5 Vikings-Texans Storylines to Watch

Sep 30, 2020 at 10:35 AM

Craig Peters

Senior Editor

"OK, Houston, we've had a problem here."

Well, the Vikings start to 2020 isn't quite the parallel of the hazard that challenged the Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970, but 0-3 has only happened six times in Minnesota's 60 seasons.

A short distance from Space Center Houston, the 0-3 Texans might reply, "We have, too."

Both teams will seek their first victory in a game scheduled for noon (CT) Sunday on FOX (KMSP FOX 9).

Here are five storylines to watch this week, as well as a link below to the game preview by the Vikings PR staff and a list of connections between the teams.

Week 4: Vikings-Texans Game Preview ^[PDF]

1. Game on?

The Vikings (and Titans) closed their practice facilities Tuesday because of multiple Tennessee players and coaches testing positive for COVID-19.

Although the Vikings had not had any positive tests, the team worked with the protocols established by the NFL and NFLPA by halting in-person club activities.

The Vikings are continuing to test players and personnel and monitoring the situation. As of Wednesday, the game is still scheduled as planned — and the Texans are planning to have approximately 13,000 fans in attendance — but this is unchartered territory for NFL teams.

Minnesota's coaches remote game-planned on Tuesday, and Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center will be closed again Wednesday, which normally would be the first day of the practice week.

2. In the running (game)

Although the Vikings fell 31-30, they were able to utilize the run game to the extent that they envisioned at the start of the year because they avoided a significant deficit.

Dalvin Cook ripped off a personal-best 181 yards on the ground, highlighted by the second-longest touchdown scamper of his career. Cook's fourth rushing touchdown of the season was one of two 39-yard gains on the day.

The Vikings averaged 6.8 yards per carry against Tennessee on the way to totaling 226 rushing yards.

Minnesota leads the NFL with 6.03 rushing yards per play and has improved to eighth with 146.7 rushing yards per game.

Houston has struggled to stop the run — the Texans rank last in rushing yards allowed per game (188.3) and 27th in rushing yards allowed per play (5.18) — and get its own ground game going. The hosts are averaging 3.67 rushing yards per play (29th in the NFL) and 66.0 rushing yards per game (31st).

3. Pressure packed

The Star Tribune's Andrew Krammer noted that Kirk Cousins was the "most-pressured quarterback in a single game this season," with Pro Football Focus crediting pressures by the Titans on 18 of Cousins' 30 dropbacks (60 percent).

Sport Radar calculated Cousins' "QB pressured percentage" in Sunday's game at 44.83 percent, the fourth-highest among qualifying passers in 2020.

The same site has Texans QB Deshaun Watson's 53.13 percent on Sunday in Pittsburgh as the highest QB pressured percentage of 2020.

Table inside Article
QBs in Week 3	Comp/Att	Comp %	Yards	TD/INT	Sacked	Rating	QB Pressured %
Cousins vs. TEN	16/27	59.3	251	2/1	2	110.7	53.13
Watson at PIT	19/27	70.4	264	3/2	5	96.4	44.83

Watson's QB pressured percentage was 40.48 in Week 2 against Baltimore (sixth-highest rate of 2020) and 33.33 in Week 1 at Kansas City (tied for 15th).

The Vikings have totaled three sacks on the season (2.0 by Yannick Ngakoue) and have struggled to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks without defensive end Danielle Hunter, who is eligible this week to come off injured reserve.

The highest QB pressured rate of a Vikings opponent this season is 25.64 last Sunday against Tennessee's Ryan Tannehill (38th-highest in NFL). It was up from 22.22 percent (tied for 50th-highest) for Philip Rivers in Week 2 and 13.64 percent (tied for 81st-highest) for Aaron Rodgers on Kickoff Weekend.

4. Encore act

When a rookie receiver places himself in the conversation with "Moss '98," there's good reason for Vikings fans to be excited.

Justin Jefferson did so, both with his first half of six catches for 104 yards and final tally of seven receptions for 175 yards (highlighted by a 71-yard touchdown in the second half that built off execution in practice).

Moss is the only other Vikings rookie to record 100 receiving yards in a half (107 on Thanksgiving at Dallas and 100 on Oct. 5 at Green Bay) since 1998.

Jefferson's final tally of 175 is the third-most by a Vikings rookie (data since 1970), trailing 210 by Sammy White in 1976 and the 190 totaled by Moss in his first game against the Packers.

What can Jefferson do for his encore act?

5. Motivational rally

If the Vikings want to look to a recent example of a team that started 0-3 yet made the playoffs, they can turn on game tape when studying the Texans this week and see multiple players who rallied with nine consecutive victories on the way to an 11-5 record.

According to NFL Media research, only 2.7 percent (four of the 146 teams) that started 0-3 from 1990-2019 made the playoffs.

The 2018 Texans are one of the four (along with the 1998 Bills, 1995 Lions and 1992 Chargers) to do so and joined that Chargers squad as the only two teams in that span to start in such a hole and win a division title.

Houston needed back-to-back overtime wins to turn the tide and used the momentum from those victories to ignite a rare run.