Jason Mackey: After all the pageantry, Steelers have an important football game to play

MAYNOOTH, Ireland — Jonnu Smith was speaking to every part of my 6-foot-4-inch frame on Friday following Steelers practice at the Carton House, their picturesque practice facility here, when he described the difficulties of cramming a bunch of massive football players into an airplane.

"Any time you're on a six-hour flight and you're over 200 pounds and over 6-feet tall, it's not gonna be the easiest transition," Smith said.

There was also talk about the Gaelic translation of players' names on the back of their practice jerseys, Aaron Rodgers discussing his affinity for Guinness — "I'm not [screwing with you], I swear," he said — and we obviously had to ask Art Rooney II and his son Dan about the magnitude of this trip.

But you know something? That flight home will be a heck of a lot tougher than the one coming over here if the Steelers fail to handle their business against the Vikings on Sunday at Croke Park.

"Every game provides new opportunities," Cam Heyward said. "Yes, it's a business trip. But there are things we have to work on each week. You want to attack differently. ... This is a game where you have to be on top of your stuff."

In other words, there's some football to talk about here, too.

Things like doing a better job running the ball, which is something Rodgers discussed. The Steelers are averaging just 63.0 rushing yards per game, 31st in the NFL, and they're facing a defense that has allowed more than twice that number.

It would be a great time for the Steelers to keep using Jaylen Warren as more of a traditional RB1 and find a way to break up some of the defensive congestion they've seen with a better downfield passing game.

"I think the next big improvement will be the run game, getting over 100 yards," Rodgers said. "We've seen a lot of two-high safeties. We haven't been able to push the ball downfield as much as we'd like.

"If we get that downfield passing game going, we'll be able to run the ball better."

The improvement Rodgers was referencing likely involves the offensive line, which didn't allow a sack against the Patriots after giving up seven the first two weeks. Broderick Jones was better, yes. But that was hardly enough to convince anyone that the problems have been solved.

Same for how little they've utilized tight ends Smith and Pat Freiermuth. It hasn't been nearly as much as promised or intended. Smith is averaging just 5.4 yards per reception, and they each have 65 yards through three games. It's not anywhere near good enough for a team supposedly treating its tight ends like a de facto second receiving option.

The Vikings also aren't an easy team to throw on, allowing just 141.3 passing yards per game. Only the Falcons and Bills have been better. The Steelers would be wise to feed DK Metcalf and allow him to make a few plays with his legs.

On defense, the Steelers finally got sacks and turnovers last week, finishing with five in each category, but there were probably a few asterisks attached to what they did against the Patriots.

They still allowed 119 rushing yards and have given up over 300 total in 11 consecutive games. Despite quarterback J.J. McCarthy being hurt, Carson Wentz played well, the Vikings will return Jordan Addison, and they've received solid work from fourth-year back Jordan Mason.

Meanwhile, the Steelers have allowed 70 first downs through three weeks, fourth-most in the NFL.

"We have to get off the field on third downs," T.J. Watt said. "We're allowing teams too many plays."

He's not wrong.

The Steelers must build on what they learned last week with Derrick Harmon's NFL debut and Cole Holcomb seeing more action in running situations. There's also a strong chance they'll get DeShon Elliott back from his knee injury, a boost for a secondary that has needed to communicate more.

"It's an opportunity for us to right our wrongs and go out there and seize those moments," Heyward said. "You can't change the past. All you can do is attack the future."

One storyline that made waves earlier this week was Ben Roethlisberger saying on his podcast that he thought Vikings defense coordinator Brian Flores, a former Steelers assistant, might out-coach Pittsburgh with aggressive and exotic blitzes.

I don't know if I buy that.

Rodgers, who's 0-2 in international games, should really help the Steelers in this capacity. In his availability, he credited Flores for being a great coach but also emphasized that Flores isn't on the field. Rodgers must recognize some of what Flores is doing and counteract that by getting the Steelers into the proper plays.

Bottom line, we've spent so much time talking about ancillary storylines with this game — travel, some brief downtime in Dublin, beer that's truly better over here, and the Steelers paying tribute to the Rooney family's ancestral home.

But 3-1 looks markedly better than 2-2, and the Steelers need every win they can get right now. Inside of what should be a packed house, with a slew of Steelers fans making the trip, they'll need to continue some of the momentum they built in New England heading into their bye week.

"I know this is technically a home game, but we've only played one game truly back home," Watt said. "To be able to go 3-1 in those circumstances would be absolutely massive."