The Pressure Battle Takes Center Stage In Viking-Texans
Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans are heading toward a star-studded, offensive Week 3 match-up. On one side, you have Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones, and on the other is C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins, and Stefon Diggs. But it may not be those high-flying studs who determine who’s coming away with a 3-0 record. Sunday’s battle will likely be won on who has the best day can generating AND handling pressure.
The Vikings’ offensive line was a question mark heading into the season, but they have shown signs of growth, particularly on the interior. But if the first two games of the season were midterms, the Texans are going to be the final exam.
The Vikings have held up well so far, but have a mixed record against star pass rushers. In Week 1 against the New York Giants, Dexter Lawrence had a pressure rate of over 31%, which was tops in the NFL. The Vikings were still able to win the game, and Week 2 saw a tougher test against Nick Bosa and company. But despite the greater level of competition, the offensive line gave up only six pressures on 31 dropbacks from Sam Darnold. So how well will they hold up against the multiple high-end rushers from Houston?
The Texans have nine sacks on the season, but those are spread out. Mario Edwards leads the team with two, but he’s not the biggest concern for the Vikings offensive line.
Nope, it’s old friend Danielle Hunter, who spent his first eight years with the Vikings and sacked opposing quarterbacks 87.5 times for the good guys. Now he’s got 1.5 for the other guys, and the Vikings have to figure out a way to keep Darnold upright and not let Hunter run wild like he did so many times for Minnesota.
On Wednesday, when talking about the Hunter matchup, coach Kevin O’Connell made it clear neutralizing their former teammate was going to be a priority for Week 3.
“If it wasn’t going to be here, I wanted him to find a great place to go play and continue what he did in 2023. I think he found a great home literally in his hometown,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “It’s the same guy that’s an absolute game-wrecker. Danielle has to be a major focal point in our game plan.”
Brian O’Neill is dealing with an elbow injury, but it’s hard to imagine he’s going to miss this game, and as long as he starts, he’s going to have his hands full. So far this season, O’Neill has allowed only one pressure, and for the Vikings to have a chance, that number can’t triple or quadruple in this game. In the last Texans’ game against the Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams got pressured on 23 of his 48 dropbacks. Sam Darnold has thrown for 476 yards and four touchdowns so far this year, but if he’s pressured that many times, his stats won’t keep looking this impressive.
It’s not just the Vikings’ O-Line though that is going to decide this game, the Texans will have their hands full up front. The only team with more sacks than the Texans is… the Vikings, who sit with 11. Linebacker Pat Jones leads the team four, but the wealth is also spread among the defense, with six players registering at least one sack.
Unfortunately for Houston, their offensive line hasn’t held up as well as the Vikings through two games. Texans opponents have sacked Stroud 11 times through the first two games, and Jones, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, and the rest of Minnesota’s defense have to be licking their chops about the chances they could get on Sunday.
And they’ll need to get to Stroud, because if he has time in the pocket, he has far too many at his disposal. You can say what you want about Diggs’ issues in the locker room, but one thing is for sure: between the sidelines, the man behind the Minneapolis Miracle is special.
Both of these teams have all kinds of playmakers at the skill positions, but that won’t matter if Stroud or Darnold don’t have the time to get them the ball. All the talk up until Sunday is going to be about the stars scoring points, but when the game start,s we know the offensive lines are going to decide it all. It’s this simple: whichever team can keep their quarterback upright will pick up their third win of the season.
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