Inside The Vikings

5 takeaways from dominant Vikings win over Texans

It was a truly impressive performance for Minnesota on Sunday.

Nolan O'Hara

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill (54) returns an interception against the Houston Texans during the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sept. 22, 2024.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill (54) returns an interception against the Houston Texans during the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sept. 22, 2024. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
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The Vikings took care of business by beating the New York Giants in Week 1. They drew some attention when they upset the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers in Week 2. And after a 34-7 victory over the Houston Texans, there’s no question the Vikings are one heck of a football team. 

The Vikings were in control from start to finish on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, putting together about as impressive of a victory as one could have imagined. The dominance on both sides of the ball was stunning, and there were no shortage of moments that stood out from the game.

Here are five things that stood out from the Vikings’ impressive victory: 

1. Early interception

The Vikings set the tone from the opening drive. Despite the Texans getting the first crack on offense. Harrison Phillips deflected a pass from Texans quarterback CJ Stroud on the line of scrimmage that fell into the hands of linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, setting the Vikings up in great field position. 

They took advantage of the short field with a quick six-play, 21-yard drive that was capped with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Sam Darnold to Justin Jefferson. That gave the Vikings a quick 7-0 lead, and they were off and running from there, leading the entire game on the way to an impressive win.

2. False start, false start, false start

Trailing 14-0, the Texans were mounting their best drive of the day, getting all the way to the Minnesota 25-yard line. But then the crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium disrupted the Houston huddles.
The Texans had three consecutive false start penalties, backing them up 15 yards to the 40. 

What was once third-and-4 and their best chance of the day at a touchdown suddenly became third-and-19 and outside of field-goal range. Stroud threw an incomplete pass on third down, and the Texans got hit with an illegal formation penalty, though the Vikings declined, forcing Houston to punt.

Instead of getting within a touchdown, or even within 14-3, the Texans punted it away down 14-0. 

3. Sam the man

With every passing week, Sam Darnold continues to prove his resurgence is far from a fluke. It's clear Darnold is a talented and capable NFL starting quarterback. In his third game in a Vikings uniform, Darnold completed 17-of-28 passes for 181 yards and four touchdowns in another Vikings victory.

In the most important stat, Darnold is 3-0. But he’s also currently the NFL leader in passing touchdowns with eight. He’s consistently been able to get Jefferson involved, despite missing his No. 2 receiver in Jordan Addison. And it’s clear he has a good connection with Jalen Nailor.

Darnold gave Vikings fans a brief scare in the third quarter when he appeared to tweak his leg and went to the medical tent, forcing Nick Mullens to step under center for a play. But Darnold trotted right back out of the tent and returned to "MVP" chants from the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd.

It might be a little early to crown Darnold an MVP candidate, but it's clear this version of Darnold is not the same as the one in previous stints with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers.

4. No Addison, no Turner, no Pace, no problem

Wide receiver Jordan Addison, edge rusher Dallas Turner and linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. were all ruled out ahead of the game due to injuries. While the Vikings would like to have them all back sooner rather than later, you almost wouldn't have been able to tell anyone was missing from Sunday's game.

On the defensive end, Grugier-Hill made a big impact early with the interception. He nearly had a strip fumble later in the game and made his presence felt in the middle of the field throughout.

Without Turner on the edge, Jonathan Greenard still found his way to three sacks. The Vikings had five sacks in all, and the defense was stifling from start to finish.

Offensively, Jefferson still found himself open throughout the first half even without his partner in crime, Addison, in the game. Nailor continues to impress in the WR3 role, catching three passes for 31 yards and another touchdown on Sunday. Aaron Jones made an impact in the passing attack, too.

5. Flores continues to fluster

Through three weeks, no team has been able to figure out defensive coordinator Brian Flores' defense. His blitz-heavy scheme made life difficult on Stroud all game long. The Texans simply couldn't run the ball, averaging just 2.7 yards per carry. And they did it without Turner and Pace.

The Vikings racked up five sacks, making it three straight games with at least five sacks to open the season. The Vikings are the first team to accomplish that feat since the New Orleans Saints in 2001.

The Vikings forced two interceptions, Grugier-Hill's early pick and Cam Bynum intercepted Stroud early in the fourth quarter when the Vikings were up 24-7, all but sealing the game.

The Texans had 296 total yards of offense and only scored the one touchdown. The Texans had a whopping 11 penalties, most of them being on offense, like the false starts at the line of scrimmage.

Flores' schemes continue to fluster opponents, and it was frankly stunning how dominant his defense was on Sunday against a very good Texans offense led by a standout second-year quarterback.

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Nolan O'Hara

NOLAN O'HARA

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