Sam Darnold matched his career high with four touchdown passes, and the undefeated Minnesota Vikings used another dominant defensive performance to trounce C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans 34-7 on Sunday in Minneapolis.
Jonathan Greenard had three of the four sacks of Stroud, his former teammate, as the Vikings (3-0) intercepted the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year twice while rattling the Texans (2-1) with their aggressive and unpredictable scheme — and the crowd noise that cranked up with each stop.
Darnold connected with Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones for first-quarter scores on third-down plays inside the 10. In the second half, he delivered a touchdown to Jalen Nailor for the third straight game and got tight end Johnny Mundt one too.
Jefferson had six catches for 81 yards and Jones rushed 19 times for 102 yards and caught five passes for 46 yards for the Vikings, who were a trendy pick for last place in the NFC North but have beaten back-to-back contenders to start their home slate against the San Francisco 49ers and the Texans.
Darnold went 17 of 28 for 181 yards without a turnover and also tied his career best with a three-game winning streak as a starter, a feat the 2018 No. 3 draft pick hadn’t accomplished in three years. He left the game to get his left knee checked after a late-hit penalty on former Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter, but he came back to a loud roar after the medical staff cleared him.
The Vikings improved to 6-0 all time against the Texans. Houston finally scored with 3:56 left in the third quarter on a pass from Stroud to Cam Akers, who spent part of last season with the Vikings and got his first start for the Texans with Joe Mixon injured.
Stroud went 20 of 31 for 215 yards. This was the first time in 10 starts he was picked off.
His first pass was swatted at the line by Harrison Phillips, sending the ball straight back to linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill for a gift-wrapped interception he returned to the 21. Darnold scrambled left six plays later and found Jefferson open in the front corner of the end zone for the early lead.
The Vikings nearly took another turnover deep into Houston territory when Grugier-Hill wrestled a short pass away from tight end Dalton Schultz and Stephon Gilmore scooped up the ball for a romp to the 25. The play was ruled incomplete after a long review, but after Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 54-yard field-goal attempt went barely wide right — his first miss of the season — the Vikings again seized their field-position momentum and scored in six plays on a short throw to Jones.
The Vikings had full respect for the talent the Texans presented — starting with Stroud, the 2023 No. 2 draft, as the centerpiece of this on-the-rise team — but they were confident their aggressive and unpredictable defense would present problems of its own.
Greenard, one of three ex-Texans on the Vikings, had the first sack of Stroud in the first quarter by steamrolling rookie tight end Cade Stover.
The Texans were clearly off kilter with the crowd noise that fed off the pressure generated by defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his proteges, with six of seven first-half penalties coming before the snap.
Four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil had three of them, one an illegal-formation call that erased a third-down throw that would’ve moved the chains to near midfield. Another was the last of three straight false starts by the Texans after they had third-and-4 at the Minnesota 25. Tunsil got flagged again for illegal formation, which the Vikings declined so they could force a punt.
Nico Collins, the NFL’s leading receiver entering the week with 252 yards in the first two games, was mostly a nonfactor as Gilmore and the rest of the secondary kept him bottled up. His 34-yard catch on third down set up Houston’s only touchdown.
Stefon Diggs led the Texans with 10 catches for 94 yards in his first game in Minnesota since leaving the Vikings four years ago. Diggs had 12 receptions for 128 yards for the Bills on Nov. 13, 2022, in a loss to the Vikings in Buffalo.
Injuries: In addition to the absence of Mixon (ankle), Texans backup RB Dameon Pierce (hamstring) missed his second straight game. … Vikings WR Jordan Addison (ankle), LB Ivan Pace Jr. (quad, ankle) and OLB Dallas Turner (knee) were inactive. Grugier-Hill took Pace’s place in the first-down defense.
Up next: The Texans host the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday. … The Vikings visit the Green Bay Packers.
Packers 30, Titans 14
Malik Willis ran for a touchdown and threw for a score in his best NFL performance, leading the Green Bay Packers to a 30-14 rout of the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.
Willis not only won his second straight start subbing for Jordan Love, he got a sweet measure of revenge against the team that traded him to Green Bay (2-1) in August. Willis accounted for 134 of the Packers’ 137 yards in the first quarter. He finished with 202 passing yards and 73 rushing.
Cornerback Jaire Alexander scored a touchdown on his first career pick-six late in the first quarter, helping Green Bay jump out to a 17-7 lead after 15 minutes. The Packers led 20-7 at halftime and scored 20 straight points for a 27-7 advantage midway through the third, prompting a loud chant of “Go, Pack, Go!”
The Packers had eight sacks, their most since getting eight on Jan. 2, 2005, in Chicago. They also forced three turnovers and have seven interceptions through three games, matching their total in 2023.
First-year coach Brian Callahan has the Titans (0-3) off to their worst start since losing the first six in 2009. Tennessee — which got a seventh-round pick in exchange for Willis, a 2022 third-rounder out of Liberty — has lost 21 of 27 overall.
The Packers scratched Love before the game, giving him another week to heal his sprained left knee. Willis, with coach Matt LaFleur’s play-calling, made sure the Packers had no issues. He showed the Titans what they gave up when they stuck with Will Levis as their starter and Mason Rudolph as his backup.
Levis threw two TD passes, one to Nick Vannett and the other to DeAndre Hopkins.
The No. 33 pick in 2023 out of Kentucky has eight turnovers in three games, including two interceptions returned for touchdowns. When Callahan took a timeout and sent the offense back in for the punt team, Levis was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-2 to start the third quarter.
Tennessee’s defense forced its first three-and-out after Hopkins’ touchdown pulled the Titans within 27-14. Levis drove the Titans to the Green Bay 31 but was sacked two plays later by Kingsley Enagbare. Lukas Van Ness recovered the fumble near midfield.
That sent Titans fans streaming for the exits on a steamy afternoon.
Injuries: Packers TE Tucker Kraft aggravated the shoulder injury that had him limited in practice. … Titans CB Chidobe Awuzie hurt a groin muscle early and didn’t return. S Amani Hooker came off the field holding something to his right temple at the two-minute warning and did not return.
Up next: The Packers host the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday. … The Titans visit the Miami Dolphins and another backup quarterback in prime time on Monday, Sept. 30.
