Steelers Now
After a 48-10 blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell made it clear that quarterback Carson Wentz will get another start next Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin, Ireland.
“[McCarthy] has responded well to the early part of the treatment,” O’Connell said, “but for a young player, I want to make sure that he’s healthy — especially a guy with the movement skills that he has and clearly shown in his first two [games]. We’re going to do right by him.”
O’Connell was not surprised by Wentz’s standout performance on Sunday.
“I was the least surprised person in the whole building today that he was able to go out there and effectively run our offense,” O’Connell said of Wentz.
Wentz completed 14 of 20 passes (70%) for 173 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 129.8.
Wentz is filling in for second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The No. 10 overall choice of the 2024 NFL Draft suffered a high ankle sprain in the Vikings’ Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Foot on gas.@cj_wentz x @TheeHock8
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/kyeXwZoFSc
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 21, 2025
Wentz is 1-1 in his career as a starter against the Steelers. Both starts came during his tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles. The last time Wentz played the Steelers was in 2020, a 38-29 loss at Heinz Field. Wentz completed 20 of 35 passes (57.1%) for 258 passing yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 75.7.
In his rookie season in 2016, Wentz threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in a 34-3 Eagles’ win. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
The Steelers will dodge another major member of the Vikings offense in their Week 4 game from Dublin, Ireland, as running back Aaron Jones was placed on the injured reserve list this past week.
Jones, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, must miss at least four games on IR, which rules him out for participating in the Steelers-Vikings game.
Jones’ replacement, Jordan Mason, had a banner day against Cincinnati, rushing for 116 yards on 16 carries (7.3 average) and two touchdowns.
The game in Ireland will feature two teams who are 2-1. The Steelers are coming off a 21-14 victory in Foxborough.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Vikings Name Starting QB for Game vs. Steelers in Ireland
