What are some reasons to believe that the Minnesota Vikings will knock off the Houston Texans in Week 4?
Two NFL teams– the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans — that were forecasted to be formidable about a month ago now face each other this weekend with no wins between them. The Vikings and Texans collectively own an embarrassing 0-6 record through three weeks while many pundits had both teams scribbled in for playoff contention not long ago.
Houston has navigated a nasty schedule. Its opponents thus far have not lost a game in 2020. The Texans squared off with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Pittsburgh Steelers to begin 2020, and they have been largely overmatched.
Head coach Bill O’Brien and quarterback Deshaun Watson are still adjusting to life without DeAndre Hopkins — a player the Texans whimsically traded to the Arizona Cardinals last offseason. Currently, the trade looks about as weird now as it did in March.
Houston has struggled to generate consistent offense and ranks 28th in points scored and 28th in yards gained. For now, the transaction that sent Hopkins to the desert was a foolhardy one.
The Minnesota Vikings are also winless with losses to the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, and Tennesse Titans. Mike Zimmer‘s bunch is in the same situation as Bill O’Brien’s — a fourth loss in as many tries will depressingly punctuate the first quarter of the 2020 season.
Nevertheless, if the Vikings do finally score a victory, here is why they will do it.