Penalties, turnovers, and missed kicks. These are things you want to avoid, especially if you’re challenging an undefeated team on the road. The Houston Texans were plagued by all three on Sunday. And it was all in the first quarter.
The result was as you would expect. The Minnesota Vikings got off to a fast start and took a 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Now, it’s looking like one of Week 3’s most anticipated matchups is turning into a sleeper.
Houston Texans Stumble Out of the Gates at Minnesota Vikings
The mistakes started immediately for Houston, as a holding penalty on the first play of the game negated a 17-yard connection from C.J. Stroud to Nico Collins. On the next play, Stroud had a pass tipped by defensive tackle Harrison Phillips and then intercepted by linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, a former Texan.
Six plays after the Stroud interception, Vikings’ quarterback Sam Darnold found wide receiver Justin Jefferson wide open in the end zone and connected with him for a nine-yard score — Jefferson’s third of the season. Darnold was focused on Jefferson on the scoring drive, finding him for six yards on third down to extend the drive and then finding him in the paint for a touchdown that was also on third down.
Grugier-Hill wasn’t done. Six plays into the ensuring Houston drive, which had covered 25 yards to that point, he forced a fumble of Texans tight end Dalton Schultz, which was scooped up by cornerback Stephon Gilmore and returned 29 yards to the Houston 25-yard line. Unfortunately for the Vikings, though, that play was overturned and ruled an incompletion.
Houston continued its drive but then stalled out when Minnesota edge rusher Jonathan Greenard took advantage of a mismatch in pass protection to drop Stroud behind the line of scrimmage for a sack that set the Texans back 10 yards. Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, who hadn’t missed a kick on the season to that point, came on to salvage the drive, but his attempt stayed wide right, and the Vikings took over.
Darnold found Jefferson for a 28-yard connection on the first play of their second series. Running back Aaron Jones took it from there.
Jones handled the next five touches and covered 28 yards, with the last touch being an eight-yard reception that he took to the end zone. The extra point was good, and the Vikings are in command with a 14-0 lead toward the end of the opening quarter.
The game leveled off in the second quarter, as the teams exchanged six punts in the period. When the dust settled on the first two quarters of play, the Vikings remained firmly in command with a 14-0 lead.
Sam Darnold, Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones Spark Vikings
It was the usual suspects for the Vikings on offense in the first half.
Darnold was 10 of 16 for 121 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His favorite target was Jefferson, who was uncovered consistently in the first 30 minutes. Jefferson had six catches on six targets for 81 yards and a score at the break.
Jones was steady on the ground and chipped in through the air, too. He had 29 yards rushing on seven carries and three catches for 32 yards and scored through the air.