Minnesota Vikings shellack the visiting Texans
Maybe it was all the sunlight shining in through the roof of the Minnesota Vikings stadium.
Maybe it was all the ever-present purple giving the Houston Texans Barney the Dinosaur flashbacks.
Maybe it was Laremy Tunsil’s inability to not make rookie mistakes.
Maybe it was my Vikings fan buddy texting me reminders of how bad the Texans looked all game.
Or, maybe the Vikings are just the better team.
No matter how ya spin it, the Texans got walloped. From the onset they didn’t look ready for the challenge. With a week to decipher what Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores did to the San Francisco 49ers, Texans OC Bobby Slowik had no answers for the Vikings D.
Tangent: if I had a dollar for every time I listened to NFL announcers overhype some sort of streak just to watch that streak end as if they have some sort of crystal ball, I could retire last decade.
As soon as they started overhyping C.J. Stroud’s passes without an interception streak, it was obvious he was going to throw 1 or more during the game. Within minutes, the prediction was realized and Houston’s 1st drive ended with a pick.
And, the game didn’t get any better, at least not if you love the Texans.
Speaking of Tunsil, if the Pro Bowl opened up a new category for most rookie-mental-mistakes-by-a-veteran, Tunsil would already have it locked down.
Line up illegally. Check.
False start. Check.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
While that was hardly the reason Houston lost, it sure didn’t help. When the highest paid, “most skilled” offensive lineman plays like he should hit the practice squad, you know it’s not going to go well.
Once it was all over, Stroud threw for a meager 215 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
Without Joe Mixon (or Dameon Pierce) the former Viking Cam Akers had to carry the running back load, but only gained 21 yards. Akers also caught the Texans’ lone touchdown pass.
Flores’ defense held Texans’ star receiver Nico Collins to 4 catches for 86 yards.
Former Vikings’ receiver Stefon Diggs caught 10 for 94 yards.
On the flip side, Houston’s defense held Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold to 181 yards. Unfortunately, he hit 4 touchdowns in that yardage.
Darnold’s running back, Aaron Jones, racked up 102 yards on 19 carries for a 5.4 yard average.
Former Viking Danielle Hunter only heard his name called a handful of times, including a low hit penalty on Darnold. The refs and announcers ignored the fact that Hunter was pushed in the back into Darnold’s legs. ‘Natch.
Unlike last week’s ugly win, this was an ugly loss. The difference? Houston played poorly against a not-so-good Chicago Bears team last week. The Vikings are clearly a better franchise at this moment than their divisional rivals in Chi-Town.
Tonight, all eyes should land on the Jacksonville Jaguars vs the Buffalo Bills. Next weekend the Texans face the Glitter Kitties. The following week they take on the Bills.
If head coach Demeco Ryans, Slowik and the rest of the coaches don’t get things turned around (and Tunsil doesn’t stop making drive-killing mistakes) Houston might find themselves on the wrong side of .500 when they roll in to face former coach Bill O’Brien and the New England Patriots on October 13th.
Should they lose the next 3, everything Ryans and Stroud have accomplished over the last 1.5 years will go out the window and fan support will likely tank once more.
But, that ain’t gonna happen cause:
#InDeMecoWeTrust