It’s “plausible”
It’s beginning to sound like there’s a better than average chance that the Minnesota Vikings could be playing an overseas game for the second consecutive season.
In his latest Access Vikings Newsletter, Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star-Tribune is reporting that, at the very least, it’s “plausible” that the Vikings could be heading across the pond again, this time to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in what would be the NFL’s first game in Ireland.
The game worth keeping an eye on, in fact, might be the one against the Steelers. Pittsburgh will host the NFL’s first game in Dublin this fall, and while the Packers (who just earned international marketing rights in Ireland) have been rumored as a possible opponent, it’s believed the Steelers might want to keep the Packers game in Pittsburgh — especially if it’s Aaron Rodgers facing his former team. That could leave the Vikings, Bills or Seahawks as possible opponents for the Steelers in Ireland. We’ll learn the matchups in the coming weeks, but the possibility of a Dublin game for the Vikings seemed plausible this week.
If this were to come to pass, it would be the Vikings’ fifth overseas trip in the last thirteen NFL seasons, and their second time facing the Steelers. Minnesota and Pittsburgh got together at Wembley Stadium in London in 2013, with the Vikings serving as the home team and emerging with a 34-27 victory. They played as the away team in 2017 when they defeated the Cleveland Browns 33-16 at Twickenham Stadium and again in 2022 in a 28-25 victory over the New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This past season, they were again labeled as the home team when they defeated the New York Jets, 23-17, again at Tottenham.
If the Vikings and Steelers were to face off at Ireland’s Croke Park this coming season, it would be classed as a Steelers home game. Goessling also mentions the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills as candidates to make the trip to the Emerald Isle.
It’s worth noting that the Vikings have never lost a game they’ve played overseas, whether exhibition or regular season.
The NFL schedule will come out sometime in May, and the league has made a practice of announcing the International Series games ahead of the rest of the schedule. So, we’re probably about a month away from knowing whether or not we’re going to have to get up early one Sunday to watch our team play on the other side of the Atlantic.