The gridiron took center stage over the penalty box as the Minnesota Vikings faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the historic Wembley Stadium in London.

Wembley, which is the England national football team's home pitch, was transformed into the Vikings' home stadium for at least one weekend. The Vikings took full advantage of the purported home atmosphere as they waylaid the still-winless Steelers 34-27.

Back-up quarterback Matt Cassel turned Wembley into his personal showcase, throwing for two touchdowns and 248 yards with no interceptions. Starting quarterback Christian Ponder missed the game due to a rib injury. Ponder had thrown only two touchdown passes and had five passes intercepted in the season so far and might be left pondering where he will be at the end of the season.

In contrast, Cassel lifted his team out of a 0-3 start, a disappointment for a franchise that reached the playoffs in the 2012-13 season. Cassel hit Greg Jennings for a 70-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter then found Jennings open once again in the third quarter, this time for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

Pittsburgh had a chance to at least tie the game, but Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger fumbled a drive in the last few seconds. Roethlisberger did manage to complete 36 of his 51 passes, getting a total of 383 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked five times and intercepted once.

"We're a good team when we don't turn the ball over and Matt did a perfect job in that area, made some nice throws," Minnesota head coach Leslie Frazer told the London media after the game.

The NFL International Series, as the Wembley games are formally known, started in 2007. The game between the Vikings and the Steelers, which attracted a record crowd of 83,518 spectators despite featuring two of the worst teams in the NFL, is the first of two international games scheduled in the regular season and is the seventh installment overall.

The second NFL International game in the 2013-14 season will be between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Francisco 49ers, scheduled on October 27. The Jaguars are owned by Shahid Khan, who also owns English Premier League team Fulham FC.