MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings followed their winning formula again to precision and maintained the NFL’s only perfect record.
Adam Thielen caught a touchdown pass to cap Minnesota’s opening drive and finished with a career-high 127 yards, and the Vikings’ defense flustered Brock Osweiler and the Houston Texans on their way to a 31-13 victory on Sunday.
“When your offense comes out on all cylinders like that, it just juices us up even more and (makes us want to) play harder,” defensive end Everson Griffen said. “We’ve just got to keep doing that.”
Marcus Sherels returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown and Cordarelle Patterson scored on another sharp throw by Sam Bradford, who deftly guided the offense to a fifth straight turnover-free game in his fourth start for the Vikings (5-0).
“You play from ahead and give our defense a chance to get after the passer,” Bradford said, “I think it’s pretty tough on the other team.”
Brock Osweiler was overmatched by Minnesota’s relentless pass rush and coverage, finishing 19 of 42 for 184 yards, one interception and a late touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins while taking four sacks. The Texans (3-2) were denied on 12 of 13 third downs, unable or unwilling to do much other than dump off short passes. It was a dud of a performance by the Texans that felt a lot like the 27-0 loss at New England two weeks ago.
“It was bad. It was bad,” Coach Bill O’Brien said. “It starts and ends with me. I’ve got to do a much better job with this football team.”
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