Vikings Topple Texans For First Win of 2020: Three Takeaways
September wasn't the Vikings' month, but October is off to a good start.
In a battle of surprising 0-3 teams, the Vikings had a big day on offense and made enough plays on defense to pick up a road win over the Texans, 31-23. With their first victory of the season in hand, Mike Zimmer's team will head to Seattle for a tough primetime matchup with the 4-0 Seahawks next Sunday night.
Here are three takeaways from the Vikings' win:
1. This is what the offense was supposed to look like
The Vikings had their best offensive performance of the season last week, but it still resulted in a loss to the Titans. This week, that unit was even better. They put up 30 points for the second straight game and went over 400 yards of total offense.
Last season, Kirk Cousins bounced back from a rough September to win NFC Offensive Player of the Month in October. Against the Texans, he showed some signs of having another strong performance in the second month of the season. Cousins completed 16 of 22 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown, recording a 127.1 passer rating – his best of the season. He showed great chemistry with Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson, and made a number of big-time throws to beat tight coverage.
In my "three keys to victory" preview of this game, I said the Vikings needed to feed their three star playmakers on offense. They did just that against the Texans. Dalvin Cook went off for the second consecutive game, finishing with 146 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns (giving him six in four games). Cook broke or eluded countless tackles and continues to show why the Vikings gave him a big contract extension prior to the season.
Thielen and Jefferson each also went over 100 yards, with Thielen catching his fourth touchdown pass of the year. The rookie Jefferson caught four passes, each of which went for 20-plus yards. He looks legit.
The offense will need to be even better next week if the Vikings are going to keep pace with Russell Wilson and the Seahawks.
2. Defense stiffens on third down and in the red zone
On the surface, this wasn't the greatest day for the Vikings' banged-up defense. 23 points allowed is their fewest of the season, but they still allowed the Texans to record 386 yards of offense. However, it's important to look at what the Vikings did on third down and in the red zone on the defensive side of the ball.
Zimmer's defense held Deshaun Watson and the Texans to three conversions on 12 third-down attempts, a rate of 25 percent. And on three trips to the red zone, the Texans scored just six points. That includes the final stop of the game. Trailing by eight points, Watson got his team down inside the five, but a fumble on a toss play set up fourth down. It looked like Will Fuller made a crazy touchdown catch, but the play was overturned upon review.
Eric Kendricks led the way with 12 tackles and the Vikings recorded three sacks.
3. Harrison Smith's ejection was almost costly
Late in the first half, a defense missing Danielle Hunter and Anthony Barr lost another one of its best players. Safety Harrison Smith was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Texans tight end Jordan Akins; Zimmer was livid on the sidelines about Smith being tossed for what appeared to be an inadvertent mistake.
Without Smith, the Vikings turned to veteran George Iloka at safety. Just promoted from the practice squad, Iloka unsurprisingly struggled. He was burned a couple times, including on the Texans' final touchdown of the afternoon.
Luckily for the Vikings, they were able to survive anyways. And to his credit, Iloka had a big tackle on David Johnson on the penultimate play of the Texans' last drive. This showed just how valuable Smith and Anthony Harris are to the Vikings, who don't have much depth at safety.
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