Houston will edge Minnesota
There are several things about this game that should fall into the Vikings’ lap. The Houston pass defense appears to be a mirage and the Texans also haven’t stopped anyone on the ground. Even their pass rush shouldn’t be as imposing for a Minnesota offensive line that has let everyone look like All-Pro candidates.
The big difference could be what happened this week at TCO Performance Center. If the Vikings were a veteran team, losing a day of practice wouldn’t be a big deal. With the facility shut down for a couple of days due to COVID-19, however, young players lost another group of reps that could hinder their performance on Sunday.
This could wind up not being a big deal as the Vikings will have to learn how to operate in a short week with Monday and Friday night games coming later in the schedule. We did see how the Vikings fared without a preseason and how that seemed to slow the team down until they played better last Sunday.
As for the Texans, they have had a full week to prepare and their veteran status should give them an advantage and send Minnesota to 0-4.
Prediction: Texans 38, Vikings 31