coverage starts at 2 p.m. on both Sky Sports and Channel 5, with kickoff at 2:30 p.m. In Ireland, coverage will be available on Virgin Media One, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

For those of you in London ahead of next Sunday’s game against the Browns and unable to make it to Dublin, the game will be shown at the Redwood pub above London Bridge station. The pub will be open from 11 a.m., giving you plenty of opportunity to grab some food and a drink before kickoff.

LINK: Redwood London Bridge

Why is this game being played in Dublin?

The NFL International Series officially dates all the way back to 2007, when the New York Giants took on the Miami Dolphins at London’s Wembley Stadium. Since then, the International Series has grown exponentially year on year, and Sunday’s game between the Vikings and the Steelers will be the 50th to be played in just 18 years. In fact, Ireland will be the fifth different country the series has visited, to be joined by Spain later this year and Australia in 2026.

However, the Steelers’ association with Ireland goes back to their foundation in 1933 by Art Rooney, a third-generation Irish American whose great-grandparents emigrated from Newry in County Down almost a century earlier, ending up in Pittsburgh in the 1880s. Rooney’s son Dan took over operation of the franchise in the 1960s and was also the United States’ ambassador to Ireland from 2009 to 2012 under President Barack Obama. Dan Rooney passed majority ownership of the team to his son, Art Rooney II, upon his death in 2017.

In recognition of the Steelers’ connection to Ireland, the NFL granted them marketing rights in the country in 2023 as part of the league’s Global Markets Program, which allows teams to promote themselves outside their local area in the United States. That made Ireland the obvious choice to host a Steelers home game as part of the International Series.

Croke Park has actually hosted the Steelers before. Prior to the birth of the International Series, the NFL played a series of exhibition games outside the United States over the course of 19 years from 1986 to 2005. In 1997, the touring series made its way to Dublin for the first and only time prior to 2025, and saw the Steelers take on the Chicago Bears – Chicago, of course, having its own Irish connections. The Steelers won the game 30–19 in front of around 25,000 fans. There should be around three times as many at the stadium on Sunday.

What uniforms are the Vikings wearing against the Steelers?

For the first time since 2022, the Vikings go into an international game as the road team. That means the Steelers have first choice of uniforms and have elected to wear their primary black jerseys and yellow pants. The Vikings will wear their road uniforms of white jerseys and purple pants.

Keys to the game

After a three-week suspension for violating the league’s substances policy, Jordan Addison makes his return to the Vikings lineup against the Steelers, and it couldn’t come at a better time. The Vikings have yet to break the 200-yard receiving mark in three games this season, and while this has been for a variety of reasons, the return of a receiver of Addison’s calibre couldn’t be more timely. Adam Thielen has been struggling to hit his straps since rejoining the Vikings, with just two catches for 26 yards, both against the Falcons in week 2, while Jalen Nailor remains under 100 yards for the season, reaching a season-high 37 yards against Cincinnati last week.

Meanwhile, the defense will be facing former division rival QB Aaron Rodgers on international turf for the second straight year. In London against the Jets last year, they managed three sacks and eleven QB hits, and a similar strategy would serve them well this year. The Seattle Seahawks managed to get to Rodgers eight times in week 2, resulting in three sacks and two interceptions. With an elite front seven at the Vikings, they should be able to put Rodgers under similar pressure, though they’ll be looking for a good performance from second-year OLB Dallas Turner, who’ll start in place of the injured Andrew Van Ginkel.

Previous meetings

This the Vikings’ second international clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the two sides having previously met at Wembley Stadium in London back in 2013. Blair Walsh started proceedings that day by connecting on a 54-yard field goal, while RB Adrian Peterson and WR Greg Jennings each recorded a pair of touchdowns to give the Vikings a 34–17 lead by the end of the third quarter. Pittsburgh closed the gap in the final period, but a 2.5-sack performance from DE Jared Allen helped the Vikings hold on for a 34–27 win.

That victory is one of just two the Vikings have managed in their last six meetings with the Steelers, a run stretching back to 2001. The other win came in the two teams’ most recent meeting, played on Thursday Night Football in week 14 of the 2021 season. The Vikings shot out to a 29–0 lead midway through the third quarter, thanks to a pair of touchdowns from RB Dalvin Cook, but Steelers RB Najee Harris responded with two of his own. A 30-yard TD pass from Ben Roethlisberger to WR James Washington helped close the gap to 9 points, but a failed two-point conversion followed by Kirk Cousins’ 62-yard bomb to K. J. Osborn sealed the win for the Vikings.

This will be the 20th meeting between the Vikings and the Steelers, including the Steelers’ victory in Super Bowl IX in 1975. Despite that, and Pittsburgh’s recent run of good form in the series, the Vikings hold a 10-9 advantage overall and will be hoping to avoid squaring the series on Sunday afternoon.

Vikings injury report

The Vikings began the week by ruling out G Donovan Jackson early; the rookie didn’t travel to Dublin after undergoing minor surgery on the wrist injury he picked up against the Falcons. OLB Andrew Van Ginkel returned to the injury report with a neck injury and didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday before being ruled out on Friday. Quarterback J. J. McCarthy remained a non-participant in practice with a high ankle sprain, and was also ruled out. TE Ben Yurosek was also ruled out with a knee injury.

The other players who missed practice sessions this week were DL Jonathan Allen, who was given a non-injury-related rest day on Wednesday; T Christian Darrisaw, who rested on Thursday; and S Harrison Smith, who was limited on Friday. DL Javon Hargrave (chest) missed practice on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday before being a full participant on Friday.

C Ryan Kelly and T Justin Skule were both full participants after emerging from the concussion protocol, while DL Jalen Redmond took full part despite a hand injury. S Josh Metellus (foot) was limited on Wednesday but was a full participant on Thursday and Friday.

Steelers injury report

The Steelers’ biggest absence in Dublin will be linebacker Alex Highsmith, who didn’t travel with the team after suffering a high ankle sprain against the Seahawks in week 2. CB Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring) and RB Jaylen Warren are questionable for the game after being limited in practice all week, as is TE Jonnu Smith (hip), who did not participate on Wednesday before being limited on Thursday and Friday.

S DeShon Elliott (knee) was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but took full part on Friday, while LB Patrick Queen (oblique) was limited on Wednesday but upgraded to full participation by Thursday; both are expected to play.

Several veteran Steelers were granted a day or two of rest before Friday’s final practice, in which all were full participants. DT Cameron Heyward and OLB T. J. Watt rested for both days, while G Isaac Seumalo and CB Darius Slay both missed Wednesday’s practice, and WR DK Metcalf missed Thursday.

Score predictions

• Darren: Steelers 17, Vikings 21
• TPJ: Steelers 17, Vikings 27
• John: Steelers 27, Vikings 34
• Rich: Steelers 14, Vikings 24

Let us know your score predictions. Send us an email at UKVikingsFanClub@gmail.com or get in touch via any of our social media channels.