DUBLIN, IRELAND: Kenneth Gainwell ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns and the Pittsburgh Steelers held on to beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-21 on Sunday in Ireland’s first regular-season NFL game.
Carson Wentz, making his second consecutive start for the injured J.J. McCarthy, was 30 for 46 for 350 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Vikings (2-2).
Minnesota’s Isaiah Rodgers blocked Chris Boswell’s 30-yard field-goal attempt with 1:42 left in the half to keep the score 14-3. Last week, Rodgers scored two defensive touchdowns and forced three turnovers im that ballgame.
Trailing 24-6, Wentz threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes.
Pittsburgh then drove and went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3 from the Gainwell was stopped short, leaving the Vikings with the ball on their 1-yard line with just over four minutes remaining.
Wentz hit a wide-open Jordan Addison for an 81-yard reception before he was tackled at the 1, but valuable time came off the clock before finding Jalen Nailor for a 2-yard touchdown reception on fourth down.
After an intentional grounding call the comeback came up short when Wentz threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-17 from the Vikings 32, and the Steelers ran out the clock. Justin Jefferson had 10 catches for 126 yards and Addison had four catches for 114 yards in his first game of the season.
Next up: The Vikings travel to London to face the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
PHOTO: Troy Geary | Geary, Stein and Stevens Show