Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 38 - Number 2 i Steelers Digest

The Minnesota Vikings are a good team. A 14-3 group from 2024 that came to Dublin with a 2-1 record; their defense was ranked in the NFL’s top 10 in eight categories, including points allowed per game; and their offense was No. 6 in points scored per game. Their head coach is considered one of the true innovative offensive minds in the NFL, and their defensive coordinator draws raves for his schemes and aggressive usage of them. On a beautiful, festive, and historic afternoon on the pitch at Croke Park, the Steelers were better. The final score was 24-21, which was good enough for a victory and a 3-1 record heading into their bye week. And this time there was no need to have to listen to whining about how…

Steelers President Art Rooney II and Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis spoke as part of a panel at NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s Town Hall in Dublin on the day before the Steelers-Vikings game at Croke Park. The Town Hall, an event the commissioner normally hosts at NFL International events, hit on a wide range of topics, from the growing global market to fan support in cities around the globe, and everything in between. Playing a regular season game in Ireland was a long-time dream of late Steelers chairman and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney, whose family is from Newry, Northern Ireland. “The connection between the Steelers and Ireland and the NFL is so strong that it was a natural choice to have the Steelers here,” said Goodell.…

It’s unclear as to which arrived in Pittsburgh first: DK Metcalf or his 448 NFL catches and 50 touchdowns. According to Calvin Austin, it was the latter. “His resume preceded him,” Austin said in discussing what he’s seeing on film of how opposing defenses focus on Metcalf. “He’s going to command attention,” said Austin. That’s what happened through the first three games of the 2025 season. But it’s opened the window for Austin, who’d made some of the biggest and longest catches of the season. As the Steelers prepared to travel to Ireland to face the Vikings, Austin talked about a season to which all signs point to as a breakout: • In the 34-32 opening-day win over the Jets, Austin caught an 18-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter…

From the notebook of a sportswriter who’s looking over the key statistics of the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of the season’s first quarter: • On offense, they’re 29th in total yards and 31st in rushing. • Surely, defense will have prevented this team from falling on its face. • Nope. They’re 29th in overall defense and 30th in passing defense. • Special teams are in the middle of the pack, so, not much help there, either. • How is this team 3-1? • Actually, that record, with the ugly stats in tow, shows why there’s so much room for improvement. • The one statistical category that lends any sensibility here is the plus-7 in turnover margin, second in the NFL. • The experts I know on Twitter say that’s…

It wasn’t historic — and more on that whole historic concept later — but the Steelers wake up today with a 2-1 record and tied for first place in the AFC North because of what their defense did at New England. Admittedly, it could be argued that they’re not 3-0 because of what the defense couldn’t do vs. Seattle, but that’s just the norm in a league where only 6 of the 32 teams (18.75 percent) are still unbeaten, and every single team in the NFL is 1 injury away from disaster. That’s just how it is, and the NFL wants it that way, because parity draws big ratings to networks and streaming services, which in turn makes for lucrative broadcast revenue, which is very good for business. Anyway, the…

It had been a very active offseason, arguably the most unusually active off-season for this franchise in quite some time, both in terms of sheer volume and also the pedigree of the additions. But two of them — one on offense and one on defense — had the most potential to be difference-makers. And so it was that when the Steelers opened their 2025 regular season on Sept. 7 at MetLife Stadium, they defeated the New York Jets, 34-32, because of contributions from the new difference-maker on offense plus the new difference-maker on defense to go along with the franchise’s all-time difference-maker on special teams. Leave it to the sage quarterback, a.k.a., that new difference-maker on offense, to put the afternoon in perspective. “A lot of teachable tape out there…

Dan and Patricia Rooney were two individuals who never liked to bask in the spotlight. The things they did in life, whether it was with the Steelers, in Ireland, in the community or through education, they never did it for attention. They simply did it for the love of others. But today, what they did in their lives to help others, especially through The Ireland Funds, was honored when the organization announced the establishment of the No Mind Left Behind: Dan & Patricia Rooney Scholarship in their memory. The scholarship was announced during an event in Newry, County Down, where Dan Rooney’s family ancestry is deeply rooted and is an area that he always held close to his heart. “We wanted to do something in connection with our visit to…

To assign the outcome of Sunday’s game vs. New England to one phase of the Steelers team, it would have to be the defense. And if forced to pick one player from that unit as the biggest contributor, one couldn’t go wrong by settling on either one of their captains. Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt were voted defensive captains by their teammates before the start of the regular season, and both of them came up big in critical situations on Sunday in what ended up being a 21-14 Steelers victory over the Patriots. Heyward had 6 tackles and 1 sack, he tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage that was intercepted by Brandin Echols in the end zone, and he forced a fumble at the 1-yard line that was…

Here’s the list: He completed 73.3 percent. No turnovers. Four touchdown passes. Three-for-three in the red zone. Two-for-two in goal-to-go situations. He led a 10-play, 71-yard touchdown drive on their opening possession after the Jets had taken an early lead. He led a 6-play, 39-yard drive on their last possession to erase a 32-31 deficit. When you add it all up, that’s big-time NFL quarterback play, and it went a long way in helping the Steelers open their 2025 season with a 34-32 victory over the Jets at MetLife Stadium. Aaron Rodgers is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week. Also considered were Chris Boswell, whose 60-yard field goal with 63 seconds left was the difference in the outcome; it was the longest field goal in franchise history; it was…