Inside The Vikings

Still no respect: Texans favored to beat Vikings in Minneapolis in Week 3

The Vikings have opened as home underdogs for a second consecutive week.
Will Ragatz|
Sep 15, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) passes against the Chicago Bears in the first quarter at NRG Stadium.
Sep 15, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) passes against the Chicago Bears in the first quarter at NRG Stadium. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Vikings

Even after beating the 49ers in impressive fashion on Sunday to move to 2-0, the Vikings still aren't garnering much respect from the sportsbooks. They've opened as 2.5-point home underdogs for their Week 3 matchup against the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Texans are also 2-0, but their point differential of +8 is notably worse than the Vikings' +28 mark. Houston beat the Colts by two in their opener in Indianapolis and then held on for a 19-13 home win over the Bears on Sunday Night Football.

Reigning offensive rookie of the year C.J. Stroud is off to a strong start to his second season. He's completed 69 percent of his passes thus far with three touchdowns and no picks. His top target, Nico Collins, leads the NFL in receiving with 252 yards through two weeks. Joe Mixon, Stefon Diggs, and Tank Dell round out a strong group of weapons for Stroud.

It was Houston's defense that made the difference on Sunday night. DeMeco Ryans' group sacked Caleb Williams seven times, picked him off twice, and held the Bears to just over 200 yards of total offense. It's a very talented unit, led by edge rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, and young corners Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter.

This should be quite the Week 3 matchup between a pair of 2-0 teams. Brian Flores' defense going against Stroud and Bobby Slowik's offense will be another fascinating chess match. Sam Darnold and the Vikings' offense, which is much better than Chicago's, will look to keep rolling against another good defense. The Bears' offensive line was horrific against the Texans on SNF, but the Vikings only allowed pressure on 9 of Darnold's 31 dropbacks against the 49ers.

We'll see if the line moves over the course of the week, but for now, the Vikings are home underdogs again. And they won't mind. They've covered the spread easily twice now and enjoy being slept on. They're just going to get back to work this week and prepare to go out next Sunday and go 1-0 again.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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