In week four of the NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings gave Ireland a treat. They played a competitive game for the first ever NFL game played in their country. The end result was a Steelers 24-21 victory before what amounted to an overwhelming gathering of Black and Gold fans in the stands.
Now at 3-1 and in sole possession of first place in the AFC North, Mike Tomlin’s squad has put themselves in the driver’s seat of the division with losses by the Cleveland Browns and division favorites the Baltimore Ravens. Those two teams are now 1-3 and two games behind Pittsburgh. As of this writing, the Cincinnati Bengals were taking on the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football and if they lose to Denver as they are favored to do, Cincinnati will also be at 1-3.
This last game with the Vikings is what Steelers Nation has been waiting for from the start of the 2025 season. A game in which the team was clicking on all cylinders. The game came down to the wire with the Vikings threatening to score again but the close score does not reflect how dominant the Steelers were on defense.
A handful of free agent defenders were signed in the offseason to bolster the Pittsburgh defense and perhaps it took three previous games for them to get acclimated to the playbook. It all came together against Minnesota as the Steelers picked off Carson Wentz twice, sacked him six times and put massive pressure on Wentz hitting him 14 times. This in a few words was PITTSBURGH DEFENSE.
Some of those free agents who contributed in Ireland were Darius Slay with four tackles, Jalen Ramsey with two and he provided some very tight coverage, Brandin Echols played a solid game as did Juan Thornhill. Patrick Queen may have played his best game as a Steeler now in his second season as he was tied for the team lead in tackles with eight (Payton Wilson also had eight). The six sacks? Queen had one, DeShon Elliott who had a great game added another, T.J. Watt is now starting to warm up with another sack, Nick Herbig had 1 ½ as did Keeanu Benton (who is getting hot defensively), and Juan Thornhill add the final sack of Wentz.
One of the concerns through the first three weeks for the Pittsburgh Steelers was not just getting run over on defense but a somewhat leaky secondary as well. Those problems disappeared in Ireland. The other issues was the execution on offense. That too disappeared in beating the Vikings.
Aaron Rodgers, one of several newcomers to the team, seems to be getting more comfortable in the Steelers’ offense with every passing week. In Ireland he finished the game with a nice 119.7 quarterback rating completing all but four of his 22 passes for an even 200 yards. His average pass came for 9.1 yards, and he was not picked off once, sacked just twice.
With starting running back Jaylen Warren missing the game because of an injury, you could not have asked for more than what Kenneth Gainwell provided. 19 rushes, 99 yards, and a 5.2 yards per carry average. Rookie Kaleb Johnson, who committed an awful gaffe on a kick return in the team’s home opener, had the most playing time he’s had to date with six carries and 22 yards on the ground, nearly a 4.0 per carry average.
DK Metcalf who came to Pittsburgh via trade, had a breakout game overseas. Five receptions, 126 yards, and one touchdown. His score came on an 80-yard strike from Aaron Rodgers that saw Metcalf do most of the work. Gainwell also contributed nicely in the air, catching six Rodgers throws for 35 yards. Rodgers did a nice job of spreading the ball around completing three passes to Darnell Washington who had a 6.7 yards per reception number and Calvin Austin nearly matched that at 6.5 with another two receptions. Jonnu Smith also caught two short passes.
Corliss Waitman had another great day, punting averaging 48.7 on three kicks. He had a long of 54. Back to the defense, not only did they harass Carson Wentz for 60 minutes they held Jordan Mason to just 57 yards rushing. But anyone trying to defend Justin Jefferson, who is one of the best receivers in the league, is in for a mighty task. Against the Steelers Jefferson caught 10 passes for an impressive 126 yards. But Pittsburgh did keep him out of the end zone. Jordan Addison also went over 100 yards receiving with 114 but he too could not find the end zone.
The Steelers are in a great place right now with one quarter of the season over they are 3-1 heading into their bye week. They won’t have to worry about any Jet lag and have two weeks to get players healthy and more time to prepare for the now 1-3 Cleveland Browns who are next on the schedule but in Pittsburgh. After that it is a road game in Cincinnati where the Bengals will still be without Joe Burrow. Then it’s back home for a difficult game with the Green Bay Packers which should be a blast with Aaron Rodgers facing his old team.
When the Packers game arrives, the Steelers have a very good chance of seeing their record at 5-1. No one would have predicted that. If Rodgers gets some revenge on his old team, we are talking 6-1 and cruising waiting for the Colts and Danny Jones to come to Acrisure Stadium.
In talking about this game in week four and it being played in Ireland, for the Rooney family this game was very special. It’s a crying shame that neither Art Rooney Sr. or his brother Dan were unable to be at this game as both passed away, “The Chief” left us in 1988 and Dan in 2017. Art Rooney Sr. would have been beaming with smiles if he were still alive to see the team he created play on the grounds in the country of his origin.
The Rooney family has a rich history in the country of Ireland dating back to the great grandparents, James and Mary Rooney who were Irish Catholics raised in Newry, Ireland. They had emigrated to Canada in the 1840s and bore a son also named Arthur, Rooney’s great grandfather. He would marry one Catherine Regan, and the couple gave birth to Dan Rooney who was one of nine children. The family then found their way to our great city of Pittsburgh in 1884.
Dan Rooney would later marry Margaret Murray, whose father worked in the coal mines in the ‘Burgh. In 1901 their first child was born, and he was Art Rooney Sr. The family made Pittsburgh’s North Side home in 1913. Art Rooney Sr.’s father owned a café/saloon that was on the corner of Corey Street and General Robinson Street which also served as the family’s home upstairs. Strangely enough, their home was one single block from Exposition Park home to the city’s baseball team, the Pirates. Years later after purchasing the Steelers, Art Rooney Sr. lived within walking distance of Three Rivers Stadium and walked every day to the playing field.
As for Dan Rooney, President Barak Obama would name him Ambassador to Ireland a few years back. The Rooney’s were also athletic. Art Rooney Sr. was an outstanding amateur boxer having won the AAU welterweight title in 1918 and did attempt to represent the United States 1920 Olympic team but did not make it. Rooney also played minor league baseball and was in the backfield as a halfback for the semi-pro Pittsburgh Hope Harvey and Majestic Radio teams.
Not to be outdone, Dan Rooney aside from his political career, quarterbacked the North Catholic High School Trojans as a youth. At St. Peter’s Elementary School, he was the football team’s head coach. In an interesting twist, while schooling at Duquesne University, one of Rooney’s classmates was Laird Cowher, father of future Steelers’ head coach Bill.
On a final note, more about the Rooney family. The impact that the Rooney family has on Ireland is impressive.
- In the 1990s Dan Rooney was chairman of the team and he helped establish a community center called “Whitegates Community Center.”
- Around 1979, Dan Rooney created a philanthropic organization called “The Ireland Funds.”
- Dan Rooney also cofounded the “Newry-Pittsburgh Partnership” in 1990 to assist in promoting businesses and educational exchanges.
- While Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney visited every county that makes up Ireland, 32 in all.
- How important are the Steelers to Ireland? The National Football League has a program titled the “Global Markets Program” in which Pittsburgh holds the league-granted rights allowing them to sign commercial deals and hold events.
- The Steelers are partners with the Gaelic Athletic Association owners of Croke Park where this game will be played. The goal of the association is to grow the fan base in Ireland.
- Back in 2013 Dan Rooney was working towards having a game played with the Steelers in Ireland but instead Pittsburgh ended up with none other than the Minnesota Vikings in London.
Wherever their souls are now, Art Rooney Sr. and his brother Dan were most definitely watching this game with much pride and an ear-to-ear smile.
