FULL BOX SCORE

Kevin Patra’s takeaways:

1. Flores’ D bamboozles Stroud, Texans offense. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores had C.J. Stroud in a spin cycle, vacillating between bringing pressure and faking it to confuse the second-year quarterback. Minnesota’s defense started the game with a first-official-play tipped pass interception and never looked back. Before a garbage-time final drive by backup quarterback Davis Mills, Flores’ defense allowed just 224 total yards to the Stroud-led Texans. The Vikes generated two INTs, five sacks and completely controlled the line of scrimmage. Former Texans edge rusher Jonathan Greenard subjugated his former squad, generating three sacks on the afternoon and six QB pressures. The Vikings had a feeding frenzy at the quarterback. Ten Minnesota defenders earned at least two QB pressures, including six apiece by Greenard and Jihad Ward. The pressure got to Stroud, who looked as uncomfortable as he has in his career. The QB’s second interception of the game was a woeful pass well behind his intended target. It was the type of pass that comes from a QB getting hammered all day by a Flores defense.
2. Darnold continues his career renaissance. The Vikings offense took advantage of short fields on its first two drives to open up a 14-0 lead and never looked back. Sam Darnold calmly zipped passes to Justin Jefferson (six receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown) on key downs to move the chains. Twelve of the Vikings’ 19 first downs came through the air, including all eight in the first half. It wasn’t the most prolific afternoon for Kevin O’Connell’s offense, generating just 274 total yards, but Darnold made plays when needed. Minnesota going 4 of 5 in the red zone underscored Darnold’s capability in critical situations. The QB threw four touchdowns on the day, marking the first time in his career he has thrown multiple touchdowns in three straight games. In 66 games with the Jets, Panthers and 49ers, Darnold earned one game with four touchdowns. He’s already hit that mark in three tilts with KOC. Darnold’s sterling play was underscored by legit concern when the QB got hit low in the second half. Luckily, he missed just one play.
3. Everything that could go wrong went wrong for the Texans. It was a “bury the ball” game for DeMeco Ryans’ club. From the first-snap tipped-pass INT, there was bad juju in the air for Houston. On the ensuing drive, Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a field goal. Poor coverages and missed tackles troubled the Texans. Penalties also plagued Houston, particularly of the pre-snap variety. Midway through the second quarter, the Texans drove to the Minnesota 25-yard-line, but four consecutive pre-snap penalties turned a third-and-4 into a fourth-and-19 and a punt. Every bounce of the ball seemed to go against the Texans. For example, a third-quarter would-be sack-fumble on Darnold was picked up by Brandon Powell for a 7-yard gain. Sometimes – particularly on the road – bad things cascade. All Ryans can do is burn the tape, clean up the correctable errors, and move on.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Texans-Vikings (via NFL Pro): After blitzing C.J. Stroud on over half of his dropbacks in the first half (54.4%), the Vikings dialed back the aggression and sent five-plus pass rushers on just 27.3% of Stroud’s dropbacks in the second half. Stroud struggled against the blitz, completing 9 of 15 for 103 yards, a touchdown, and an interception (-15.6% CPOE).

NFL Research: Sam Darnold became the fourth quarterback in Vikings history to start a season 3-0, joining Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton, Daunte Culpepper and HOFer Brett Favre.