DUBLIN — The battle between the Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon at Croke Park was a part of history, marking the first time the NFL had ever hosted a regular-season game in Ireland.

The game itself was as frenetic as the energy from the 74,512 people in attendance.

After falling behind early, veteran quarterback Carson Wentz helped the Vikings mount a furious comeback in the final frame. It wasn’t enough, though, and the Vikings suffered a 24-21 loss to the Steelers.

The fact that the game featured the Vikings playing against future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers added another layer after they reportedly declined to sign him last spring, ultimately deciding to roll with young quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

Here are some takeaways from the Vikings’ 24-21 loss to the Steelers:

Carson Wentz was up and down

It’s hard to put too much blame on Wentz, who was playing behind an offensive line gutted by injuries. Frankly, completing 30 of 46 pass attempts for 350 yards and a pair of touchdowns is a testament to Wentz’s toughness, especially considering how much he got hit. That said, Wentz also had a pair of interceptions on tipped balls, and he admitted he could have done more to avoid being sacked six times. This is probably how it’s going to go if the Vikings decide to stick with Wentz for the foreseeable future. There are going to be ups and downs.

Aaron Rodgers looked pretty good

There’s no doubt that Rodgers looked motivated playing against the Vikings. Never mind that he turns 42 years old in a couple of months; there were still flashes of brilliance on Sunday. After leading a methodical drive that helped the Steelers take control, Rodgers also showed the ability to score fast by hitting receiver DK Metcalf in stride on a slant that went for an 80-yard touchdown. Though he isn’t the player he was at the peak of his powers, Rodgers still has enough talent in his arm to make up for his age.

Justin Jefferson finally broke out

After a slow start by his standards, star receiver Justin Jefferson broke out with his best game of the season. Clearly a focal point of the offense, he finished with 10 receptions for 126 yards. The outburst is something positive the Vikings can take out of the loss. If they can continue to get Jefferson rolling, they will be in much better shape moving forward. He should have at least 10 targets a game, minimum. There have been times in the past that Jefferson has almost singlehandedly willed the Vikings to a win. He might need to do that again at some point.

Jordan Addison showed up

The loss of receiver Jordan Addison was felt while he served his three-game suspension; the Vikings offense was clearly missing some firepower. In his first game back, Addison caught four passes for 114 yards. The stat line speaks to how explosive Addison can be with the ball in his hands. The only downside from Addison in the game was that he stumbled on what would have an 82-yard touchdown and got caught from behind by linebacker Payton Wilson at the goal line.

The offensive line is an issue

After losing right tackle Brian O’Neill to a knee injury, the Vikings also lost center Ryan Kelly to a concussion on Sunday — two more blows to a position group that has become an issue for the Vikings. That group simply hasn’t been able to stay healthy at any point, and it appears O’Neill and Kelly might be out for a little bit. That doesn’t even take into account that rookie left guard Donovan Jackson recently had wrist surgery and is still going through the recovery process. The only players from the projected starting offensive line that are healthy at the moment are left tackle Christian Darrisaw and right guard Will Fries. That has left the Vikings searching for answers.

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Today is Monday, Sept. 29, the 272nd day of 2025. There are 93 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 29, 1954, Willie Mays of the New York Giants made a running, over-the-shoulder catch of a ball hit by Vic Wirtz of the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series; “The Catch” would become one of the most famous plays in baseball history.

Also on this date:

In 1789, Congress officially established a regular army under the U.S. Constitution.

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Today in History: September 28, Coronavirus pandemic hits grim milestone

In 1938, British, French, German and Italian leaders concluded the Munich Agreement, which was aimed at appeasing Adolf Hitler by allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed an act creating the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1982, Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with deadly cyanide claimed the first of seven victims in the Chicago area; the case, which led to legislation and packaging improvements to deter product tampering, remains unsolved.

In 1988, the U.S. space shuttle program resumed after a 32-month suspension following the 1986 Challenger disaster with the launch of Discovery, carrying a crew of five astronauts, from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery’s crew deployed a satellite and conducted science experiments before returning to Earth with a landing on Oct. 3 at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1990, the construction of Washington National Cathedral concluded, 83 years to the day after its foundation stone was laid in a ceremony attended by President Theodore Roosevelt.

In 2005, John G. Roberts Jr. was sworn in as the nation’s 17th chief justice after winning Senate confirmation.

In 2017, Tom Price resigned as President Donald Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services amid investigations into his use of costly charter flights for official travel at taxpayer expense.

In 2018, Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, agreed to pay a total of $40 million to settle a government lawsuit alleging that Musk had duped investors with misleading statements about a proposed buyout of the company.

In 2021, a judge in Los Angeles suspended Britney Spears’ father from the conservatorship that had controlled her life and money for 13 years, saying the arrangement reflected a “toxic environment.”

In 2022, rescue crews piloted boats and waded through flooded streets to save thousands of Floridians trapped after Hurricane Ian destroyed homes and businesses and left millions in the dark.

Today’s Birthdays:

Former NASA administrator and ex-Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, is 83.
Actor Ian McShane is 83.
Jazz musician Jean-Luc Ponty is 83.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa, former president of Poland, is 82.
Retired TV journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel is 77.
Olympic gold medal runner Sebastian Coe is 69.
Rock musician Les Claypool is 62.
Actor Zachary Levi is 45.
Actor Chrissy Metz (TV: “This Is Us”) is 45.
Actor Kelly McCreary (TV: “Grey’s Anatomy”) is 44.
Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson is 40.
NBA All-Star Kevin Durant is 37.
Pop singer Halsey is 31.

When Terrence McNally died of complications from COVID in early 2020, we lost one of our most prolific and consistent playwrights. Be his focus comedy, drama, musical, opera or something for the screen, McNally always had something interesting to say in the 59 plays, librettos or screenplays he wrote in the last 56 years of his life.

Among his comedies, “It’s Only a Play” stands as one of the funniest, despite rising from the embers of an unqualified 1978 failure called “Broadway, Broadway.” Over the course of the next 36 years, McNally returned to the script again and again, rewriting, restaging, refining and polishing it into something that eventually became one of Broadway’s biggest hits of 2014 and ’15.

Speaking of resilient survivors, Park Square Theatre is celebrating its 50th anniversary, having found its financial footing after a few shaky years. It’s back to presenting a full season at its venue on St. Paul’s Seventh Place, which opened this weekend with McNally’s final finished version of “It’s Only a Play,” an affectionate and hilarious love letter to the art form of theater.

Boasting a cast that features some of the Twin Cities’ most consistently solid performers, it’s an uproarious backstage comedy delivered with rich characterizations and impeccable comic timing. Captained by Park Square’s artistic director, Stephen DiMenna, “It’s Only a Play” skewers and satirizes the stereotypes of Broadway, keeping things careening along at a propulsive clip and leaving laughter in its wake.

The action all takes place at an opening-night post-performance party. Passing through an opulent upstairs bedroom are the play’s producer, author, director and leading lady, joined by a critic, an actor who turned down the play’s lead role, and an aspiring thespian responsible for collecting the guests’ coats on a blizzardy night.

While the A-list personalities keep arriving downstairs — the voluminous name-dropping adds to the fun — these folks are fretting about the impending reviews, as well as worrying about losing a TV series, trying to slow the lead actor’s drug intake, pitching scripts, fighting off a large dog, and dealing with a kleptomaniacal director.

Working on a finely appointed Benjamin Olsen set with a mid-century modern flair and clad in Mathew J. Lefebvre’s elegant costumes, the actors look to be having great fun with these silly sendups of the theatrical milieu.

The relatively calm eye of this whirlwind of activity is Jim Lichtscheidl portraying a droll dear friend of the playwright who nevertheless passed on a part because he thought the script weak. He’s excellent, as is Sally Wingert as a star of the screen and tabloids who’s back on Broadway while on supervised release from law enforcement.

Emily Gunyou Halaas skillfully embodies the producer and party host enmeshed in the obsession with critics’ approval. One such critic has crashed the party, and his nihilistic spirit is made vivid by Warren Bowles.

The author of the play within a play feels like McNally’s stand-in, leaving Sasha Andreev to confront the challenge of holding forth about all that’s wrong with modern Broadway and what was once so great about the Great White Way. He’s an island of earnestness amid this tumultuous zaniness, lending a touch of gravitas to a consistently enjoyable valentine to the theater.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.

‘It’s Only a Play’

When: Through Oct. 19

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Where: Park Square Theatre, 20 W. Seventh Place, St. Paul

Tickets: $65-$15, available at 651-291-7005 or parksquaretheatre.org

Capsule: An uproariously well-executed backstage comedy.

James Hautman of Chaska, Minn., is the winner of the 2025 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest with an acrylic painting of three buffleheads, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Sept. 19 in a news release. Hautman emerged as the winner after two days of competition, and the announcement was made at an in-person event and via livestream at Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, Md.

This Jim Hautman painting of mallards was used on the 1995-96 duck stamp.

Hautman’s artwork will be made into the 2026-2027 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, or Duck Stamp, which will go on sale in late June 2026. This is Hautman’s seventh time winning the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. The FWS produces the Federal Duck Stamp, which raises approximately $40 million in sales each year. The funds support conservation of wetland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge System for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of people, the agency said.

“The stamp created using James’ art will serve as a lasting reminder of our rich waterfowl hunting heritage,” FWS Director Brian Nesvik said in a statement. “I encourage everyone, including those who do not hunt, to buy a Duck Stamp, which raises millions of dollars to conserve wildlife and healthy wetland habitats for waterfowl and numerous other species.”

Thomas E. Miller of Kilkenny, Minn., placed second with an acrylic painting of a cinnamon teal, and Jeffrey Mobley of Tulsa, Okla., took third place with an acrylic painting of a bufflehead, the FWS said.

Since it was established in 1934, the Federal Duck Stamp has raised more than $1.3 billion to conserve over 6 million acres of habitat for birds and other wildlife and provide countless opportunities for wildlife-oriented recreation on our public lands.

Montana artist Chuck Black holds his oil painting of a northern pintail on Aug. 13, 2023. On Sept. 16, 2023, Black was named the winner of the 2023 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. Black’s oil painting will be made into the 2024-2025 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, or “Duck Stamp” which will go on sale in late June 2024. (Courtesy of Chuck Black)

Waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to purchase and carry the current Federal Duck Stamp. Many non-hunters, including birdwatchers, conservationists and stamp collectors, also purchase the stamp in support of habitat conservation. Additionally, a current Federal Duck Stamp can be used for free admission to any national wildlife refuge that charges an entrance fee.

Funds raised from the sale of Federal Duck Stamps go toward the acquisition or lease of habitat for the Refuge System. The new areas provide additional public access to some of the most spectacular places available for hunting, fishing, birdwatching, hiking and other outdoor activities, the FWS said.

Of 290 entries judged in this year’s competition, 83 entries made it to the final round of judging. Eligible species for this year’s Federal Duck Stamp Contest were wood duck, gadwall, cinnamon teal, bufflehead and ruddy duck.

The judges for this year’s Federal Duck Stamp Contest were Judy Camuso, Gene Clater, Margie Crisp, Tom Landwehr (a former Minnesota Department of Natural Resources commissioner), Paul Padding and the alternate judge was David Turner.

Chuck Black, a Stillwater, Minn., native and University of North Dakota graduate, won the 2023 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest with a painting of a northern pintail. He now lives in Montana.

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