The Vikings ran their record to 5-0 on Sunday with a dominant performance against the Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.
In case you haven’t noticed, Minnesota is for real.
MORE: Best photos from Week 5
On the game’s opening possession, the Vikes went 84 yards in eight plays, culminating with a 36-yard strike from Sam Bradford to Adam Thielen to take a 7-0 lead. That was just the start of the 31-13 onslaught.
The Texans went three-and-out the first time they got the ball, and it took just under four minutes for Minnesota to score again, as short-yardage specialist Matt Asiata plunged into the end zone from one yard out to cap an eight-play, 55-yard drive to put his team up by two touchdowns.
A 19-yard field goal by Blair Walsh made the score 17-0, and when Marcus Sherels returned a Shane Lechler punt 79 yards for a touchdown, it was 24-0 before the end of the first quarter, and the Texans were pretty much toast.
Houston could not get anything going on offense, mustering just 214 yards of offense all game and not converting on a third down until late in the fourth quarter when the game was long out of reach.
Brock Osweiler was less than impressive, going 19 for 42 for 184 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but not many quarterbacks would have been effective against the pressure he faced from Minnesota.
MORE: NFL threatens to eject Antonio Brown over Muhammad Ali cleats
Defensive end Brian Robison had two of the Vikes’ four sacks, and cornerback Xavier Rhodes locked down DeAndre Hopkins for most of the day. Houston’s star receiver did get into the end zone for Houston’s only touchdown late in the fourth, but in terms of the result of the game it was meaningless.
Offensively, Thielen, a third-year undrafted player out of Minnesota State, was huge for Vikings, who were missing rising wideout Stefon Diggs. Thielen finished with seven catches for 127 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.
The Texans fell to 3-2 and lost cornerback Johnathan Joseph to a concussion. They host the Colts in next Sunday’s primetime game on NBC.
The Vikings, meanwhile, have lost to only three teams since Oct. 4 of last year — the Packers, who they’ve beaten twice since; in Arizona last December, when the Cardinals were red hot; and the Seahawks twice, including in the playoffs when Walsh missed a 27-yard chip shot that would have won the game.
At this early point in the season, Minnesota has to be considered among the favorites to win the NFC.