2012 at Houston Texans, Week 16. Vikings win 23-6.
- Date: December 23th, 2012
- Point Spread: Texans -7.5
Holy defense. 2012 was one of the rare years prior to Mike Zimmer in the 2010s that the defense was respectable. The Vikings ranked fourteenth in points allowed during this campaign. Their opponent on this day boasted the league’s eighth-best scoring offense.
On this Christmas Eve Eve day, the Texans did not score a touchdown. Houston was led by Matt Schaub, Arian Foster, and Andre Johnson en route to a 12-4 record for the season. However, on this given Sunday, the touchdowns scored was nil.
In what would be his final year as a full-time starter, Christian Ponder slung a touchdown to second-year tight end, Kyle Rudolph. Running back Toby Gerhart added a late insurance touchdown and cemented the 23-6 upset.
A month later, Adrian Peterson would be gifted an MVP trophy. The Packers would bounce the Joe Webb-Vikings from the Wildcard Round of the playoffs. The Texans season would be ended by the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round, 41-28.