The Minnesota Vikings fell to 2-2 after losing 24-21 to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, on Sunday. Although the score may have been closer than the game felt, not everything was bad in the loss.
Jordan Addison's presence was felt in his return following a three-game suspension to begin the season. And Justin Jefferson had his best game of the season. Even defensive tackle Jalen Redmond flashed, getting two sacks on Aaron Rodgers.
But this game will be talked about mostly for everything that went wrong for Minnesota. The run defense wasn't stout, the pass defense was on its heels, and the Vikings' pass protection may have been worse than either. It was a poor showing from both sides of the ball.
Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Vikings' loss.
The Good: The Vikings' receiving room is at full strength
With Addison back, the Vikings had their first chance to see the receiving combination of Jefferson-Addison-Nailor-Thielen. All four players made their impacts felt. Jefferson caught 10 passes for 126 yards, both season-highs. Addison caught four passes for 114 yards, including an 81-yard reception that set the Vikings up at the Steelers' 1-yard line. Jalen Nailor caught a two-yard touchdown pass four plays later. And although Adam Thielen only caught two passes for 11 yards, they both went for first downs.
Blown coverage and Addison gets all the way down to the goal line with an 81-yard play ‼️
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It shows what the Vikings can do if they give their quarterbacks time to throw the ball. Unfortunately, that Carson Wentz was under pressure most of the day. More on that in a few minutes.
The bad: The run defense
The Steelers entered the game only averaging 2.8 yards per carry in 2025. That was the second-worst mark in the league, and they were going to be without Jaylen Warren, who was inactive for the game.
But the Vikings were unable to take advantage of the perceived mismatch, allowing the Steelers to run 29 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns. That gave Pittsburgh the ability to keep the Vikings defense off balance, allowing Aaron Rodgers to get rid of the ball quickly and neutralize Minnesota's pass rush.
The Ugly: The offensive line
Wentz had a long day behind a battered offensive line. He took six sacks and was forced into a bad intentional grounding on the Vikings' final offensive drive. Wentz was strip-sacked two plays before throwing an interception, which was deflected and picked off by T.J. Watt in the third quarter. It didn't help that the run game never got going, as the Vikings ran only 20 times for 70 yards.
Minnesota entered the game without left guard Donovan Jackson, who had wrist surgery last week. The Vikings then lost center Ryan Kelly to a concussion as well as right tackle Brian O'Neill to a knee injury. It was Kelly's second concussion of the season, and Kevin O'Connell said the team will do an MRI on O'Neill's knee tomorrow.
His MCL appears to be the concern.
The Vikings have yet to have their projected starting five offensive linemen all on the field at the same time this year. It remains to be seen how long both Kelly and O'Neill will be out, potentially forcing the Vikings to field a makeshift unit for the entire season.
If the line can't fix its issues picking up blitzes and stunts, then it won't matter who is at quarterback. Wentz appeared to suffer from the same issues that J.J. McCarthy did in the first two games of the season, indicating that the offense as a whole could be an issue, not just a result of inexperience at quarterback.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly from Vikings' 24-21 loss to the Steelers
