Houston Texans
vs.
Minnesota Vikings
Week 5
NFL Pick
10/9/16
The Houston Texans have a tough task this week traveling to Minnesota to face a Vikings team that is playing lights out on defense. The Texans invested heavily this offseason in quarterback Brock Osweiller, but have yet to see much of a return from the ex-BroNCo. Brock comes into the Game leading the 25th ranked pass offense, having thrown for 6 interceptions to only five touchdowns.
One offseason acquisition that has seemed to pay off for the Texans has been the play of ex-Dolphins player LAmar Miller. Miller has already rushed for 351 yards this season and he has also contributed with 13 receptions.
The Texans have yet to see their oNCe stout defense play to their ability this season. The mistake to rush back injured All-Pro JJ Watt to the team has to be a dark cloud hanging over the Texans. Don’t look for any mercy from this Vikings team that has dealt with its own set of major injuries to start the season. The big differeNCe between these two teams is how each of them have dealt with them.
The Vikings have lost their starting quarterback and running back this year, but it hasn’t slowed this team down one bit. The acquisition of veteran quarterback Sam Bradford from the Eagles looks like the move of the year so far. Sam Bradford now has the quarterback whisperer in his ear this season, offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Sam Bradford has thrown for 4 touchdowns and no interceptions in the last 2 Games and also 719 yards in the air.
The Vikings lead the league in takeaways with 11 so far this season. The Vikings defense is on a record pace for takeaways this year and the Houston Texans will have a tough time not contributing to their already monstrous total going into week 5.
The Game should be competitive early, but look for the Vikings to make Brock Osweiller beat them through the air. The only problem is the secondary for the Vikings have played fantastic this season. The Vikings held Giants’ wide receiver Odell Beckham to 3 catches for 23 yards last week and that does not bode well for star Texans’ receiver Deandre Hopkins, who has yet to have a breakout Game this season.
The Texans have the 28th ranked offense in the league ranking by yards per point with a number of 19.3. They face a Vikings defense ranked #1 in that category with a ypp number of 24.4. Those numbers mean a long day for the Texans and those numbers should also translate into a win and cover for the Vikings. Vikings -6.5