Pittsburgh Steelers edge out Minnesota Vikings in Dublin thriller

Dublin staged a thriller as the Pittsburgh Steelers warded off the Minnesota Vikings 24-21 in the first NFL regular season game to be played in Ireland.

The Steelers – who were designated the home team – led 21-6 in the final quarter after Kenneth Gainwell ran in two touchdowns and DK Metcalf took a pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers for an 80-yard score.

Chris Boswell’s 33-yard field goal extended the lead to 24-6 with 11 minutes remaining and the Steelers seemed home and dry.

The Vikings produced two touchdowns through Zavier Scott and Jalen Nailor to set up a nail-biting finale in front of a 74,512 crowd at Croke Park.

But Pittsburgh ensured it was a triumphant homecoming for the team owners – the Rooney family’s ancestors emigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania in the 1840s.

Veteran Rodgers completed an impressive 18 passes from 22 attempts for 200 yards as Pittsburgh’s defence impressed in the closing minutes to secure a third win from four games.

The Houston Texans produced their first shut-out since 2010 with a 26-0 stroll against Tennessee Titans.

Rookie running back Woody Marks shone with 119 total yards and two touchdowns as the Texans chalked up a fourth straight success.

The Titans remain winless and a grim day was summed up by quarterback Cam Ward completing just 10 passes.

The Buffalo Bills also moved to 4-0 by beating the New Orleans Saints 31-19.

James Cook rushed for more than 100 yards for the third straight game and Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2024, threw two touchdown passes and ran for another.

The Saints trio Spencer Rattler, Kendre Miller and Alvin Kamara each rushed for more than 49 yards but New Orleans are now 0-4.

The New England Patriots maintained their pursuit of the Bills in the AFC East by thrashing the Carolina Panthers 42-13 at Gillette Stadium.

Carolina opened the scoring when quarterback Bryce Young connected with tight end Tommy Tremble for a seven-yard touchdown.

But Drake Maye’s Patriots bossed the contest from that point and cornerback Marcus Jones put the icing on the New England cake with an 87-yard touchdown off a punt return.

Quarterback Jaxson Dart impressed on his first start as the New York Giants produced a huge upset against the previously unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers, winning 21-18 at MetLife Stadium.

Dart led a successful 89-yard drive in his first series, and a clever shuffle pass to set up tight end Theo Johnson for his first career touchdown proved decisive.

The Giants’ first win of the season was soured by influential receiver Malik Nabers suffering a suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The Detroit Lions’ explosive offence blew away the Cleveland Browns’ number one-ranked defence as Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown impressed in a 34-10 win.

The Philadelphia Eagles won the battle of two unbeaten teams as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were edged out 31-25 in Florida.

Jalen Hurts had more touchdown passes (two) than incompletions (15 of 16) in the first half as the Eagles built a 24-6 lead before the Buccaneers fought back.

The defending Super Bowl champions are off to a 4-0 start for the third time in four seasons and have won 10 straight games, including play-offs, matching the franchise record set last season.

The Atlanta Falcons overcame the visiting Washington Commanders 34-27 as Michael Penix Jr completed 20 of 26 passes for 313 yards and threw two touchdowns.