DUBLIN — The anthology of Harrison Smith facing Aaron Rodgers on the gridiron will have a 21^st chapter penned — in Ireland, no less! — Sunday when the Vikings face the Steelers in the NFL's first regular-season game held on the Emerald Isle.

The story began during Smith's 2012 rookie season when Minnesota split its Border Battle series after Rodgers led the Packers to sweeps in 2010 and 2011.

The tally is 9-10-1 for Smith's teams, or 10-9-1 if you prefer Rodgers' perspective, which, fairly or unfairly, includes the 2017 game in which Rodgers was forced to the sidelines early due to injury.

While football is the ultimate team sport, and each player is dependent on 10 teammates at any moment, the matchup flirts with the status of the best player-to-player rivalries like a Bird-Magic of the NBA (for those my age but modernized for younger fans) or golf and tennis pairings that repeatedly hook final rounds.

"In football, it's a little bit harder for that [type of rivalry] to declare in a 1-on-1 setting," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "I don't know if either one of those guys want to sign up for a 1-on-1 game of basketball. I know they would both sign up for a 1-on-1 match on the golf course, for sure. I bet that's probably even taken place before, but yeah, I just think they're both such impactful players on our game throughout their careers.

They play a bit of cat and mouse. Neither blink, but each sometimes wink due to such intimate knowledge of the other's game.

"Above the neck, they're so unique and special, but at the same time, the physical attributes of Aaron, one of the greatest throwers of the football our league has seen," O'Connell said. "And then you pair that with what he what he does for three-and-a-half hours above the neck as well.

"And then Harrison, kind of the same way. When you envision Minnesota Vikings football, at least when I do over the last few years, you think of that guy with the black arm sleeves and black gloves flying all over the field," O'Connell continued. "We saw his impact pretty quick last week. Couldn't be more happy to have him back in there.

"This is the next installment, I guess, of that battle," O'Connell added.

Indeed, after missing the first two games of 2025 while ramping up from an August illness, Smith's tip of a Jake Browning pass precipitated Isaiah Rodgers' dazzling, 87-yard pick six.

Smith subbed in on the second play of the game and blitzed on the third, forcing a quick punt. His impact on pass coverage showed whether surging toward the QB or if dropping to cover receiving targets.

It's part of why he's the only player to record two interceptions and at least two sacks of Rodgers.

In last year's matchup, which featured Rodgers as a member of the Jets at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a sack by Smith pushed his career total to 20.5.

A Gaelic (or English, or both like many of the street signs here) installment is set to be written at 8:30 a.m. (CT) at storied Croke Park.

The on-field rivals look forward to reuniting.

"It's obviously a little bit different [with Rodgers no longer on the Packers], but the things that he can do and is capable of, and he still has it, he still can make every throw he's obviously in great command of everything, pre-snap, post-snap," Smith said. "He's a very unique player to play against, just because of the way he plays the position and the things he's able to do just with his awareness and his efficiency. Even stuff you don't notice, just his ball handling, his fakes, stuff like that, it's really high level.

"It's crazy when you see [21^st season] on the scouting report," Smith added. "It's always been a challenge playing against him — a very high level of appreciation for what he's able to do and continue to do."

Rodgers was asked Friday about Smith.

"Great player, Hall of Fame player," Rodgers said. "I've always enjoyed our battles, but over the years they've had a lot of great defenses. Some of it has been schematic-driven, I would say with [former Head Coach] Mike Zimmer and [current Defensive Coordinator Brian] Flores."

Fans attending Sunday's game will have the option of keying in on the pre-snap exchanges during which Smith has thrived at decoying opponents from the intent of play calls and Rodgers has thrived at deciphering foes.

Flores noted this week that Minnesota's defense even threw him off the scent of one play last week against Cincinnati.

"There's part of the game that's just like human, and you can get coached up from doing this and that, but just little human things about movements and stances, and we're all looking at each other constantly and seeing if there's a tell," Smith said. "So as I disguise throughout the years, I try to be conscious of what it is I'm doing, not just like doing stuff because it looks cool to run around."

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