Where are the Texans ranked after their loss to the Vikings?
Last Sunday, everything came crashing down. The Houston Texans laid an unholy egg against the Minnesota Vikings, christened with CJ Stroud’s first interception in 266 pass attempts and finalized by the most lopsided loss in the CJ Stroud era. Houston entered M&T Bank Stadium with confidence and swagger, and then exited feeling broken and humiliated. Enjoying elite company in the top ten of all power ranking pundits last week, Houston’s spot is now anything but stable. Losing to a good football team is one thing, but losing to the Vikings in a blowout? That’s going to be a scar on Houston’s record that will cease to fade for months.
…Maybe not, though! You know, sometime it pays to be an optimist, even if the work requires a short memory. This is really only one game at the beginning of the season in the grand scheme of things, and this Vikings team is apparently a real corker. Just ask San Francisco! Maybe the all-powerful rankers will give the Texans the benefit of the doubt and leave them at the top, despite this grizzly blemish on the season. Ultimately They did get plenty of Super Bowl hype all offseason long, so hopefully one embarrassment against the apparently very feisty Vikings won’t cause everyone to bail on Houston.
what makes this throw even cooler is that you can see CJ Stroud tell Tank Dell to adjust his route because he might be Hot off a blitz.
Vikings defense actually throws a curveball. Dropping a defender into the hot area and Shaq Griffin tries to jump it. Stroud/Dell just beat it. https://t.co/V7o9tzrI5p pic.twitter.com/YO1f8XHwK0
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 23, 2024
Well, that’s enough stalling. I’m dreading these results a little bit, but I need to know. Here’s where your Houston Texans are ranked entering week four of the 2024 NFL Season:
NFL.COM:
6. Houston Texans (2-1) (Last Week: 3)
All offseason, I issued warnings that maybe we were all elevating the Texans beyond where they belonged, and boom: I completely ignored my own advice last week in kicking Houston all the way up to the No. 3 spot. Lesson learned. Sunday’s 34-7 loss at Minnesota was a humbling experience for the young Texans. Not having Joe Mixon or Dameon Pierce turned out to be a big factor, as the run game was eliminated early. Cam Akers had three negative runs and a long of 9 yards. The offensive line issues aren’t going away. Juice Scruggs had a tough game at center, and even Pro Bowl LT Laremy Tunsil seemed to have his hands full. Honesty, no Texans blocker can shirk blame after this one. The timing in the passing game also felt disjointed for a second straight week. Even while facing two stronger defenses, that’s obviously a worry for Houston, considering the aerial attack was expected to be the team’s superpower this season.
ESPN:
8. Houston Texans (2-1)
Week 3 ranking: 4
Biggest issue on offense: Offensive line
The Texans’ offensive line isn’t playing well enough. The Texans have the 14th-highest run stuff rate (17.1%) and aren’t consistently creating running lanes, as they’re tied for 15th in yards before contact (1.3). Quarterback C.J. Stroud has been sacked 11 times through three weeks and is on pace to be sacked more than 55 times.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:
8. Houston Texans (2-1) (Last Week: 10)
Last week’s result: lost to Minnesota 34-7
This Week: vs. Jacksonville
The Texans were throttled by the Vikings on Sunday. Out of the three quarterbacks who have played Flores so far this year, C.J. Stroud was not the worst (that distinction belongs to Daniel Jones) and he was definitely not the best (that distinction belongs to Brock Purdy). His -12 EPA and two interceptions were par for the course but also a needed jolt for a team that could possibly benefit from an early-season pantsing. Houston is a good team. Loaded. But it’s time to evolve.
– Conor Orr
THE ATHLETIC:
5. Houston Texans (2-1)
Last week: 4
Sunday: Lost to Minnesota Vikings 34-7
Surprise: C.J. Stroud is human
The Texans second-year quarterback had the second-worst game of his career as measured by passer rating (68.6) on Sunday. He threw multiple interceptions (two) for just the second time in his career. Getting running back Joe Mixon back from an ankle sprain, whenever that happens, would be a big help. Mixon had 159 of Houston’s 326 rushing yards this season in Week 1. In his first full game on the bench, the Texans had 38 rushing yards and averaged 2.7 yards per carry on Sunday in Minnesota, and Brian Flores’ blitzes rattled Stroud, which we were beginning to think was impossible.
Up next: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
BLEACHER REPORT:
8. Houston Texans (2-1)
Last Week: 2
Week 3 Result: Lost at Minnesota 34-7
Over the first two weeks of the season, the Houston Texans looked the part of one of the NFL’s best teams.
Sunday in Minnesota, Houston was reminded that even good teams can get drilled.
This was a game the Vikings dominated in every facet. Minnesota’s defense harassed Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud all afternoon, sacking him four times and forcing a pair of interceptions. With Houston’s top two running backs injured, the team managed just 38 yards on the ground. Houston was held under 300 yards of offense and hurt itself with 11 penalties.
Stroud was admittedly frustrated after the blowout loss, but he told reportersthe Texans aren’t about to panic after one bad game.
“I’ve dealt with games like this before, where it’s like, ‘Man, we look terrible!’ But that’s not the truth,” Stroud said. “They kicked our butts today. They are a great team, and they’ll continue to do great things, but we know what we are and that’s not what we put on the field today. Once we fix the negatives, we’re going to be rolling. I’m excited because the only way we can go now is up. It’s something to learn from. I’m glad it happened early. Now it’s time to go to work.”
It’s a good attitude to have. Sunday was a sloppily played affair and one the Texans would just as soon forget. But given the early struggles of the rest of the AFC South, Houston remains the clear class of a weak division.
– Gary Davenport, Maurice Moton, Kristopher Knox, Brent Sobleski
CBS SPORTS:
6. Houston Texans (Last Week:
They lost for the first time as their offense was dominated by the Vikings. Now we get to see how C.J. Stroud and company handle the response to a bad day.
YAHOO! SPORTS:
9. Houston Texans (2-1) (Last Week: 3)
It’s hard to get a run game going when you lose 34-7, but the Texans missed Joe Mixon on Sunday. Cam Akers got the start with Mixon and Dameon Pierceout, and had just 21 yards on nine carries. The Texans have a fantastic quarterback but can’t be that unbalanced.
USA Today:
11. Houston Texans (Last Week: 2)
As the run game has disappeared, so has the offense. After posting 29 points and 213 yards on the ground in Week 1, Houston has not matched those totals over the last two weeks. Combined.
PRO FOOTBALL TALK:
9. Texans (No. 5; 2-1)
They really missed Joe Mixon on Sunday.
AVERAGE RANKING: 6.88 (Last Week: 3.33)
Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
This is a big drop, especially in the USA Today ranking that kicked Houston all the way from #2 to #11 in one week. Hokey jeez! Many blamed the bad game on the noticeable absence of running back Joe Mixon, a wonderful excuse for a team hoping nobody noticed their star quarterback being brought back down the Earth. Yeah, it wasn’t a good day for us Stroud fans, but no matter! MVP season will be back in full swing next week when Houston comes back home for a get-right game against the flailing Jacksonville Jaguars. Hopefully by then, Joe Mixon and/or Dameon Pierce will be fully healthy.
Watch Stroud and Howard go to Scruggs on Play 1 and Tunsil talking things over on Play 3.
Scruggs hasn’t completed a rookie season’s worth of games yet so miscommunication with crowds like Minnesota can happen. This was a back breaking set of penalties. https://t.co/DSWAMxiKoZ pic.twitter.com/LYTphkEZVV
— Cautiously Optimistic Texans Fan (@FondofHOUsports) September 23, 2024
But, to me, having that healthy running back shouldn’t make all the difference. CJ Stroud is supposed to be the player that makes all the difference, and makes up for the injured positions. To me, CJ Stroud should be capable of any sort of heroics that we may need when his number is called. Now that this game has happened and Stroud has proven to be mortal, my belief in him is now not so air-tight. Suddenly, the idea of this offense being capable of dominating any other team feels little more suspect. I don’t want to panic yet, but 7 points with this offense is a real surprise, and I would be lying if it I said it hasn’t struck some doubt into my championship hopes for the Texans.
What do you think, though? Is this a weakness that’s going to rear its head over and over again, or will the Texans learn from this and evolve into a better team? Let us know in the comments below! GO TEXANS!!!!