Sunday afternoon’s game is a somewhat improbable battle of undefeated teams early in this NFL season, with the 2-0 Houston Texans visiting the 2-0 Minnesota Vikings. Ironically, if you had to pick one of these two teams to be 2-0 heading into this game, it would be the Texans currently holding up their end of the bargain.
The Vikings are 2-0 courtesy of a blowout win over the Giants (not all that surprising) and a 23-17 home win over the San Francisco 49ers (actually, SUPER surprising). In reality, the one category of undefeated-ness that hits home the most for Texan fans in this matchup is this — the Minnesota Vikings are undefeated against the Texans. Like, as in, the Texans have never, ever, EVER beaten them.
The overall record is Vikings 5, Texans 0, and some of those wins have historical significance. In 2012, the Vikings scored a Week 16 win at NRG Stadium in a game where a Texans win would have secured the only first round playoff bye in franchise history. In 2020, the Vikings again beat the Texans at home in Week 4, and the next day Bill O’Brien was fired.
The Texans come into this game as a small road favorite, which likely means this WILL be a close game. We will get to predictions in a moment, but for now, here are four things to watch for:
4. Containing Jefferson
Despite the squad being 2-0, this is a banged up Vikings offense right now, with wide receiver Jordan Addison likely to miss the game and tight end T.J. Hockenson on the injured reserve list. Their best player, wide receiver Justin Jefferson, the highest paid receiver in the game, is nursing a quad injury, but is just one week removed from a 97-yard touchdown against the 49ers. The Texans’ defense is two weeks removed from giving up three plays of 50-plus yards to the Colts. It will be interesting to see how DeMeco Ryans attacks the Jefferson aspect of this game. Does he double cover him, or have Derek Stingley, Jr., Jefferson’s teammate at LSU, follow him all over the field?
3. Kicking game
It feels weird to say this about a kicker, but through two games, Ka’imi Fairbairn is the most valuable player on the Texans. It’s not just that he’s kicked seven field goals in two games, but more the fact that they’ve all been 47 yards or longer, with six of them coming from 50 yards or more. Fairbairn’s 59-yard kick right before halftime recaptured the momentum for the Texans in their 19-13 win over the Bears. In a raucous indoor environment on Sunday, this should look and sound a whole lot like the Colts game in Week 1. Points will be at a premium, and if the Texans have trouble running the football (more on this in a few seconds), then Fairbairn will play a major role in this game.
2. Cam Akers time?
The Texans had made it through training camp, and Week 1 of the season about as healthy as you could ask an NFL team to be. The only major injury was to linebacker Christian Harris, and even he is expected back within the next several weeks. However, in Week 2, injuries started to become an issue, and now the Texans have been working with their top two centers (Juice Scruggs, Jarret Patterson) limited and top two running backs (Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce) out of practice this week. We may get our first extended look at RB Cam Akers, who ran the ball very well in seven carries against the Bears, but fumbled the football inside the Bears’ five yard line, preventing the Texans from taking a 26-10 lead. We might get our first regular season look at rookie undrafted free agent, British Brooks.
1. S.W.A.R.M. Darnold
In the end, this is a game where I will take the Texans’ quarterback over the opposing quarterback. The Vikings currently employ journeyman and former top three draft pick, Sam Darnold. Darnold has actually been quite solid in the first two games of the season, but until we get a bigger sample size of success, I am going to assume that DeMeco Ryans finds a way to get pressure on Darnold and force him into a couple mistakes. To win this game, the Vikings need to win the turnover battle. With Darnold, they won’t.
SPREAD: Texans -2.5
PREDICCTION: Texans 23, Vikings 20
SEASON RECORD: 2-0 SU, 0-2 ATS
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
