Minnesota Vikings @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Final Score: Steelers 24, Vikings 21
Writer: Raymi Chavez
The NFL’s first regular-season game in Dublin ended joyously for the Irish. Pittsburgh has long been associated as Ireland’s team as the Rooney family has roots in Ireland. The first snap of the game saw Aaron Rodgers get flattened, but that wouldn’t be the story of the game. Both offenses were moving the ball early. Carson Wentz started the game off 11/11 before his 12th pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage and picked off. Rodgers started the game 10/10, including an 8o-yard touchdown connection with DK Metcalf. The score doesn’t tell the whole story. Pittsburgh’s defense was dominant, stonewalling the Vikings’ offense on third down over and over again. If not for a spirited fourth-quarter comeback and a blown coverage on Jordan Addison, this game would not have been very close, it was 24-6 with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh held on, improving to 3-1 and assuredly dealing with Guinness hangovers this morning.
Four Up
- Kenneth Gainwell — Lived up to his name, stepping up for an injured Jaylen Warren. The run game didn’t skip a beat.
- DK Metcalf — Was dominant in the first half, really the only part of the Steelers’ pass game that was consistent.
- Justin Jefferson — Targeted early and often, JJ had a classic JJ-type game, nearly adding a touchdown to his stat line as well.
- Jordan Addison — Picked up right where he left off last season, and was also frustratingly close to scoring a huge touchdown in the fourth.
Two Down
- Jordan Mason — Wasn’t particularly awful, but ceded a lot of the passing downs and drives to Zavier Scott. A script will with a lot of passes will not favor him.
- T.J. Hockenson — Was nearly invisible out there until late. Addison’s return may be damaging to Hockenson’s usage, too early to tell right now.
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback
Carson Wentz: 30/46, 350 Yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs | 2 Carries, 12 Yards, Fumble (Recovered)
Carson Wentz started off looking comfortable as he did last week, routinely finding Justin Jefferson for chunk plays, but the Steelers’ defense settled in, and Wentz found himself under fire often. This led to him not trusting his pocket and rushing or telegraphing passes later in the game. His two interceptions were both deflected at the line of scrimmage, and he didn’t miss too many throws. At the end of the first half, he found Jefferson for 29 yards wide open in the red zone, and if not for Justin losing his footing, it could very well have been another touchdown. He’s playing well enough that I wouldn’t let the fact that he’s starting while J.J. McCarthy is hurt impact any of your decision-making with Vikings WRs. If anything, Wentz may actually be the better quarterback at this point in the season.
Running Back
Jordan Mason: 16 Carries, 57 Yards, Fumble (Recovered) | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 15 Yards
Jordan Mason struggled to follow his fantastic performance last week, coming down to earth a little bit against a real defense. The Vikings were quickly in comeback mode, and the passing game script really hurt Mason as Zavier Scott came in for a lot of those drives and snaps. He was also fortunate on the first drive of the game, as he fumbled and the Steelers returned it for a touchdown, which was reversed due to Mason making contact with the ball while being out of bounds and retaining possession. Mason was still in for 47 of 76 snaps, but until the 2-minute drill of the first half, he was in on 20-of-26, meaning the second half became a 60-40 committee. Mason will dominate the snap count if the team can stay in the lead or close.
Zavier Scott: 2 Carries, 1 Yard | 8 Targets, 6 Receptions, 43 Yards, TD
The college wide receiver turned running back essentially reverted back for this one. Once it was clear that Minnesota was going to have to throw the ball early and often, Zavier Scott found himself in the game a lot. He would frequently just be lined up as a receiver. He really impressed in the passing game, coming down with a tiptoe catch in the back of the end zone for his touchdown and even drawing a couple of defensive holding penalties on his routes. Wentz overthrew him once and didn’t look his way on a couple of other routes that he got wide open. There was potential for this to be a bigger game for him. He is a very intriguing waiver option for me in the short term. I think it’s certainly worth a flier.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Justin Jefferson: 11 Targets, 10 Receptions, 126 Yards
Justin Jefferson delivered a classic, after a slower than usual start for him. I think many people have forgotten that games like these are closer to his floor than his ceiling. The most encouraging part of this game is the fact that not only does Wentz not hurt JJ’s fantasy value with McCarthy out, but it arguably increases it.
Jordan Addison: 8 Targets, 4 Receptions, 114 Yards
He’s baaaaaaack. The promising young receiver was hoping to build off his breakout campaign last season, but had to wait out a three-week suspension first. He picked up right where he left off. This passing game is so much more dynamic when he’s involved. None of his uncaught targets were drops, either broken up by the defense or off target by Wentz. He got loose for an 81-yard reception late in the fourth quarter and came up just a yard short of a touchdown before being brought down by a great chase-down tackle.
T.J. Hockenson: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 39 Yards
T.J. Hockenson was nearly invisible until the fourth quarter, when he had all four of his receptions, including three on one drive. He was effective after the catch, but it seems Addison’s return may end up being damaging to Hockenson’s production. We’ll have a better idea moving forward.
Jalen Nailor: 4 Targets, 1 Reception, 2 Yards, TD
Three of Jalen Nailor‘s targets were in the end zone and he also caught a 2-point conversion. His snaps and routes dropped with Addison’s return, but he still has boom or bust TD potential. With 32 routes ran, he is firmly entrenched as the fourth option in this passing offense.
Adam Thielen: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards
Adam Thielen ran a route on all 12 of his snaps, and both his targets were short- to medium-distance third-down conversions.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers: 18/22, 200 Yards, TD | 3 Carries, 8 Yards, Fumble (Recovered)
Aaron Rodgers got off to a hot start, completing his first 10 passes and finishing the first half 12/14 for 165 yards. The Steelers capitalized on a fantastic T.J. Watt interception that set them up with excellent field position, and from that point on, the game plan was to hand the ball off to Kenneth Gainwell. Rodgers was getting the ball out as fast as I have ever seen him. This was an impressive bounceback from last year’s international game against the Vikings that resulted in three turnovers. Rodgers and DK Metcalf are firmly on the same page at the moment.
Running Back
Kenneth Gainwell: 19 Carries, 99 Yards, 2 TD | 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 35 Yards
Jaylen Warren was ruled out just before game time, and Kenneth Gainwell slid right in and had himself a fantastic game. The first-half passing game got the Steelers out in front, and then Gainwell took them home in the second half. His first multi-TD game came at a great time. He dominated the snap share, getting 41 of 53 snaps. If Warren’s injury lingers, Gainwell will produce just fine in this offense. If Warren does come back, Gainwell has still done enough to earn a larger share of the snap count moving forward.
Kaleb Johnson: 6 Carries, 22 Yards | 1 Target
Kaleb Johnson was given a little more run with Warren’s injury, although most of his 11 snaps came once the Steelers were up three scores. He has been disappointing for anyone thinking he would be the rookie RB to pop, and may still be a profitable buy low candidate. However, Gainwell’s performance does not help his case.
Conner Heyward: 1 Carry, 2 Yards
A depth tight end used in a tush push.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
DK Metcalf: 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 126 Yards, TD
DK Metcalf was the story of the first half, recording four catches and 124 yards, running rampant on the Vikings’ defense to put the Steelers up big early. This led the team to move away from the passing game, and DK was effectively nonexistent in the second half. Still easily paced all pass catchers with 22 routes run on 42 of a possible 53 snaps. A reminder of his WR1 capabilities.
Calvin Austin: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards
Calvin Austin‘s up-and-down campaign continues. He ran the second-most routes at 17 and that’s even with him being injured early in the fourth quarter and not returning. Hopefully, news of his injury will be positive, and he can attempt to bounce back next week.
Darnell Washington: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 20 Yards
Darnell Washington finished with the second-most snaps played, seeing 48 of 53 snaps, and running a route on 33% of those targets. He is clearly the team’s No. 1 tight end, with Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth combining for 28 snaps. He could be a good get on the waiver wire for cheap if this trend continues.
Jonnu Smith: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 6 Yards
Jonnu Smith only saw 13 snaps, but ran a route on 10 of those. They clearly trust him as a receiving tight end the output just hasn’t lived up to it yet.
Ben Skowronek: 1 Target
Scotty Miller: 1 Target