The Houston Texans offense vs. the Minnesota Vikings can have Week 4 success.
Though both the Houston Texans and the Minnesota Vikings enter Week 4 winless at 0-3 overall, the two teams who were in the playoffs a season ago can still bring an exciting and competitive game this Sunday, hopefully more for the Texans’ struggling offense.
Something will have to give in Week 4 between the Texans offense and the Vikings defense because Houston ranks near the bottom in yards per game and time of possession, while Minnesota is near the bottom in total defense in 2020.
In an article this week at the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, it had the topic of how the Vikings defense is off their their worst start in their 60-year history, so before this game even starts, that is good news for the Houston Texans offense, right?
Remember, the offense of the Texans is off to a poor start when it comes to time of possession, and don’t forget about being held scoreless the first three games of the season in the third quarter playing against the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Houston Texans offense ranks 28th in the league in yards per game with 308.0 ypg., and not only that, they are just one of seven teams in the NFL who haven’t amassed 1,000 or more yards of offense combined in the first three weeks of the 2020 season.
The same Texans offense is also the fifth-worst scoring offense this season with a 19 ppg. average in ’20. For good measure, the Houston Texans offense is next to last in total rushing yards with 198 total yards on the ground through the first three games, with David Johnson leading the Houston Texans in rushing with 35 carries for 138 yards and two touchdown runs.
Only the New York Giants have fewer rushing yards this season with 170 yards rushing, and that is mostly due to losing star running back Saquon Barkley for the season with a torn ACL as he was injured in Week 2.
Houston Texans News: Time of possession has really hurt offense in 2020
That said, also remember the Houston Texans offense has only been on the field for an average of 24:30 per game. The offense of the Minnesota Vikings has had major struggles as well, having possession of the ball for 22:55 per game, the only team worse than the Texans in that category.
In the aforementioned Twin Cities Pioneer Press article by Chris Tomasson, it says the following about the Minnesota defense thus far this season:
"“The 102 points the Vikings have given up in their first three games is the most in their 60-year history. So are the 1,320 yards they have allowed in losses to Green Bay, Indianapolis and Tennessee.”"
This is the chance on a silver platter for the Houston Texans offense to work on maintaining drives, cutting back on three-and-outs and getting into a rhythm this Sunday that can help them throughout the remainder of the season.
If the Houston Texans defense can’t take advantage of facing a struggling Minnesota offense, and even more so, if the Texans offense can’t stay on the field longer against a Minnesota defense that has seen its share of struggles, there aren’t many more excuses to be said.
The Texans PR Twitter page shared an interesting start on Wednesday about Deshaun Watson in the month of October, and that was “Watson leads the NFL with 34 passing touchdowns in the month of October since 2017.” The tweet also says the Texans lead the NFL in scoring in the month of October since 2017 with 33.1 points per game.
#Texans QB @DeshaunWatson leads the NFL with 34 passing touchdowns in the month of October since 2017.
— Houston Texans PR (@TexansPR) September 30, 2020
As a team, Houston leads the league in scoring in October, averaging 33.1 points per game since 2017, and their 9-3 record in October is tied for 2nd-best in the AFC since 2017 pic.twitter.com/5gIxs8q7ND
For some reason, in three of two of the past three seasons now, the Houston Texans have begun a season with an 0-3 record. When they did so in 2018, they eventually had a nine-game winning streak and won the AFC South championship.
For history to repeat itself in 2020, this Houston Texans team needs to get into gear real fast before the likes of the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts get too far ahead in the standings. Houston can’t afford to start the season 0-4, and that type of start wouldn’t help them in “draft prospects” either as they’ve already traded the 2021 first- and second-round picks to the Miami Dolphins in the Laremy Tunsil trade last year.
When it comes down to it, things are very simple for the Houston Texans in Week 4. It is time for the offense to get creative, play with pride, overcome adversity and start to shine against a defense that isn’t playing well in 2020.
If the Texans fail to be competitive and show drive on offense in Week 4, the problems are worse than we might believe they are, and some changes will need to be made. Hopefully, things get turned around soon for Houston starting this weekend.