Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers kiss Guinness and the Gaelic names before the historic return of Croke Park of the NFL | NFL News

Mike Tomlin said that the Pittsburgh Steelers were “all the things” (with a sly smile). TJ Watt said players may have a pint of Guinness – no more. Aaron Rodgers said he wanted Guinness to pressure.

“I have not seen any tap at the moment,” joked the quarter of the MVP Quadruple.

The wide receiver of the Steelers, DK Metcalf, insisted that he was just there to play a football match, be content to see Ireland through the window of his plane on the incoming and outgoing flight. The definition of “all business”.

The probability of tasting Steelers Guinness can be thin, so that the probability that players have time to explore Dublin, but the extent of this weekend’s trip was not lost for anyone while Pittsburgh welcomes the Vikings of Minnesota in the first regular match of the NFL in Ireland in Croke Park.

The owner Art Rooney II saw to make sure that the feeling was clear Wednesday when he personally approached his team to discuss the deeply rooted links of the franchise with Ireland.

“It was pleasant to see that art excite, he wore his launch stick,” said defensive line player Cam Heyward. “It means a lot for our organization. Ireland has always adopted the Rooney family.”

Friday, the Steelers delivered a charming wink to their Irish roots in training by exchanging their normal signage plates with Gaelic names.

“I hope it comes with pronunciation,” watt.

“Mac Ruairi” was the name printed on the back of the Rodgers shirt on Friday, the veteran quarterrier admitting that he wanted the team to stole earlier in the week to kiss more Irish festivities and culture.

Few active players in the league may attest to having attended the global evolution of the NFL of the last two decades as much as the “historian” of the group’s 41 -year label.

“I have a lot of love for this country,” said Rodgers Sky Sports. “I have a genealogy that goes back to the parents on the side of my mother of Ireland and Scotland. I have always just fascinated the country.

“I know, being a history of history, on geopolitical problems and feeling around certain neighboring areas, but I have always appreciated culture.”

Rodgers joked journalists earlier during the day that his love expression for Guinness was not just a veterans public relations move to respond to the host city. It is, in fact, obviously a drink of choice.

“In the past 10 years, mostly for the most part, if I drink beer, which I will not often drink Guinness. It’s a true story. Guinness on Tap is my favorite beer.

“So-called, it’s much better here, so I can’t wait to enjoy one or two this evening. It means a lot.”

Sunday is awaiting the third Rodgers match on international soil. He led Green Bay packers as 32nd and last team to play in London when they were beaten by the New York Giants in October 2022, before last year, representing the New York Jets in Tottenham while they were beaten by the Vikings.

This weekend’s match is within the framework of a record of seven games which will be held outside the United States during the 2025 season, the commitment of the League for World Expansion again stressed on Friday when he announced his intention to play three games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, over a period of five years from 2026.

“To be part of the NFL now where there is such a world range, before it is really only the Super Bowl is seen in many different countries, now we play games in South America, Mexico, Canada, Germany, England, now here,” said Rodgers.

“I am sure that there are finally extensions in France and Spain, other countries. It is fun to be part of such an incredible sport and to see the global scope it has.”

Observations Three games in a season call for caution, but already Rodgers appears more comfortable in the vicinity of Pittsburgh than during its disappointing period of two years with the jets.

Mobility to escape pressure may have decreased with age, but there remains the flash of talents of arm talents linked to the renowned temple.

He and head coach Tomlin spoke brilliantly about their young time together so far, the absence of any visible power struggle for a healthier image than Rodgers has been planned to sign a one-year contract during the offseason.

“Some of the largest coaches in all sports, there is one element of being coach of the players,” Rodgers told Sky Sports.

“It has talked about it a lot. But I think Mike really illustrates what it means and it is above all, it does not mean that you are friends with everyone. I think that the coaches of the big players, they lead first with responsibility, they are therefore able to hold everyone responsible and it happens because of the relationships they have with guys.

“So, it starts with responsibility and respect and it is through personal relationships that he is able to make the most of the guys. He is therefore a coach of the players, but he is not a breeze. Mike T. is the final hammer in a conversation. It was a pleasure to work with him. He is such a great human being.”

Rodgers endured a day to forget last year when he launched three interceptions when the jets were beaten by the Vikings, with the match of Sunday like any other fascinating duel between the quarter of the Steelers and the beneficent the defensive coordinator of Minnesota, Brian Flores.

“He is an excellent coach, but he is not on the field while playing,” said Rodgers on Friday. “The cat and mouse match is really with the Harrison Smith and the Byron Murphys and Isaiah Rodgers and their team of secondary.

“And the big players they have, 58 (Jonathan Greenard), 43 (Andrew Van Ginkel) and 15 (Dallas Turner) are multidimensional players. They can fall on the blanket, precipitate the smuggler and get bags and enter the tracks that also pass.

Look at the Steelers face the Vikings of Dublin’s Croke Park live on Sky Sports NFL this Sunday, with a blanket from 1:30 p.m. before kick -off at 2:30 p.m.; Get Sky Sports or Stream without any contract now.