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.
https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1838164148879794239
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.