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DB’s Steelers Dudes & Duds: Run Game Comes Alive in Ireland
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- DB’s Steelers Dudes & Duds: Run Game Comes Alive in Ireland
It wouldn't be a Sunday in the fall if the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't give all of their fans, both domestic and international, a heart attack to begin their afternoon, with a 24-21 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland oN Sunday morning.
On a positive note, Mike Tomlin's club dominated this game on both sides of the football for about 56 minutes before things went sideways down the stretch. Still, we learned a lot about this team in their trip to Ireland, with an offense that may have found an identity against a tough opponent and a defense that is trending towards being the unit we expected to see coming into the season.
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As always, let's talk through some winners and losers from today's game.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell at practice on Aug. 24, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Dude: RB Kenneth Gainwell (& Friends)
Jaylen Warren was a late addition to the injury report this week and an unexpected scratch after his pre-game warmup went awry, but Gainwell stepped up in a big way. The run game was humming, with the free agent pickup finishing with a whopping 68% rushing success rate. For context, the Dallas Cowboys currently lead the NFL in this metric at 52%. The game plan early was to spread the Vikings' defense out with quick hitters underneath in the passing game and complement that with perimeter runs, which was a weakness of their opponents coming into the week.
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Gainwell accumulated 99 yards, the most of his professional career, and notched his first ever multi-touchdown performance in the NFL. But he certainly didn't do it alone. The offensive line stepped up and really controlled the trenches throughout. There were a handful of unsung heroes that deserve some recognition in this one as well. Darnell Washington led tight ends in usage this week, and unsurprisingly, the Steelers' run game looked better because of it. Ben Skowronek did some dirty work in a variety of ways: pulling across the formation, sticking his nose in the fan, and even drawing a couple of penalties by being a pest. Pittsburgh rolled out their jumbo set with six offensive linemen, inserting Spencer Anderson into the fold on 19 plays from scrimmage. This was an inspired game plan that led to an encouraging performance against a great defense.
Dud: CB Darius Slay
The 34-year-old Slay was tagged with allowing 134 yards on the initial viewing, according to PFF , most notably the blown coverage that resulted in an 81-yard Jordan Addison reception late in the fourth quarter. We should get clarity through the All-22 and player interviews, but it looked like the Steelers were playing quarters coverage, and in that case, he would be responsible for the #1 receiver running vertical. He was also one of the defenders late to respond to the motion in the red zone on Carson Wentz 's first touchdown toss of the day. This isn't the first time this season where he's been the culprit of a blown coverage, which is concerning since he was brought in to provide stability on the boundary.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Keeanu Benton at practice on Sept. 11, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Dudes: NT Keannu Benton & ILB Payton Wilson
Bucketing a pair of youngsters together here for obvious reasons. It's no secret that both Benton and Wilson played pretty poorly through the first three weeks of the season and are better players individually than what they've put on film, with today's game being a perfect example of that. The Steelers nose tackle finished with a trio of quarterback hits/pressures, and perhaps even more encouraging, was much more stout versus the run. With him not being blown off the ball as often, it allowed Wilson to flow downhill faster, oftentimes untouched into the backfield. The NC State product reached 22.48 MPH on his chasedown tackle with just over two minutes to go, forcing the Vikings to run off an additional minute of clock. Pittsburgh doesn't win this game without the play of these two.
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Dud: C Zach Frazier
The Steelers' second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has been a good player but has had some maddening moments trying to snap the football in shotgun. On the first few drives alone, there were at least four different instances where Rodgers had to scoop the rock up off the turf. When you're heavily reliant on the quick passing game through the air, this has the chance to throw off the timing of things, even if they were fortunate to overcome it today. The playing surface, as often seems to be the case in international play, was a mess, but this has been a theme for over 20 games now and is something that needs to be fixed as soon as possible.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf at practice on Aug. 19, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Dude: WR DK Metcalf
Prior to kickoff, the two-time Pro Bowl selection was off to the slowest start of his NFL career, averaging a career low in yards per game and average depth of target. Sunday was the breakout performance that he and the Steelers' passing game so desperately needed. Smith moved him around the formation more in this one, aligning him in the slot to feed him touches that would lead to run-after-catch opportunities. He was the recipient of a beautiful back-shoulder throw from his quarterback, where he showed off some impressive body control to make a contested catch away from his frame. His 80-yard house call on a drift route over the middle was the reason that the Steelers made the splash trade to acquire him. Few players in the league, regardless of position, possess his athletic traits. Now, it's just about utilizing those gifts on a more consistent basis moving forward.
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Dud: Mike Tomlin's Late Game Management
Tomlin and the entire coaching staff deserve their flowers for out-coaching their opponent today. Just because it wasn't a flawless day at thew office doesn't mean we should just gloss over that. However, his process for handling end-of-game situations continues to be baffling for a head coach that preaches aggressiveness every time he gets in front of a microphone. Not going for it on fourth-and-one on the opposing team's 40-yard line was bad enough, but compounded by the fact that they intentionally took a delay of game before bombing the ball through the end zone for a touchback. Ultimately, it ended up in a 20-yard punt. The end result wasn't catastrophic, but the process was concerning, to say the least.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : DB's Steelers Dudes & Duds: Run Game Comes Alive in Ireland
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