Minnesota Vikings defeat Houston Texans 31-13 in week 5
The undefeated Minnesota Vikings were able to hold off a tough Houston Texans team during week 5 of the 2016 NFL season, with a final score 31-13.
The Minnesota Vikings got the ball first, and but Houston’s defense got in Bradford’s face early. The team turned to Jerick McKinnon, who found some success on the ground before the Vikings quarterback hit Adam Thielen for a 36 yard touchdown on the opening drive.
Defense remained a strong suit for the Vikings, holding the Texans to a 3 and out before getting a nice punt return from Marcus Sherels. A strong combination of running the ball and passing brought them to Houston’s 1 yard line, where it was punched in by running back Matt Asiata.
The two teams traded ineffective possessions after that, with Blair Walsh eventually hitting a field goal when Minnesota couldn’t execute in the red zone. But the second quarter brought a big 79 yard punt return touchdown from Marcus Sherels that made the game feel out of reach for Houston.
The Texans agreed, and started feeling desperate. They started going for it on 4th down, but settled for a field goal late in the first half. They knocked through one more field goal before the break, making the score 24-6 at halftime in favor of the Vikings.
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Minnesota’s first drive of the second half was ugly, resulting in a 3rd and 30 before punting the ball away. Yet, the Vikings defense responded in a big way with Andrew Sendejo grabbing an interception off a Brock Osweiler pass.
The Vikings couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity, and the game continued going back and forth until the fourth quarter. Minnesota quarterback Sam Bradford found wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson on a jump ball which extended the Vikings lead to 31-6.
Houston finished up the game with a score following a strong series of runs by Alfred Blue, but it was all too little too late.
The clock expired as the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Houston Texans 31-13 to move to 5-0 on the season and take their team into a much needed bye week to get healthy. Following the bye, the boys in purple will go to Philadelphia to face a high-flying Eagles team.