Tag: Vikings Odds

Texans-Vikings Week 3: Offense, defense and special teams snap counts

Here’s how many snaps C.J. Stroud, Jalen Pitre and the rest of the Houston Texans saw in Sunday’s loss against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Houston Texans’ offense was expected to be one of the league’s finest with the arrival of Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs.

So far, the pedestrian results have led to the downfall of dominance over three weeks.

The Minnesota Vikings secured a 34-7 victory over Houston thanks to a four-touchdown day from Sam Darnold. The former No. 3 overall pick sliced and diced the Texans’ secondary to help Minnesota keep its undefeated season alive.

C.J. Stroud never got in a rhythm after tossing his first interception in 278 pass attempts on his first throw. The offensive line was marred by penalties, including five against Pro Bowl tackle Laremy Tunsil.

Former Texans defensive end Jonathan Greenard made the most of his afternoon, totaling three sacks and two tackles for loss. Kanu Grugier-Hill, Houston’s leading tackler in 2021, intercepted Stroud to set up an 8-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to Justin Jefferson in the first quarter.

Diggs, a former Vikings star best known for his ‘Minneapolis Miracle’ catch,  might have been the lone bright spot on offense thanks to his six first-down receptions. Not only did Diggs lead Houston’s passing game with 90 receiving yards, but his 10 catches marked a season-high by any Texans’ receiver.

“We’re still a force to be reckoned with. and we’re still very dangerous,” Stroud said postgame. “We’ve built a foundation solid on rock. We’re not going to act like everything was perfect out there, but we’re not going to act like there wasn’t some positives.”

Here are the snap counts for every player that contributed to the Texans’ Week 3 loss.

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Offensive snaps: 67
Defensive snaps: 63
Special teams snaps: 14

Diggs and tight end Dalton Schultz led Houston’s skill players in reps and were the only two to record more than 56 snaps. Nico Collins, who finished with four catches for 86 yards, played 82 percent of snaps.

Without Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce, Cam Akers was expected to take over as the new lead back. That actually wasn’t the case since Dare Ogunbowale totaled 28 reps as the No. 2 option.

Akers, who scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Stroud in the third quarter, finished with 29.

Safety Jimmie Ward was the only player to play 100 percent of the reps on defense. Derek Stingley Jr., Kamari Lassiter, Azeez Al-Shaair and Jalen Pitre finished with 62 reps after being pulled on one play.

The Texans return to NRG Stadium for their first divisional matchup of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT.

Instant analysis: Texans struggle to find offensive consistency in loss to Vikings

The Houston Texans stumble on offense en route to their first loss of the regular season against the Minnesota Vikings.

This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccurate headline

They don’t call it the Frozen Thundra for nothing.

The Houston Texans’ offense remained cold as C.J. Stroud threw a pair of interceptions en route to a 34-7 loss against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Davis Mills replaced Stroud in the final five minutes to ensure he remained healthy for next week’s divisional matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In a game with countless history between both sides, Minnesota (3-0) set the standard thanks to a pair of former Texans. Jonathan Greenard, who led the Texans in sacks last year, pressured Stroud into throwing a tad late on the opening drive.

His pass was batted at the line of scrimmage and landed in the arms of former Texans linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill for an interception.

https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans/status/1837947123981250755

Stroud, who was 20 of 31 for 215 yards, was sacked four times. The rhythm between the Pro Bowl quarterback and go-to receiver Nico Collins was off, minus a 34-yard gain in the third quarter.

That set up a 6-yard touchdown pass to Cam Akers, who recorded his first start since Week 1 of the 2023 season in place of the injured Joe Mixon.

Defensively, Houston couldn’t slow down former first-round pick Sam Darnold’s connection with Justin Jefferson in the first half. Following Stroud’s first interception, the duo connected on an 8-yard pass to take an early 7-0 lead.

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Darnold, who was 17 of 28 for 181 yards, connected with Aaron Jones for scores in the first quarter to extend the lead to 14. In the second half, he delivered a touchdown to Jalen Nailor for the third straight game and before tying his career-high in touchdown passes on a 4-yard pass to tight end Johnny Mundt in the fourth.

Houston’s defense recorded four sacks but allowed four explosive plays of 20-plus yards.

The Texans never capitalized and were clearly off-balance between a blend of crowd noise and pressure generated by defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Last week against the 49ers, Flores forced Brock Prudy into throwing two interceptions because of his pressure rate.

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Greenard finished with three sacks against his former teammate. Texans offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil was flagged five times, including three for false starts, bringing his season total to seven through three games.

Stefon Diggs, who returned to Minneapolis for the first time since being traded to the Buffalo Bills in 2020, led the Texans with 10 catches for 94 yards. Collins, who entered Sunday as the NFL’s leading receiver, finished with 86 yards on four catches.

The Vikings improved to 6-0 all-time against the Texans and 3-0 on the season for the first time since 2016.

The Texans return home to take on the Jaguars next Sunday at noon CT.