The game Sunday down in Houston has major Vikings playoffs implications. The only thing the Vikings need to worry about is getting the win. One more win and it match the biggest jump in win totals in the history of the team. In 1997 the team had 9 wins and then the 1998 end season has 15 wins.
The Vikings played the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIII in Houston. It was the first time this city had ever hosted the Super Bowl.
The Vikings have never lost to the Texans in the history. The record is 2-0-0 which isn’t many times played but we can still say the Vikings are undefeated against the Texans. This team is also the last team I had not seen at the dome. I had now seen all 32 in action. I know the game is on the road but still makes me think how long I had to wait to see this team.
The Minnesota Vikings are well represented from the state of Texas as 9 current players are from this state. They are Adrian Peterson, Christian Ponder, Brandon Burton, Andrew Sendejo, Cullen Loeffler, DeMarcus Love, Charlie Johnson, Brian Robison, and practice squad member Joe Banyard.
The Vikings also had 5 players go to college in the state of Texas which includes Stephen Burton, Fred Evans, Cullen Loeffler, Brian Robison, and Joe Banyard.
The two coaches, Leslie Frazier and Houston’s Gary Kubiak both have sons that play college football at Rice University. Corey Frazier plays safety and Klein Kubiak is wide receiver.
The story of Adrian Peterson can never get old. The more reading I do the more info I find making me shake my head when I see it in print.
The fact of 1812 yards most people know but now throw in he has more rushing than 24 other NFL teams totals. He has 433 more yards than the next player in line.
Peterson has 7 runs of 50 plus yards which ties him in NFL history with Barry Sanders who accomplished this feat in 1997. It’s been 15 years which magnifies this accomplishment even more.
The fact of straight games of over 100 and 2 of those games were over 200 with teams putting 8-10 players at the scrimmage. You wonder, will we ever see this amazing week in and week out ever again.
The fact that since week 7 Peterson has run for 1313 yards which equal Houston’s Arian Foster 1313 which has taken him all year to get this number. It is incredible what we are witnessing.
Adrian was also given the Ed Block Courage Award on Tuesday. This honors one player from every NFL player who exemplifies commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. It is done by the vote of their teammates to recognize both on and off field extra efforts and their ability to overcome adversity whether personal or professional.
The other fact that came out was Adrian is the front cover of Sports Illustrated for the 5th time in his career. The Vikings also started a campaign Tuesday called twenty-eight for 28. The countdown will go down until the end of the season with 28 reasons on why AP should be the NFL’s MVP.
The Vikings as a team have rushed for 2243 yards which is good for 8th place in team history. They only need 391 yards to break the record that occurred in 2007 which is 2634 yards.
In looking at other team facts thus far the Vikings offensive line has played together for all 14 games.
The game against St. Louis saw Everson Griffen take an interception back 29 yards for a touchdown. This is the longest return by a defensive lineman in the NFL so far. It also ranks 5th in Vikings history for a defensive lineman to score on an interception return.
Let’s look at some team numbers starting with team scoring. The Vikings average 22.8 and Houston is at 28.2. The sacks allowed show Minnesota allowed 30 while Houston has only allowed 20.
The defensive sack number has Minnesota with 35 and Houston has 42. The turnover ratio favors the Texans as well with Houston at +3 and Minnesota comes in at -3.
The game will be tough with so much on the line. Houston has their division wrapped up but is still playing for home field advantage so they will be bringing their A game.
The Vikings I believe are up to the task and will pull the upset in a high scoring 31-27 win for the Purple.
Thanks for reading
Purplestick
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