DUBLIN, Ireland — A lengthy trip across the Atlantic Ocean represented a chance for the Vikings to get rolling with a pair of games that looked winnable on paper.
Instead, the Vikings started their unprecedented trek through Dublin and London with a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a frustrating result that left them with more questions as they continue to search for answers.
A furious comeback came up short when veteran quarterback Carson Wentz threw incomplete to Jordan Addison in the final seconds. That pulled the curtain on a 24-21 loss and left the Vikings walking off the field feeling like they had left something on the table Sunday afternoon at Croke Park.
The agony of defeat was written on the face of head coach Kevin O’Connell as he spoke to reporters in the immediate aftermath.
“I thought the guys battled until the very end,” O’Connell said. “We put ourselves in way too much of a hole.”
As bad as the Vikings played for prolonged stretches, however, they scored 15 points in the final frame to make it close. And it looked as if they would have a chance to at least give kicker Will Reichard a chance to tie the game.
That went up in flames when Wentz was called for intentional grounding, which wound 10 seconds off the clock, proving costly as the Vikings were trying to get into field-goal range. A few plays later, Wentz threw incomplete to Addison, and the game was over.
“The defense stepped up when we needed them in the end and got us the ball back,” Wentz said. “It pains me to be left there out on the field with a chance and come up short.”
The final drive was a microcosm of Wentz’s performance. He was very much up and down. His game resembled a roller coaster.
There was some good as he completed 30 of 46 pass attempts for 350 yards and a pair of touchdowns. There was also some bad as he threw a pair of interceptions and was sacked a half dozen times playing behind a tattered offensive line.
All of it contributed to the loss.
“We lost,” Wentz said. “That’s all I care about. That’s all I’m concerned about. I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth.”
It’s hard to blame Wentz too much considering he lost right tackle Brian O’Neill to a knee injury and center Ryan Kelly to a concussion. Not that Wentz was willing to use those injuries as an excuse.
“We got down early, so we ended up throwing the ball quite a bit. So it’s tough on the offensive line,” Wentz said. “There were definitely times I could have got rid of the ball quicker and gone through my progressions faster.”
On the other end, future hall of fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers was efficient, completing 18 of 22 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown. He did most of his damage early while helping the Steelers build a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
There were snapshot moments when Rodgers looked like the man who used to strike fear into the heart of the Vikings in his prime. A touch pass toward the sideline here. A frozen rope over the middle there.
It was hard not to go down the rabbit hole.
What would it have looked like had the Vikings signed Rodgers as a free agent after reportedly showing interest? Would he have been starting for the Vikings against Steelers? Would he have looked as good playing for the Vikings as he did playing against them?
None of those hypotheticals matter to the Vikings as now must travel from Dublin to London for a game that they can’t afford to lose against the Cleveland Browns next weekend at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“We’ve got to look at the film to really digest it,” receiver Justin Jefferson said. “We’ve got to lean in on ourselves and really understand what we really want to accomplish.”
The first game the NFL has ever hosted in Dublin featured some of highlights from the legendary stadium that had nothing to do with the game itself.
The rendition of the country’s national anthem by Irish singer Lyra brought the house down before kickoff. The crowd later provided a memorable scene with a rousing singalong to “Zombie” by Irish rock band The Cranberries during a break in the action.
“It was a great atmosphere,” O’Connell said. “The energy of the building was fantastic.”
As for the Vikings, they couldn’t get into a rhythm for most of the game, looking like a shell of themselves on offense while also getting carved up on defense.
The game started pretty well for the Vikings as they forced a punt on defense, then parlayed that into an effective drive on offense. It stalled out short of the red zone, however, and Will Reichard nailed a field goal to make it 3-0.
On the next drive, Rodgers shredded the Vikings with his arm, marching the Steelers down the field before running back Kenneth Gainwell plunged into the end zone to make it 7-3.
After methodically working the ball down the field, Rodgers took a different approach on the next drive, this time throwing a slant to receiver DK Metcalf, who took it 80 yards for touchdown to help the Steelers stretch their lead to 14-3.
“That’s tackling,” safety Josh Metellus said. “He caught the ball and had guys with a chance to get him.”
It looked like the Steelers were about to take a commanding lead before halftime when the Vikings got a boost from a couple of their breakout stars on defense, a sack from defensive tackle Jalen Redmond, then a blocked field goal from cornerback Isaiah Rodgers that kept points off the board.
That gave the Vikings the ball back before halftime, and after a solid drive by Wentz they got another field goal from Reichard to make it 14-6. The deficit felt like it could have been much worse given how everything was going for the Vikings.
Though the Vikings were still in position at that point, the Steelers pushed their lead to 24-6 after halftime thanks to another touchdown from Gainwell, as well as a field goal from Chris Boswell.
That was enough for the Vikings to finally show some fight.
They battled back with a pair of scoring drives to keep the game interesting, starting when Wentz found running back Zavier Scott for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-14, and continuing when Wentz found Addison for a long gain, which set up a touchdown by receiver Jalen Nailor to make it 24-21.
It wasn’t enough.
After getting the ball back with a chance to tie the game, Wentz couldn’t get the Vikings into field-goal range.
“You’re never going to see this team quit,” O’Connell said. “They’re going to play to the end against a very 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.”
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