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Well, the mood in Dublin (and back home) isn't what it could have been.

Sunday's 24-21 loss by the Vikings to the Steelers in Ireland included admirable relentlessness in the fourth quarter, but Minnesota was unable to overcome underperforming (and underscoring) through the first three quarters.

The reception the team — from players and coaches to staffers — received in Ireland was sincerely appreciated. There was a buzz around the city from the time the Vikings arrived Friday morning, and it was such an honor to get to cover the NFL's first regular-season game in Ireland.

Now we're heading to the UK, which has hosted Minnesota four times since 2013 when the Vikings toppled the Steelers at Wembley Stadium. In 2017, the Vikings bested the Browns at Twickenham Stadium.

Week 4 of 2022 featured Minnesota outlasting a wild one with New Orleans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the same venue where the Vikings triumphed against the Jets in Week 5 last season and the host of this year's Week 5 game against the Browns.

We'll continue to provide a wide array of coverage this week. One programming note, because we are flying back immediately after next week's game and heading into the bye, we'll move next week's Mailbag publication from Monday to Tuesday. [After the 2022 London game I ran into difficulties sending it during the flight. I wound up typing it on my phone and relaying it to Vikings.com's Lindsey Young, who retyped and formatted that edition to be ready in time for Monday morning. Thanks to everyone for understanding the desire to avoid that situation this year.]

It was thrilling to be among the throng (that included Bill Murray) for the first regular-season tilt in Ireland. I looked forward to the full-throated singing (by the crowd) during TV breaks and was not disappointed. The disappointment came from elsewhere.

As is usually the case in international contests, there were jerseys from almost every team. But Pittsburgh by far held the majority. It truly was an away atmosphere for our Vikings, and it showed in offensive snap cadences.

The score was not indicative of the game. Six points through three quarters. Six. You can't run that way. You also can't win with turnovers and reckless personal foul penalties. Very uncharacteristic. Give some credit to Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers. After a quick three-and-out to start, the offense settled in with quick passes and surgical runs that kept the clock moving and the Vikings offense off the field.

This was a winnable game. The team must get back to winning the turnover and penalty battles. The rest will take care of itself.

Skol!

— Jeff in Dublin via Sacramento, California

I haven't seen a percentage breakdown of the fans, but in helping out "Voice of the Vikings" Paul Allen and Pete Bercich in the radio perch, we were on the Steelers sideline of the stadium, and the section next to us — as in a selfie with P.A. close — had about 10 Vikings fans and the rest were clad in Steelers garb.

That's not to underappreciate folks like Jeff who made the trip from the states or the locals who supported the Vikings. It instead confirms that it was more "Steelers Country" than a Vikings vibe. The playing of "Renegade" to start the fourth quarter brought their home stadium tradition to Croke Park.

It's a bad habit for a team to have to work its way back from being down multiple scores in the fourth quarter, even though the Vikings nearly had a shot at forcing overtime.

Kevin Seifert noted per ESPN Research that Rodgers averaged 2.17 seconds before throwing, which was his fastest time since the stat was first tracked in 2016.

That's lightning quick. Playing with a lead to protect instead of chasing points enabled Rodgers to get the ball out quickly, not too dissimilar to how Michael Penix, Jr., experienced success in Minnesota in Week 2.

Losing turnover battles or finishing with more penalties and free yardage extended than the other team is often a way to not like the final scoreboard. Falling short in both categories is hard to overcome, especially against a team that might be better than what some people saw earlier this young season.

Penalties can really have an impact beyond the yardage mark-offs, especially when they negate a second-and-7 play that gained 7 and moved the ball to the Pittsburgh 6 on Minnesota's first drive that ended with a field goal (Will Fries was flagged for ineligible downfield) or a holding penalty (the box score assessed that one on Tavierre Thomas, but the replay didn't reveal much of an infraction) that wiped off a 54-yard kickoff return to the Pittsburgh 37 late in the third quarter.

Exciting game at the end. Nice miracle comeback attempt, but not good enough. Both offense and defense needed to play better. Offense can't score in the red zone and is absolutely horrible on third downs. Too bad the Vikings defense allowed DK Metcalf to run wild in the first half, gave up numerous sustained scoring drives and couldn't stop Kenneth Gainwell on the ground consistently. An excellent recipe for a loss. Below are my 3 Ups and 3 Downs for the game:

UPS:

1. First play of the game, Vikings sack when Jalen Redmond destroys Rodgers. Fun to see; followed by a Steelers three-and-out. Nicely done.

2. That quick opener to Jordan Mason on the fourth down at midfield. Perfect.

3. The blocked FG by Isaiah Rodgers. Wow.

DOWNS:

1. Our defensive play overall. We couldn't get off the field for a lot of the game and allowed Gainwell to seal the win after our fourth quarter TD? The Steelers second and third possessions where Rodgers and Metcalf went through the Vikings defense? The Steelers offense controlled the game in the second half, as well. We allowed the Steelers and Gainwell an effective running game throughout, and that hurt us, especially in the fourth quarter when trying to mount a comeback. Disappointing and concerning.

2. Our offense and Carson Wentz were not good enough today. Multiple sacks, many on third downs? We couldn't score TDs when in the red zone? Two turnovers? And more dumb penalties. I was expecting so much more from them today.

3. The Vikings were dominated on special teams. Their kick coverages were much better than ours. Their return games were better than ours, and the Steelers don't commit careless special teams penalties like Jay Ward, for instance, blocking a Steeler right square in the middle of the back and directly into our punt returner? Bonehead play. I sure hope he can do better next week.

The Steelers deserved to win. Mike Tomlin outcoached K.O. in all phases of this game. The Steelers are a well-coached and scrappy team, and they proved themselves dangerous today. I think we looked weak and ineffective on both sides of the ball. Looking forward to the Browns already. Hopefully we can right the ship.

Respectfully,

— Jeff L.

How about Jalen Redmond? He recorded both of Minnesota's sacks, including one on the first play of the game, and has been consistent in impacting games. Unfortunately, instead of setting the tone, it seemed to speed up Pittsburgh's execution.

There were a few nice runs by Mason on the day, and it seemed like there were a couple of times where he nearly generated the "And he's loose!" call from P.A.

Isaiah Rodgers continues to show ways he can impact games, including in that effort that provided a six-point swing at the end of the first half.

Disappointingly, Minnesota did not build on that momentum to start the second half.

The execution didn't meet the moment when Minnesota had a nice screen on second-and-7. Instead of moving the chains, it resulted in a loss of 4. A sack and a punt made it a worse start to a quarter in which Minnesota netted 15 yards.

If you had asked Tomlin for a wish list for how the game would go through three quarters, it likely would sync nicely with Sunday's events. I don't necessarily agree with the lines of "outcoached" because there are multiple factors at play.

Sunday's game felt winnable early, then losable, then somehow winnable again with the way the Vikings rallied in the fourth quarter and Pittsburgh's decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal only to be stuffed at the 1 and allow a 99-yard touchdown drive with 2:08 remaining.

Given multiple things that went wrong, including two tipped passes that resulted in interceptions, the Vikings still had a possession to try to force overtime and moved the ball to the 39 when an intentional grounding penalty derailed the effort. Had Minnesota avoided that, the Vikings only needed 20-30 yards for Will Reichard to have a legitimate opportunity for another long field goal.

As a huge fan of K.O. and Flores, I am confused about their confidence level in this team — specifically the team's ability to handle mid-game strategy changes. We have seen many excellent coaching changes enacted this year. It does feel like they are changes that would have happened at halftime last year but are not being implemented until the fourth quarter this year. I know we have a lot of new players in big roles. When do you expect them to be ready to implement changes at the half instead of the too little, too late surges in the fourth quarter?

— Brian Fletcher

I do think O'Connell's era with the Vikings, particularly in his first season with so many one-score victories (11-0 in the regular season), has involved finding the answers to the test as the game progresses, but in order to have the best chance of doing that, a team really needs to try to stay within one score instead of falling behind by three scores (18 points) with less than 12 minutes remaining.

Peyton Manning recently and comically said he didn't experience halftime adjustments — just restroom and orange slices, but the Vikings have also talked about finding ways to win the particular games they find themselves in. Ultimately, there were too many miscues to overcome Sunday.

Editor's note: there were multiple comments about Minnesota's offensive line, so I'm combining several and consolidating a response below.

All I heard this offseason is how great our offensive line is. Despite a couple injuries, this is literally the worst offensive line I've ever seen. Leads the league in sacks allowed.

Our quarterbacks have no chance.

My suggestion is to set up the offense this way. Line up nine receivers wide and have no line. Snap the ball like a punt. Let the defensive line rush free. That will leave nine receivers to 6-7 defenders. I realize that's crazy, but in realty, the offensive line doesn't allow our QB even one second to throw already.

No QB has no chance with this o-line. They need to trade for an o-line willing to give the effort.

— Kevin Flynn

And …

When will our starting offensive line be able to play together?

The injuries are keeping us from playing our best. I do not remember the year this happened when three teams had their starting offensive line play together the whole year. Two of those teams played in the Super Bowl. The overall health of our starting offensive line is crucial to our long-term success.

— Gerald Goblirsch

And…

Tough Steeler defense. Seems the floodgates were open again to the QB. I know Coach O'Connell likes to push the ball downfield. Seems the opponents game plan for this tendency of the coach with extra pressure on Wentz. Hopefully the Vikings will have a QUICK PASSING GAME next week against the Browns.

SKOL,

— Jerome Turvold in Belvidere, Illinois

And …

After watching the game, the postgame interviews, including K.O.'s, and reading opinions on X, no one can seem to admit the obvious … we're not a good football team. Last week was a fluke against an even worse team. The offseason moves to boost both lines has been a complete bust. We still can't win the line scrimmage on both sides. The defense is easily beaten with quick throws. And we can't stop the run. Offensively, our line was getting dominated BEFORE the injuries, so no excuses there. We're not good. K.O. got outcoached again. No adjustments made to counter the rush. Listening to his press conference he spoke about how the game plan was thrown off but didn't address how he made adjustments offensively to counter. Next week is going to be even uglier, if that's possible. If you look realistically at the season so far, we've only played two quarters well, excluding last week's anomaly. K.O. saying we need to improve in all facets is the understatement of the year. We need MAJOR improvements. Like an overhaul. Next week, Browns 24, Vikes 6. I think their defense keeps us out of the end zone. I hope I'm wrong again like I was in Week 1.

SKOL

— J.B. Brunet

And …

I am writing this with 35 seconds left in the third quarter.

And what I want to know is simple. Where is our short passing game?

We know, with three back-up offensive linemen in there, we are going to get rushed on every play. Where are the slants, the screens, the TE, for God's sake?

This is the layer of an offense that we just don't have. It has been this way over the last four games. It's pathetic, along with our back-up linemen.

Not sure where we can go from here, but it's definitely not going to be the playoffs!

— Barb Aud

OK, a lot to cover here. As someone who has written plenty about the moves Minnesota made to improve both sides of the line of scrimmage, I'd say we haven't been able to see the theory put into practice.

The Vikings have yet to take a snap this year with the projected starting five offensive linemen, and Minnesota has now experienced multiple games in which the team has lost more than one lineman during the game.

Sunday's action included Brian O'Neill, a long-established leader of the group, leaving the game with a knee injury after Minnesota's first field goal. He was replaced by Justin Skule, a veteran swing tackle who started in Weeks 1 and 2 while Christian Darrisaw was working his way back from last year's injury.

The Vikings entered the game without promising rookie Donovan Jackson at left guard. Blake Brandel started in place of Jackson, between Darrisaw and Ryan Kelly, who left the game in concussion protocol for the second time this season. Michael Jurgens replaced Kelly.

O'Connell said after the game that O'Neill was undergoing an MRI on his knee Sunday night. Kelly will continue to be evaluated.

"We'll totally defer to the doctors, and we'll defer to the protocol, and then ultimately, we're going to want to make sure Ryan's in a good place," O'Connell said. "That's not anything I particularly ever want to mess around with."

The 2023 Vikings first team totaled just nine snaps together across the entire 17-game season. That's nine more so far than the 2025 Vikings. Sometimes best-laid plans come to fruition, sometimes they don't.

O'Connell is next scheduled to speak with media members on Tuesday since today is a travel day. He'll likely be asked about the status of O'Neill and Kelly on Tuesday.

Given the talent that Cleveland has on its defensive front, the Vikings will need to provide better protection than Sunday or offset the lack of it another way.

As for Barb's question about the tight ends, T.J. Hockenson finished with 39 yards on four catches and five targets but spent a good bit of time helping out along the line of scrimmage against T.J. Watt.

It's a four-game sample from a long season, but the Vikings wanted to have some better showings in multiple areas than they've realized so far.

Longtime Vikings fan messaging you for the first time. I have a question. I love the Vikings and watch every game, but I rarely watch any other teams. So my question, since K.O. has become the head coach where do the Vikings rank in delay of game penalties? Are they the worst, average, or better than average? It seems we always have more than our opponents.

— Chet Johnson in Chisholm, Minnesota

Always appreciate someone reaching out for the first time.

I don't know who operates NFLpenalties.com, but they do a tremendous job of tracking infractions across the league.

According to their numbers, Minnesota led the NFL with 10 delay of games in 2022 and with 11 in 2023. The 2024 Vikings reduced their season-long number to six, but the 2025 squad is again leading the league with four, so that's 31. The Vikings need to help themselves by reducing that number.

The per-team averages for 2022, 2023 and 2024 were 5.3, 5.1 and 5.4.

I will mention that the play clock in Sunday's game for the direction the Vikings were going in the fourth quarter was not in service.

Minnesota's fourth delay of game of the season occurred with 14 seconds remaining in Sunday's game and Wentz kind of having to watch over his shoulder.

"Yeah, that's weird. I'm not gonna lie. It was weird looking behind me, looking over my shoulder on the side. I thought we handled it OK. Obviously it got us at a very bad time of the game, unfortunately. But yeah, that was a little different."

O'Connell said the teams found out "about three minutes before kickoff that end zone's game clock and play clock would be turned off for the day."

"Normally that clock right in front of the quarterback is kind of registering, 'I've got to get going.' It was just precious time lost in a sequence where, with the clock, we're trying to get as detailed of a play off as we possibly can, to account for a lot of the things we're moving the ball with, from a standpoint of help on the edges, making sure we get things up front, to give us a chance on the play, to let our let our guys get downfield.

"It's not an excuse. We knew about it, but that is a unique challenge when it comes to most, if not all, NFL games — you're normally staring right down through the defense at that play clock, to be able to speed things up and get the ball snapped. It got us in a big moment, and we've gotta be ready to handle the circumstances a little bit better."

Was it my imagination, or was the footing less than ideal in Dublin? Seems like a lot of slipping happening against the Steelers. Does the NFL have playing field standards for these international games?

— Ed Helinski in Auburn, New York

It was not your imagination that there were a couple of key slips.

The NFL has standardized tests that its venues go through to monitor surface conditions, but in the NFC North, we're familiar with two turf home stadiums and two grass venues that host full seasons of games.

Players have slipped at multiple venues. It was just tough that Justin Jefferson did so when he had running room and one man left to beat for a touchdown just before halftime.

As the league continues to expand on the places it visits for regular-season games, I'd say trying to establish a consistency with the play clock mechanism is as important as any efforts directed toward playing surface.

And I will also say that the Vikings had difficulty with the clocks during a comeback attempt at Soldier Field in 2014.

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