The NFL announced Tuesday the Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland during Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season. Hours after the announcement, the Steelers released a video of head coach Mike Tomlin sharing what the game will mean to him.
Because of the setting, it won’t be the typical Week 4 matchup in the league.
“We are unbelievably excited about this opportunity to play in Dublin,” Tomlin said in a video the team released on its YouTube channel. “It is an honor and a privilege to represent the game of American football internationally and maybe introduce it to a new set of fans. It is a great honor to play the game we love and be able to do so on foreign soil.”
The Steelers will serve as the home team in the Dublin, Ireland matchup with the Vikings. Steelers-Vikings will kick off at Croke Park at 9:30 AM ET on Sunday, Sept. 28.
The matchup will air on NFL Network and stream on NFL+.
Mike Tomlin, Steelers Hosting Vikings in Dublin, Ireland Matchup
Tomlin explained that there were two “very specific reasons” why the Steelers are excited about playing in Ireland this fall. The first was the opportunity to represent American football and grow the game in Europe.
The second was Steelers’ Pro Football Hall of Fame executive Dan Rooney.
“I smile when I think about the late great Ambassador [Dan] Rooney and how fired up he would be about this game,” Tomlin added. “I remember when he was Ambassador to Ireland he used to have a Fourth of July flag football game each year, and so I think about him.”
“But I also just simply think about the honor and privilege to play our game globally.”
This will be Pittsburgh’s first international game in 12 years, which was the longest current drought for any NFL team participating in the league’s international series.
Ironically, in Pittsburgh’s last international game, the Steelers faced the Vikings. That matchup also happened in Week 4 at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
The Vikings defeated the Steelers 34-27, as Pittsburgh dropped to 0-4 to begin the 2013 season.
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora wrote Tuesday former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and other ex-Pittsburgh players have said in more recent years that many Steelers experienced jet lag from the trip, which could have impacted their performance. With that in mind, it will be interested to see how Tomlin approaches the travel arrangements to Dublin.
There were rumors this offseason the Steelers would face the Green Bay Packers in Dublin during Week 4. Instead, the Steelers will host the Packers in Pittsburgh in what could be Aaron Rodgers’ first matchup against the team that drafted him.
Steelers, Vikings Making History in NFL’s International Series
The Steelers and Vikings going to Europe this fall will be historic for a couple different reasons.
The Steelers-Vikings matchup in Dublin will be the NFL’s first regular season game in Ireland. It will also be only the second league game ever in the country. The Steelers faced the Chicago Bears in the 1997 NFL preseason.
This fall, the Vikings will become the NFL’s first team to play back-to-back games in different foreign countries. During Week 5, the Vikings will face the Cleveland Browns in London.
Minnesota has a lot more recent experience playing in Europe than the Steelers. The Vikings defeated the New York Jets 23-17 in London last season.
The Vikings are 4-0 in the NFL international series.
