The Minnesota Vikings take on the Houston Texans at U.S Bank Stadium in Week 3. Both teams enter this game 2-0. The Vikings are coming off an impressive win over the San Francisco 49ers, where they controlled the whole game. The Texans, on the other hand, defeated the Chicago Bears in Week 2 thanks to an outstanding defensive performance. The undefeated records are not the only things these teams have in common.
During the 2024 offseason, both teams respectively signed former players. The Texans signed defensive end Danielle Hunter and the Vikings signed defensive end Jonathan Greenard and linebacker Blake Cashman. These new additions are among the key matchups to watch in Vikings versus Texans on Sunday.
4 Key Storylines in Vikings’ Matchup vs Texans
1. Will Danielle Hunter Dominate the Vikings
The Texans’ new addition was Danielle Hunter. Hunter spent the first eight years of his career with the Vikings, terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. Hunter accumulated 87.5 sacks, 48 QB pressures, and 336 QB hits during his time in Minnesota. That production was enough to earn him All-Pro honors three times and Pro Bowl honors four times.
In Hunter’s first two games with Houston, he has 1.5 sacks, 9 QB pressures, and 7 QB hurries. The majority of Hunter’s early success with the Texans came against the Bears, who have a weaker offensive line than the Vikings. Hunter will be matched up with left tackle Brain O’Neill on Sunday. O’Neill is one of the league’s underrated right tackles. Although he has yet to be named an All-Pro, he does have a Pro Bowl appearance to his name and has only allowed more than five sacks in two seasons. However, Hunter knows O’Neill very well from practicing against him for the past six seasons. The familiarity with each other could lead to Hunter getting to Sam Darnold.
2. Will Cashman show the Texans why not resigning him was a mistake
Cashaman spent two short seasons with the Texans, in 2022 and 2023. In those two seasons, Cashman had 132 combined tackles ( 75 solo and 57 assists) and five sacks. Last season was Cashman’s breakout with 106 combined tackles and two sacks. Pro Football Focus gave Cashman an overall grade of 83.7, a run defense grade of 84.7, a pass rush grade of 73.5, and a pass coverage grade of 75.4 last season. So far this season, Cashman has been flying around the field and has gathered 19 combined tackles and one sack.
Cahsman’s play so far this season will make it tough for the Texans to run up the middle and for Stroud to throw short. Right now, Cam Akers is slated to be the Texans starting running back against the Vikings. Although Akers’s best run last week came up the middle the way Cashman has been flying to the ball, Akers shouldn’t expect another one this week. In the passing game, Cashman will limit the dump-offs to running backs and tight ends in the middle of the field.
3. Can Jonathan Greenard make Stroud and the Texans pay
Greenard was a Texan for the last four seasons but didn’t break out until last season. In 2023, Greenard had 12.5 sacks, 48 QB pressures, 24 QB hurries, and 52 combined tackles. This earned him an overall grade of 78.2, a run defense grade of 67.2 and a pass rush grade of 75.2 from PFF. After a monster season like that, Greenard has had a quiet start in terms of stats. Through two games, Grnnard only has two combined tackles and one sack. Greenard’s stats aren’t flashy because he’s been doing the dirty work. But this week, expect Greenared to play with extra fire since the Texans didn’t make a strong effort to keep him.
4. Stefon Diggs returns to Minnesota
Minnesota most fondly remembers Stefon Diggs for the Minneapolis Miracle catch in the divisional round of the 2018 playoffs. However, Diggs left a sour taste in some fans’ mouths with the way he forced himself out of Minnesota. During the 2019 season, Diggs was upset with the amount of targets he was getting as he thought the Vikings were too committed to the run. Diggs ended the 2019 season with 94 targets, which was 55 fewer than he had in 2018, but he still reached 1,130 receiving yards.
After a 2019 season of discontentment, the Vikings traded Diggs to the Buffalo Bills during the 2020 offseason. In Buffalo, Diggs was their bonafide number-one receiver, crossing 1000 receiving yards all four years he was there.
Over his four seasons in Buffalo, Diggs crossed paths with the Vikings once in Buffalo. In that game, Diggs caught 12 passes for 128 yards, but ultimately, the Bills ended up losing 33-30.
This matchup will be very different for Diggs since it will not only be his return to Minnesota, but he will also have a much different role in the Texans’ offense. Diggs is no longer the top option, as Nico Collins is the Texans leading receiver. It could even be argued that Tank Dell is Stroud’s second option. In two games, Diggs has 10 catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
This week, Diggs has a chance to go off against the Vikings. Not only will he be motivated to have a great game because he’s playing his former team in their house, but the Vikings’ secondary is still pretty weak. In their victory against the San Francisco 49ers, the secondary gave up 319 passing yards, with Deebo Samuel getting 110 of them. With Diggs’s route-running ability and the speed he still has, he should be able to get behind the Vikings’ cornerbacks.
If the Vikings defense is unable to stop Diggs, boos may start raining down from the crowd.
Main Photo: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
