But now folks want to know. Are the Vikings actually good? Or is Kevin O’Connell’s team just riding an early hot streak that’s destined to freeze over like the rest of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes? A Week 3 matchup against the Houston Texans might just give Vikings fans the answers they’re looking for.
Vikings rush for over 200 yards
Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
There’s no denying the Vikings’ rushing attack is much improved over last season’s team. In 2023, Flores’ group finished with the fourth-fewest rushing yards and third-fewest rushing touchdowns in the NFL.
It’s a small sample size, but so far, the Vikings have the 14th-most rushing yards in the league. They are also tied for the 19th-most rushing touchdowns. It’s still not great, but averaging 128.5 rushing yards per game is much better than the 91.3 Minnesota averaged last season.
This week’s challenge sends Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler up against a stout Texans defense that has allowed the seventh-fewest rushing yards through two weeks (87.5 YPG). For last year’s Vikings, facing the Texans would have been a problem. But this is a new-look rushing attack with a 1-2 punch that keeps the legs of Jones and Chandler fresh all game long. Each have a unique burst of speed that has been tough for defenses to slow down thus far.
We’re going out on a limb to say the Vikings top 200 yards of rushing offense on Sunday. The last time the Vikings had 200 or more rushing yards came in Week 9 of the 2021 season against Pittsburgh . But with Justin Jefferson’s and Jordan Addison’s health in question, don’t be surprised if O’Connell dials up a run-heavy game plan against Houston.
Stefon Diggs gets held to less than 50 yards, again
Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The Vikings shockingly traded Stefon Diggs after the 2019 season ended. Amazingly, the Minneapolis Miracle’s central figure hasn’t returned to U.S. Bank Stadium ever since. Sure, Diggs has played the Vikings since, for a game in Buffalo during the 2022 season. That time, Diggs recorded 12 receptions for 128 yards in a game the Vikings won 33-30 .
But Diggs isn’t the top target on his team anymore. Now he’s the second or third option, at best, behind Nico Collins and possibly Tank Dell too. Yet, if we go by his targets so far, C.J. Stroud has attempted the second-most passes to Diggs compared to other Texans pass-catchers.
The only issue is, the All-Pro receiver hasn’t been very productive. In games one and two Diggs recorded just 33 and 37 yards, respectively. Luckily, he’s gotten into the endzone both games, taming his tempter, and those of his fantasy football owners. Naturally, the former Vikings wideout will arrive at his old digs with a big chip on his shoulder.
However, the Vikings can cause some frustration by holding Diggs to fewer than 50 receiving yards across the first three games of a season for the first time since he played in Minnesota. We’ll see if Brian Flores can pull it off.
Jonathan Greenard makes a bigger impact than Danielle Hunter
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When the Vikings let Danielle Hunter leave for Houston, on a two-year, $49 million contract, many thought Minnesota’s defense was doomed. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had other plans, signing Jonathan Greenard to a more affordable four-year, $76 million contract.
Despite the PFF grade suggesting otherwise, the Vikings have gotten similar production out of Greenard, as the Texans have Hunter. That’s before we consider how much money the Vikings saved by moving on from Hunter, though.
That doesn’t mean Vikings fans won’t be watching closely, comparing the production of No. 55 (Danielle Hunter’s new number) vs No. 58 dressed in purple. Hunter gets paid roughly $5.5 million more per year. Yet we’re predicting a bigger day from Greenard against his former team. We’ll see how Danielle handles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill outside of the practice field.
There are just eight starting quarterbacks who have yet to throw an interception this season. C.J. Stroud is one of them. This shouldn’t be a surprise, considering he didn’t throw his first NFL interception until Week 6 of his rookie year. I mean, he only five INTs total, all season.
But he’s still just a 22-year-old second-year pro, and he’s never faced a defense as confusing as the one Brian Flores operates. Brock Purdy said the scheme is “ crazy “. Reminder: Stroud’s offensive coordinator comes from San Francisco, which means Houston’s quarterback might not be prepared to face the Vikings’ new-look defense, either.
Stroud has thrown more than one interception in a single game just once in his career, against Arizona in Week 11 of last season. But the Vikings enter Week 3 with the most sacks in the NFL . So if they can pressure the young QB early and often, Stroud just might make enough mistakes to change the outcome of the game.
Can the Vikings coax two or more interceptions out of one of the NFL’s least-turnover-prone quarterbacks? We’ll find out on Sunday.
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