Late comeback effort falls short as Vikings lose to Steelers in Dublin

The Vikings' up-and-down start to this season hit another rough patch on Sunday in Ireland. On a day where very little went right until the fourth quarter, some of the biggest killers for Minnesota were sacks, turnovers, and injuries in a 24-21 loss to the Steelers at Croke Park in Dublin.

This was a 24-6 game early in the fourth that got very dicey for the Steelers down the stretch. The Vikings drove 70 yards to score their first touchdown of the day on a Zavier Scott toe-tap reception midway through the final quarter. Then, after a stop on fourth down near their own goal line, the Vikings got an 81-yard Jordan Addison reception on a blown coverage and eventually a Jalen Nailor touchdown catch to make it a three-point game.

On the ensuing possession, the Steelers elected not to go for it on 4th and inches, which gave the Vikings a chance. They got the ball at their own 20 with a little over a minute to play, needing only a field goal to tie it. The deciding play was a Carson Wentz intentional grounding penalty when the Vikings' depleted offensive line couldn't pick up an interior stunt.

Wentz wasn't nearly as much of a disaster as J.J. McCarthy was in the Vikings' other loss, back in Week 2 against the Falcons. The veteran completed 30 of 46 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns. But negative plays and settling for field goals early on doomed Kevin O'Connell's offense in this one. Wentz was sacked six times and threw two interceptions as the Steelers' playmaking defense did what it so often does.

Early on, some of the sacks were clearly on Wentz for holding onto the ball too long. That was an issue for him in the first half of last week's romp over the Bengals as well. He looked good against the Steelers when he was getting the ball out in rhythm, but sacks became a problem when he didn't pull the trigger and tried to extend plays on third down.

As the game progressed, the Vikings' banged-up offensive line became the bigger issue. They were already without left guard Donovan Jackson coming into the day, and then two more starters got hurt in the first half. Brian O'Neill suffered a knee injury. Ryan Kelly entered concussion protocol again. With three backups in the game, the line started to collapse in front of Wentz.

The turnover margin is always a key statistic for the Vikings, who have been so hard to beat under O'Connell when they come out on top in that category. On Sunday, they lost that battle 2-0. Wentz had an interception deflected at the line of scrimmage around midfield in the second quarter. In the third quarter, T.J. Watt made a great pick near the line to snag an interception that set the Steelers up to take a 21-6 lead.

After forcing five turnovers last week against the Bengals, the Vikings' defense didn't come with any in this game. They got a couple sacks from Jalen Redmond and a blocked field goal from last week's hero, Isaiah Rodgers, but that was about all they could manage in terms of splash plays on that side of the ball.

Justin Jefferson caught 10 passes for a season-high 126 yards. Addison caught four passes for 114 yards in his return to action, including the 81-yarder. But the Vikings struggled to get Jordan Mason going in the running game; he had just 57 yards on 16 carries (3.6 YPC). The Vikings won the time of possession and had more first downs and total yards than the Steelers, but they couldn't quite overcome their turnovers and complete a furious rally at the end.

The Steelers went up 14-3 early in the second quarter on an 80-yard catch-and-run touchdown by DK Metcalf. They led 14-6 at halftime, then went up by 15 in the third and 18 early in the fourth before the Vikings attempted their comeback.

The Vikings are now 2-2 and will take on the Browns next Sunday in London. This was Minnesota's first-ever loss in an international game after starting 4-0 outside the United States.