Victory Monday: Zimmer says Vikings show resiliency in win over Texans
Dalvin Cook #33 of the Minnesota Vikings scores on a short run against the Houston Texans during the first quarter at NRG Stadium on October 04, 2020 in Houston, Texas. ((Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - Mike Zimmer talked extensively about resiliency. Adam Thielen said the Minnesota Vikings never hung their heads after an 0-3 start.
With the season potentially on the line and the challenges of possible exposure to COVID-19, the Vikings beat the Houston Texans 31-23 on Sunday for their first win of the season. The day after the Texans started their season 0-4, Bill O’Brien was fired as head coach and general manager.
It’s Victory Monday for the Vikings. Frankly, they were just happy to get Sunday’s game in. The Tennessee Titans experienced a COVID-19 outbreak after playing the Vikings in Minneapolis, which led to a whirlwind week for Zimmer. TCO Performance Center was closed Tuesday and Wednesday, all position and team meetings were virtual. They went through two daily tests up until leaving for Houston, and all was clear.
Then, a starting player had a false positive test Sunday morning. Three others had inconclusive tests, and all four had to have two more tests get cleared to be at the game. They earned a celebratory locker room after beating the Texans.
“I thought that we handled the week really well. It seemed like they threw all kinds of things at us,” Zimmer said Monday. “That’s the kind of things that we had to deal with. It’s just part of the way things are now, but I was proud of how resilient they were. There was no complaining, actually they asked if they could do virtual Wednesday this week after the game. The answer was you had Wednesday off last week, so we’re going to practice and meet today.”
It’s always more fun to watch film after a win, but the Vikings weren’t as down on themselves as most fans were. After an 0-3 start, a young and struggling defense and an inconsistent offense, fans were already looking to 2021.
“Even when we were 0-3 last week, guys weren’t down and weren’t making excuses, guys weren’t throwing fits and things like that. Guys were just excited to get back out there and play with our teammates that we really enjoy playing with,” Thielen said. “They’re going to do their job, keep going to work and figure it out day by day.”
Thielen and Justin Jefferson combined to make 12 catches for 217 yards and a touchdown. Dalvin Cook had 27 carries for 130 yards and two scores. The Vikings haven’t had two 100-yard receivers in a game since 2000.
Thielen even got to practice Jefferson’s “Griddy” celebration after his 9-yard touchdown catch. It’s fun to win.
“We’ve been joking about that since he got here. It’s just fun, we play this game to have fun, so I’m just trying to have fun with it, trying to give full effort and have fun while I’m doing it. He likes to have fun, he’s serious, he’s a competitor, he wants to win but he’s not afraid to have fun which is great.”
As for the defensive side, Zimmer can’t remember the last time he had two rookies starting at defensive back in the same game. That was the case Sunday for Cameron Dantzler and Jeff Gladney.
Dantzler returned after missing two games with a rib injury, and left Sunday’s game briefly with a stinger in his shoulder. The duo combined Sunday for eight tackles and one pass defended. They played the entire second half without veteran safety Harrison Smith, who was ejected in the second quarter for a flagrant hit on tight end Jordan Akins.
Dantzler said he watched a lot of film during his two weeks off to stay mentally sharp.
“At the end of the day, football is football. We prepare very well each and every week to go out there and perform, so it was just another Sunday out on the field with my brothers,” Dantzler said.
The Vikings' defense showed improvement Sunday, limiting the Texans to just 3-of-12 on third down conversions and 0-for-3 in red zone opportunities.
Zimmer doesn’t expect suspension for Harrison Smith.
Zimmer said Monday he hasn’t heard anything on the status of Harrison Smith after the safety’s ejection on Sunday. He expects to have him available against Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks for Sunday Night Football.
Smith was flagged and thrown out of the game for a flagrant hit on Jordan Akins, who missed the rest of the game with a concussion. The NFL league office ruled Smith led with his helmet on the hit.
It’s likely Smith will get fined for the hit.