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NFL Week 5 Previews, Key Games & Stats

Breandán Ó hUallacháin — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 12:38:19 +0000

When the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns meet at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London at 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon [live on Virgin Media 2], it begins three consecutive weeks with an international game in Britain.

The Vikings, who appeared in the first regular-season game in Ireland against the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday, are the first team to play consecutive international games in different cities.

In Week 6, the Denver Broncos and New York Jets meet at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and in Week 7, the Los Angeles Rams take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.

Two undefeated teams remain in the NFL: the Philadelphia Eagles are 4-0 for the third time in the past four seasons while the Buffalo Bills improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2020.

Denver (2-2) at Philadelphia (4-0)

The Eagles can become the first team to begin 5-0 three times in a four-year span since the Indianapolis Colts (2006-07, 2009) while head coach Nick Sirianni can become the second coach ever to begin 5-0 in three of his first five seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Brown.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is the first quarterback in NFL history with five touchdown passes, four rushing touchdowns and no interceptions in his team’s first four games of a season.

Denver quarterback Bo Nix totalled three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in the team’s Week 4 win over Cincinnati. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, Nix is one of three quarterbacks, along with Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, with at least 35 touchdown passes (36) and five rushing touchdowns (five).

New England (2-2) at Buffalo (4-0)

The Bills have started a season with five straight wins in three previous seasons: 1964, 1980 and 1991.

Buffalo, from Week 11 of the 2023 season through Week 4 of the 2025 season, are the fourth team ever to win 14 consecutive home regular-season games and score at least 24 points in each game.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen has 45 career regular-season games with both a touchdown pass and a rushing touchdown, tied with Cam Newton for the most such games in NFL history.

New England quarterback Drake Maye, from Weeks 2-4, became the first player ever under the age of 24 with at least two touchdown passes and a completion percentage of 75-or-higher in three consecutive games, minimum 15 pass attempts in each game.

Tampa Bay (3-1) at Seattle (3-1)

Both the Buccaneers and Seahawks are celebrating their 50th anniversary seasons after joining the NFL in 1976 and each club will be wearing throwback uniforms for this Sunday’s matchup.

Since joining Tampa Bay in 2023, quarterback Baker Mayfield leads the NFL with 77 touchdown passes and ranks second with 9,448 passing yards.

Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka leads all rookies with 282 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions this season and has recorded a touchdown catch in three of his first four games.

Seattle leads the NFC in scoring defence (16.8 points per game allowed) and have recorded seven interceptions this season, tied for the second-most in the NFL.

The Kansas City Chiefs (2-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1) [Monday night]

Jacksonville is the fifth team since 2002 with at least three takeaways in each of its first four games of a season.

Last week, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had four touchdown passes and reached 250 touchdown passes in his 116th career game, surpassing Aaron Rodgers (121 games) for the fastest player in NFL history to reach 250 career touchdown passes. Mahomes has 43 career games with at least three touchdowns and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (42 games) for the second-most by a player in his first nine seasons in NFL history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (46 games).

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Pittsburgh Steelers beat Minnesota Vikings 24-21 at Croke Park

Breandán Ó hUallacháin — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 16:52:43 +0000

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24-21 at Croke Park on Sunday afternoon in the first regular season NFL game played in Ireland.

Two touchdowns from the Steelers’ running back Kenneth Gainwell, and another from wide receiver DK Metcalf, helped their side to a victory to move their current season record to 3-1.

Despite late touchdowns for the Vikings’ Scott and Nailor, the Pittsburgh side held on for a win.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, the designated ‘home’ team for the opening game in Week 4 of the 2025 regular season, came into the game on the back of two wins and a loss, the same record as today’s rivals, the Minnesota Vikings.

First Quarter

When Jordan Mason’s fumble recovered by Steelers’ Jalen Ramsey, the latter raced 62 yards, for what he thought was his side’s first score of the fixture. The Replay Official reviewed the ball was inbounds, and the play was reversed.

Minutes later, Will Reichard gave the Vikings a 3-0 advantage with 6:24 to play in the opening quarter. His side opted to kick for a field goal from 41 yards, when quarterback Carson Wentz was sacked on the previous down.

The Pittsburgh outfit claimed their first score of this regular season fixture when Kenneth Gainwell ran in from one yard. With the extra point added, the ‘home’ side went into a 7-3 lead with 55 seconds on the clock at the end of the opening quarter.

Kenneth Gainwell scores the first NFL touchdown in Dublin

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— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025

Meltcalf receives 80-yard Rodgers pass

The Steelers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers found DK Metcalf with an 80-yard pass down the Croke Park touchline to claim his side’s second touchdown of the afternoon. With Chris Boswell successful with his second kick at the posts, the Steelers stretched their lead to 14-3 with 12:16 to play to the half.

RODGERS TO METCALF. 80 YARD TOUCHDOWN.

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— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025

Though it looked as though that score line would remain until the half-way period of the game, the Vikings’ Will Reichard narrowed his side’s deficit to 6-16 in the dying second of the second quarter. The Steelers’ Jalem Ramsey, who incurred a 5-yard penalty, made the task easier for the Vikings’ kicker.

As the sides left the field after the second quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers held a 14-6 advantage over the Minnesota Vikings.

Second Touchdown for Gainwell

With 2:23 to play in the third quarter, Kenneth Gainwell ran in for his second six-pointer of the game. The score was the end result of an earlier T.J. Watt interception when he gained possession for his side.

The running back Gainwell had failed narrowly to made the end zone on his side’s previous down. From four yards out this time there wasn’t any stopping him as he achieved his brace of touchdowns. Boswell was accurate for the third time in the game as he kicked the extra point, pushing his side into a 21-6 lead.

Kenneth Gainwell gets his second TD of the day

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Boswell also claimed the next score of the game. With 11:18 remaining in the game as the kicker added a field goal from 33 yards out – the successful end of a 4:17 drive.

Scott TD reduces the deficit

A Carson Wentz pass to the deep right found Zavier Scott for a 16-yard touchdown just as the game seemed to be slipping away from the Vikings.

.@cj_wentz steps up in the pocket and throws a touchdown in the back of the end zone.

10-point game in Dublin.

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— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025

A two-point conversion was successfully completed from Wentz to Jalen Nailor, leaving 10 points between the sides entering the last eight minutes.

With Minnesota getting the next score, the result of the game was still uncertain as the clock approached two minutes.

A two-yard touchdown pass from Vikings’ quarterback Wentz to Nailor was followed by a successful kick by Reichardt leaving only a field goal between the teams; Steelers 24 Vikings 21.

Wentz finds Nailor for the touchdown.

One score game in Dublin.

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— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025

There was late drama when the Steelers thought they had intercepted the Vikings’ ball. A review deemed it an incomplete pass, allowing Minnesota remain possession with less than one minute to play.

Despite their best efforts, the Vikings’ failed to reach the red zone, as the Pittsburgh Steelers held on for a 24-21 victory.

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Croke Park hosts Vikings v Steelers at 2.30pm today

Breandán Ó hUallacháin — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 10:40:32 +0000

Croke Park hosts the first regular season NFL game in Ireland this afternoon as the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Viking meet at the Jones’ Road venue.

The game, which begins at 2.30pm, is the first of the European NFL games this season, with clashes to follow in London, Berlin and Madrid in the coming weeks.

Both sides come to Dublin with two wins and a loss in their three games so far this season.

Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steels opened their season with a narrow 34-32 victory against the Jets. They lost their game against the Seattle Seahawks on a score line of 31-17. Last weekend, they got back on the winning trail with success against the Patriots.

In Week 3, Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre (508 touchdown passes) for the fourth-most regular-season touchdown passes in NFL history. He also passed Philip Rivers (63,440 passing yards) for the sixth-most regular-season passing yards all-time.

Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings opened their campaign with a three-point win over the Chicago Bears, before losing to the Atlanta Falcons in week two.

They were easy 48-10 winners over the Bengals in their most recent game, and come into this afternoon’s clash in good form.

Last week, Minnesota cornerback Isaiah Rodgers recorded two forced fumbles, an 87-yard interception return for a touchdown and a 66-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the Vikings’ 48-10 win over Cincinnati. He became the first player in NFL history with an interception return touchdown of 85-or-more yards and a fumble return touchdown of 65-or-more yards in the same game.

Live on Virgin Media

Croke Park previously hosted an American Football game when the Steelers and the Chicago Bears played a pre-season game at GAA HQ in 1997. The Pittsburgh outfit won 30-17 on that occasion.

The game is live on Virgin Media 1 television this afternoon. The channel will also broadcast the other European NFL games this season.

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Pittsburgh Steelers jerseys have players’ names in Irish

JoeNa Connacht — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 16:00:49 +0000

History Made: NFL Regular Season Comes to Croke Park This Sunday

The NFL is set to make history this Sunday as Croke Park hosts its first-ever regular season game, with the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on the Minnesota Vikings. This landmark clash marks the start of an exciting new era, bringing American football to Ireland on the biggest stage possible.

In a unique collaboration, Munster GAA and the Pittsburgh Steelers have created exclusive jerseys with players’ names in Irish to celebrate the occasion. Aaron Mac Ruairí will lead the Steelers as quarterback, joined by stars such as linebacker TJ Mac Uait and placekicker Chris Mac an Bhoscaire. Fans will see the team don the special jerseys during their practice session ahead of the big game.

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) during practice at the Carton House preparing for a Week 4 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025 in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) during practice at the Carton House preparing for a Week 4 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025 in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

The GAA has always been proud to promote the Irish language, and this initiative highlights its cultural significance while showcasing Irish heritage to a global audience.

The NFL has also confirmed that Irish singer Lyra will perform the national anthem, Amhrán na bhFiann, before kickoff, making Irish culture a central part of the gameday experience.

“The NFL is synonymous with world-class sport and entertainment, and there’s no better stage in Ireland than Croke Park,” said Henry Hodgson, NFL U.K. & Ireland General Manager. “We’re excited to make Irish talent and traditions central to an unforgettable gameday experience for fans in the stadium and watching around the world.”

“Bringing the very first NFL regular season game to Ireland is a huge moment for the league, and there’s no better setting than the legendary Croke Park,” added Tim Tubito, Senior Director of Global Game Presentation and Entertainment at the NFL.

This Sunday’s clash promises to be an unforgettable celebration of sport and culture. Beidh lá den scoth againn!

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NFL Week 1 NFC Players of the Week: J.J. McCarthy, Nate Landman & Kameron Johnson

JoeNa Connacht — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:21:37 +0000

NFC Players of the Week – Kickoff Weekend 2025

NEW YORK — Sept. 10, 2025 — Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, Los Angeles Rams linebacker Nate Landman, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Kameron Johnson have been named the NFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played on Kickoff Weekend (September 4–5, 7–8).

Offense: QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

McCarthy accounted for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) as Minnesota rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Chicago, 27–24.
Became the first QB to erase a 10+ point deficit in the 4th quarter of an NFL debut and win in regulation since Hall of Famer Steve Young (1985).
First player with at least two TD passes and a rushing score in an NFL debut since Cam Newton (2011).
Third Vikings quarterback to earn Week 1 Player of the Week honours (Daunte Culpepper, 2004; Sam Bradford, 2017).
Joined Tom Brady as the only former Michigan quarterbacks to win the award over the last 15 seasons (2011–25).

Defense: LB Nate Landman, Los Angeles Rams

Registered 10 tackles and a game-sealing forced fumble in the Rams’ 14–9 victory over Houston.
The decisive forced fumble came with 1:51 left as the Texans entered the red zone.
Earned his first Defensive Player of the Week Award.
Fourth Ram to claim Week 1 honours (Robert Quinn, 2013; Aaron Donald, 2015; Trumaine Johnson, 2017).
First Colorado alum to win since Chad Brown in 2003.

Special Teams: WR Kameron Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Delivered a 54-yard punt return in the third quarter of Tampa Bay’s 23–20 win at Atlanta — the longest return in the NFL during Week 1.
Contributed on 12 special teams snaps as both a returner and a gunner.
Earned his first career Player of the Week award.
Second Buccaneer to win Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 1 (Bradley Pinion, 2021).
First Barton College player ever to secure a Player of the Week honour.

Source: NFL Compute – Week 1 Awards (2025 Season)

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Minnesota Vikings’ Reaction to London Win

Breandán Ó hUallacháin — Sun, 06 Oct 2024 17:06:23 +0000

Following their 23-17 victory over the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell spoke to the media.

“Absolutely a gritty win by our team,” said the Vikings Head Coach. “So many moments in that game, so many things we talked about going into this football game that materialized. Especially got to give it up for our defence, Flo [Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores] and those guys. We needed them today. It was not good enough to our standard on offense, and moments like this are where we lean into a lot of things that our organization is built off of. Adversity, dealing with adversity together, no flinch, all three sides figuring out a way to come together and win a football game.

“What I told our team is there’s going to be days like this, and when there’s days like this, good football teams find a way to pick each other up against a future Hall of Fame quarterback [Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers] in tough circumstances.

“Kind of a sloppy day all the way around with a little spitting rain and all those things. A thousand excuses out there. Our team didn’t look for any of them. We kept playing, Will Reichard was phenomenal for us. When we needed three, he got it. And like I said, our defence, just lights out from the standpoint of picking up our team when we needed them.”

Commenting on his side’s London trip, O’Connell stated:

“It’s been a phenomenal trip. Want to thank everybody that took care of us at our hotel, the NFL, putting on a great trip for us, and obviously all the folks with the Vikings that plan this thing year-round. There’s a lot of people that their names can’t be mentioned right now, but I wanted to personally thank all of them for helping make this trip go.

“We’ll go into our bye, get healthy at a couple spots and hopefully come out with the momentum that a 5-0 team should. Tons of challenges out in front of this and I can’t wait to attack them with my guys.

“Just injury updates on a couple guys. Aaron Jones did have a right hip and not return. He’ll be evaluated. I’ll keep you guys posted from the standpoint of what that looks like, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that that hopefully will be short-term. And then Akayleb Evans did have a left hip flexor and did not return.”

Minnesota Vikings Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel told the assembled media:

“It’s a great feeling, obviously, when you can make a play like that, it can change the game. It’s exciting, and I’m just glad I caught the ball and the rest is history. Once I got out of that first tackle, I started running, I saw Harrison Smith had a huge block, and if he doesn’t make that block, I don’t think I score. It’s a shout out to him and shout out to all the guys behind, just block the skill players so they couldn’t catch me.”

Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Sam Darnold, whose side now goes 5-0 for the season, said of this afternoon’s game:

“I think obviously a win is a win. I think our defence, our special teams played out of their minds today, and I think as an offense, I think we’ve just got to find a way to continue to play consistent football. The pre-snap penalties, the communication just has to continue to get better, but as a whole, I feel like we were able to make plays when we needed to, but we’ve just got to continue to get better that way.

“I think for us, we have a lot of good things clicking right now as a team, but it’s early. We know it’s a long season, and we just — again, like I said, kind of in the beginning, we’ve just got to continue to take it one step at a time, and if you get caught up in what people are saying about you and you’re this or you’re that. We weren’t listening to anything that people were saying before the season, so why would we start now. I think for us, it’s kind of have that mindset.”

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NY Jets 17 Minnesota Vikings 23 in NFL London Game

Breandán Ó hUallacháin — Sun, 06 Oct 2024 16:55:20 +0000

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the New York Jets, 23-17 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London and improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2016.

Since 2019, eight of the nine NFL regular-season games played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have been decided by one score (eight points or fewer).

The opening quarter saw the game favourites, Minnesota Vikings, take an early lead through Reichard. The kicker slotted over a 54-yard field goal, to give his side, the designated home team, a three nil advantage.

Just as the Jets seemed to be gaining territorially, linebacker Van Ginkel intercepted for the Minnesota franchise, and returned 63 yards to touchdown for the game’s opening five-pointer.

Along with his three sacks this season and an interception-return for a touchdown in Week 1, Van Ginkel becomes the first player in NFL history with at least three sacks and two interception-return touchdowns in his team’s first five games of a season.

With Reichard again successful with his extra-point effort, his side had a 10-0 lead at the end of quarter one.

Vikings’ Ham rushed over from 2 yards with 3.50 to play before the half-time break, and with Reichard again adding the extra point, Kevin O’Connell’s side extended their lead to 17-0.

Jets finally score

The Jets finally got on the scoreboard on the cusp of the interval when Lazard caught for a 14-yard score. Zuerlein successfully kicked the point to leave the score 7-17 in favour of the Vikings at the break.

Zuerlein’s 32-yard field goal attempt before the end of the third quarter narrowed the gap to just seven points, in a game for so long seemed to be edging away from the Jets.

Reichard continued in his rich vein of kicking form when scoring a 53-yard field with 12.07 remaining in the final quarter.

With a little over six minutes remaining in the game, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ short pass was complete to Wilson who went in from one yard to increase the anxiety in the Vikings’ camp. Zuerlein’s extra point was good, creating a three-point game.

With 3.07 to play Reichard’s 41-yard field goal attempt ended any hope the NY Jets and their many fans in London had of taking a shock victory, as the Minnesota Vikings held out for a 23-17 London success and are now 4-0 in regular-season international games, the most wins without a loss among all teams in international games.

On what was a bad day at the office for losing New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, he passed for 244 yards and has 60,148 career regular-season passing yards, becoming the ninth player with at least 60,000 regular-season passing yards in NFL history.

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Jets v Vikings in first London NFL game of 2024-25 season

Breandán Ó hUallacháin — Sun, 06 Oct 2024 09:47:01 +0000

Sunday sees the first of this season’s London NFL games with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings meeting at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

While the NFL game in Brazil in week one was a first for that country, London has been a regular host of NFL game for a long time now.

Twickenham, Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have all hosted NFL games in recent years, the latter having staged eight games since 2019.

Interestingly, seven of those games were decided by eight points or less.

This afternoon the New York Jets, who have started their season 2-2 face the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings (4-0).

This will be the Vikings’ fourth London game, and they are currently unbeaten on their London visits to date. The Jets on the other hand have a 2-1 record in London, but are 0-1 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

They join Kansas City (3-0), New York Giants (3-0) and Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) who have achieved multiple wins in international games and are unbeaten outside of the USA.

The Vikings, the only undefeated team remaining in the NFC are 4-0 for the first time since 2016.

If they win this afternoon’s game, they will be 5-0 for the first time since 2000.

In regular season clashes between the Jets and Vikings, the New York side lead the series 8-4, but Minnesota have won the last three games between the sides.

The last time the teams met in the regular season was in 2022, when the Vikings ran out 27-22 victors.

The game is free to air in Ireland on Virgin Media Two, with the broadcast starting at 2pm.

The game kicks off at 2.30pm.

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