Vikings Get First Win Of 2020, Schedule Doesn’t Get Easier

It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t utter domination. It wasn’t a season changer. However, it was a win. The main thing to get from today’s game against the Texans is that at least the team won’t have the infamous 0-16 record. Some might see this as an empty win to keep the Vikings away from assuring the number one pick in the draft and possible future Vikings QB Trevor Lawrence. It is what it is in a season many fans have already given up on. The win today surely won’t change a lot of opinions that the team will suddenly go on a hot streak and make the playoffs, but they’re not tanking. The defense was much more active today and were playing very well, especially in the first half. The offense looked more on point as well as Justin Jefferson continued his great rookie campaign and Dalvin Cook tore it up on the ground again. The Texans are not a great team and they are 0-4 for a reason so it dulls the win a bit.

Let’s concentrate on the good stuff first. Dalvin Cook had 130 yards and 2 touchdowns on 27 carries and proved how bad their run defense really is. Kirk Cousins was steady and didn’t make any big mistakes throwing for 260 yards and a touchdown. Adam Thielen was the recipient of that touchdown and had 8 catches for 144 yards. Jefferson complimented that with 104 yards on only four catches. The offense wasn’t overly dynamic, but they were efficient enough to get to the end zone and keep the ball away from Deshaun Watson and the Texans offense. Alexander Mattison ran in one more touchdown and Dan Bailey had a field goal to get to usually winnable score. All good things. The defense did just enough to keep the Texans from taking over the game. Nothing flashy, but they didn’t blow the lead even though it seems like they were trying.

Now the not so good. The defense was playing very well. More energy than the first 3 games and more disciplined as well. They seemed to be perfectly placed on each drive causing the Texans to punt several times. Then an NFL rule almost changed everything. Harrison Smith came across the field for a tackle and tried to tuck his head so he wouldn’t hit a defenseless receiver. Unfortunately the receiver also ducked and Smith hit him in the head and not only did they penalize them, but ejected him from the game. While I agree with the rule generally speaking it was not used properly here as Smith is not a dirty player nor was there harmful intent. It is what it is though. In a year where Danielle Hunter is already out injured and Anthony Barr is out for the season taking out your on field coach and best defensive back certainly doesn’t help. The Texans noticed and went right at the weakened position that was filled by veteran safety Geroge Iloka. While George had a pretty decent career in Cincinnati his skills dropped off greatly a few years ago. The defense wasn’t running as smoothly and it allowed Watson and his offense to work their way back into it. They almost tied up the game when Watson hit Will Fuller in the endzone but he caught the ball against the ground and it was ruled incomplete rightfully so. Had it counted and they got a 2 point conversion they would have tied the game. Luckily that was 4th down and Cousins just had to kneel a few times to end the game. Yannick Ngakoue got his 3rd sack in as many games and forced a fumble.

Next up is the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football on the road. The Vikings have not fared well in Seattle and Cousins has a bit of a reputation of not performing well on prime time games. Also, the Seahawks are good. So as good as this feels to just get on the win side of things the feeling may be short lived. After the Sehawks they face the Falcons that have been losing games in epic fashion even though they have scored a lot of points and their next game is against the Packers in Green Bay. At least the bye week is in there as well so you can have a week off of worring what will happen either way.