The Vikings Destroyed Their Off Switch For the Texans Game
Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Vikings went from surprising to shocking the NFL to its core on Sunday, beating the Houston Texans, not just winning the game 34-7, but dominating from the first official play from scrimmage, when Harrison Phillips was able to tip a ball into the hands of Kamu Gruier-Hill. Sam Darnold and Company were able to capitalize on having the ball deep in Texans territory, punching in the ball for seven. They never took their foot off the gas.
All three phases of the team were able to play exceptional football the entire afternoon, as the defense terrorized C.J. Stroud and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, making it almost impossible for them to chain together good plays without shooting themselves in the foot. In turn, the offense responded with long, sustained drives where they got chunk plays through the ground and the air. As a result, DeMeco Ryans’ defense looked overmatched, to say the least.
Though we thought we learned a lot about this iteration of the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2, this week felt infinitely more eye-opening. Here are three important takeaways from Sunday’s action:
A Killer Instinct
Last week, despite the multitude of opportunities afforded to them, the Vikings were never quite able to put the San Francisco 49ers away. While they buried the New York Giants with ease, we hadn’t yet seen them put their foot on the throat of one of the league’s premier teams. They did it. Oh, my God, they did it, as both Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores independently found ways to put an exclamation point on their newest statement game.
From a defensive standpoint, the Vikings defense, outside of one drive, was able to hold the Texans off the scoreboard. While they did have an element of luck, with the Texans’ offense shooting themselves in the foot a number of times with penalties, it was still a sight to behold. It felt like the Vikings were exploiting a glitch when they flustered the normally calm Stroud and put him off of his game early with constant pressure. Even more foreign to Vikings’ fans, we saw the defense refuse to ever, ever give in to their opponents.
Houston drove down the field to get a 1st-and-goal on the Vikings’ 3-yard line, and the defense responded by executing a goal-line stand. While up 34-7. With just 65 seconds left on the clock. Forget winning the game, there wasn’t even a threat to bring it within two scores. But by denying the Texans to punch in a meaningless score at the end of the game speaks volumes about their attitude and the pride they take in their jobs.
On offense, O’Connell seems to have abandoned the conservative approach he had in weeks (and years) prior. With three minutes left in the third quarter, the Vikings faced 4th-and-inches on the Texans’ 34. Conventional wisdom would say to take three points and turn it into a three-possession game. Maybe the memory of letting San Francisco back into the game lingered in his mind all week, because KOC opted to leave his offense on the field. Eff that surrender BS. O’Connell trusted his offense to get half a yard, and Jalen Nailor rewarded his faith with a jet sweep to get a new set of downs.
While the drive did ultimately only result in three points for the Vikings, the Texans’ defense still missed out on a chance to get off of the field, and it had to add to Houston’s overall demoralization. O’Connell and Flores were united in not taking their foot off of the gas as they ran up the scores on a contending team.
Flores Is the Shanahan Tree’s Bogeyman
On the CBS broadcast, they stated that Brian Flores’ main goal was to “create a defense to stop the Shannahan system.” His defense was put to the test in back-to-back weeks against two high-flying Shannahan-style offenses, and it passed with flying colors yet again.
After Week 2’s upset, members of the 49er’s offense from Brock Purdy to Brandon Aiyuk, to Deebo Samuel gushed about the Vikings’ defense and how the scheme made it hard for their offense to get anything going. This week, the Flores defense faced a slightly different challenge with a more capable quarterback in Stroud who boasts a Cerberus at receiver with Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell. Instead of shying away from the challenge, Flores embraced it and took it to Stroud and the Texans.
The Vikings front seven was able to make Stroud’s life a living hell, hitting him at every opportunity. Jonathan Greenard had his first-career three-sack game against his former team, as he lived in the backfield. Beyond the pressure, Flores was able to take away the chunk plays that the Texans’ offense relies on, keeping almost everything in front of them and forcing the Texans’ offense to look away from the big-play ability of Collins and Dell. Instead, they made Houston rely on Diggs and his shorter routes.
Last week, Flores eliminated the 49ers’ ability to use the play action, and now this week he eliminated the Texans offense’s ability to hit the big play. He has successfully taken away the identity of two different, high-flying offenses, giving both Kyle Shanahan and another Shanahan disciple the toughest challenges they have faced so far this season.
Fans Fanned the Flames
We might not always believe it when teams talk about their home crowd’s impact on the game, but today proved that US Bank Stadium can give the Vikings defense a major advantage. The Texans offensive line clearly struggled all game, racking up multiple flags through the course of the game, and struggling to find their alignment or to stay still prior to the snap.
There’s no more glaring example than in the second quarter, when the Texans faced a 3rd-and-4 at the Vikings’ 25-yard line. Houston had a chance to right the ship and turn a 14-0 game into a 14-7 contest, but instead of moving forward, the Texans offensive line screwed up. And did it again. And a third time. Three false starts later — with three different culprits in Titus Howard, Juice Scruggs, and Laremy Tunsil — the Texans weren’t even in position to kick a field goal.
The Vikings might have stopped Houston if not for the fans. Or, maybe, the crowd made a difference and gave Minnesota an assist to squash any momentum Houston had. While it might not ever show up on the stat sheet, the loud and hostile environment in US Bank Stadium sure looked like it played a part in the game, and watching a stadium full of Minnesota sports fans buy in this hard and impact the game was a welcome sight.
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