The Vikings Will Have a Good, Old Fashioned Donnybrook in Dublin

In the first leg of a 10-day trip to Europe, the Minnesota Vikings will battle the Pittsburgh Steelers. For many Minnesotans, a trip to Dublin triggers thoughts of a pot of gold or leprechauns running amok. But for this Vikings writer, the first thing that comes to mind is WWE superstar Sheamus.

With apologies to other Irish wrestlers such as Becky Lynch and Finn Balor, Sheamus is a true Irishman. A 6’3”, 267 lb. Celtic Warrior, Sheamus, is just as ready for a fight as a pint of Guinness. In no place is that more evident than his signature match, the Good, Old Fashioned Donnybrook.

Armed with the traditional weapons you would see in a wrestling match (ie, tables, ladders, steel chairs), this match also tends to include shattered pint glasses, a whiskey barrel, and a randomly placed bar in the corner. It’s as physical as you can imagine, and it’s exactly what the Vikings will be walking into as they touch down in Dublin this week.

So, how does this relate to football? I’m glad you asked.

The Vikings wanted to be a more physical team this season, and no team embodies that more than Pittsburgh. While quarterback Aaron Rodgers is unlikely to be spotted at a pub (he enjoys a different kind of party), the Steelers are a blue-collar team that is once again led by Mike Tomlin’s defense.

Tomlin has become the human .500 machine in recent years, but he’s still one of the best defensive coaches in the game. A lot of what current Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores runs was inspired by learning for one season as Tomlin’s linebackers coach in Pittsburgh, and the physicality runs through a similar vein.

If you squint long enough, you could see T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig doing some of the things that Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, and Jonathan Greenard have done under Flores. The same goes for the defensive line, which Cameron Heyward headlines in Pittsburgh, and Jonathan Allen and new breakout defender Jalen Redmond spearhead in Minnesota.

Still, the Steelers are trying to find their traditional level of effectiveness, allowing 5.9 yards per play this season (tied for the fifth-highest in the NFL), while the Vikings have the sixth-lowest at 4.6 yards. However, the similarities also extend to the offensive end, where both teams have attempted to play a physical brand of football.

The Vikings are much more pass-happy and creative than the Steelers. But the Vikings showed their physical side last week when Jordan Mason took over as the team’s bellcow. With O’Connell introducing the “run through a [steeler’s] face” play into his playbook, it also neglects the real star of Sunday’s show – the stadium.

No team has played a regular-season game in Ireland, but we can draw some conclusions based on a handful of college football games that have been played there in recent years. This past year, Iowa State defeated Kansas State 24-21 in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, and Aviva Stadium might as well have had a wrestling ring in the middle of the field.

Rain poured down to the point where the lines on the field were barely visible. Both teams struggled to establish themselves until the end of the game, when Lakeville native Carson Hansen took off in the fourth quarter, and both teams felt like they had survived rather than won a football game.

The results have been similar in recent years. Georgia Tech grinded out a 24-21 win over Florida State to open the 2024 season. Notre Dame defeated Navy 42-3 in 2023, and Northwestern stunned Nebraska 31-28 in 2022, partially due to Scott Frost’s decision to call an onside kick with the Huskers holding a 28-17 lead in the third quarter.

It's the type of game that John Facenda would have loved calling in the early days of NFL Films. But it’s also the type that the Vikings need to win to ensure their season ends positively.

Perhaps O’Connell won’t give the same profanity-laden speech that Sheamus gave the Yellowjackets before their upset against the Seminoles in 2024. And maybe the Vikings offense will have a little more firepower with Jordan Addison's return. But the previous football games in Ireland and the opponent that will be waiting when they get there won’t be as pleasing to the eye as a rainbow over the Blarney Stone, and it could lead to quite the banger on Sunday morning.