The NFL made the 2025 schedule official on Wednesday, and ahead of the leaguewide announcements, we found out in February that the Pittsburgh Steelers are headed overseas. Wednesday’s announcement gave us the opponent, the Minnesota Vikings.
The Steelers last left American soil for an NFL game in 2013 when they played the Vikings in London to a 34-27 loss.
This year, Pittsburgh will make its second trip overseas, this time to play in the first regular-season game in Ireland, 30 years after playing a pre-season contest against the Chicago Bears in the 1997 American Bowl at Croke Park.
As the Steelers hope to avenge that 2013 loss, they’ll match up against a new-look Vikings team that will throw out J.J. McCarthy under center. McCarthy was the Vikings’ first-round draft pick last season before he tore a meniscus in the offseason.
Last year’s insurance policy at quarterback, Sam Darnold, is now in Seattle where he signed as a free agent.
McCarthy is unproven and will face a new, re-tooled Steelers defense that made it a point to become more physical in the offseason through the draft and free agency. By the time the Week 4 contest in Ireland rolls around, Pittsburgh might have an idea of where their defense stands and how McCarthy is acclimating to the NFL.
The fact that the game against Minnesota in Ireland is so early in the season could bode well for the Steelers, as McCarthy might not yet have found his footing, giving Pittsburgh an advantage.
