Tuesday 11 October 2016 16:45, UK
The Minnesota Vikings continued their perfect start to the season as they dismantled the Houston Texans 31-13 at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.
Adam Thielen, Matt Asiata, Marcus Sherels and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson all went into the red zone to lay down an early marker for their opponents.
Minnesota made a blistering start with QB Bradford throwing to Thielen, Asiata and Sherels in the first half. Patterson added a fourth TD with Hopkins' reply too late.
Vikings' quarterback Sam Bradford was in immaculate form, throwing for 271 yards with a total of 22 completed passes.
Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer enjoys his smelling salts and has instilled a championship style defence but will want to work on his side's offence if they want to be serious Super Bowl contenders.
Sherels returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter for the rampant Vikings.
Vikings have made a perfect start to the season and made it 5-0 for the first time since 2009. It was their eighth straight win in total to take charge of the NFC North and lay down a marker for the rest of the opposition.
Sam Bradford and Adam Thielen ran riot as the Vikings continued their impressive start to the campaign with their fifth victory on the trot.
Wide receiver Thielen was a top pick for quarterback Sam Bradford and finished with a career-high 127 yards, while the Vikings defence flustered Brock Osweiler and the Texans on their way to a comfortable victory.
Houston were looking to take advantage of a banged-up offensive line to apply plenty of pressure on Bradford, but with touchdowns on their first two drives the Vikings were in cruise control as they eagerly unleashed their defence again on another out-of-sync quarterback.
With leading receiver Stefon Diggs out of the game with a groin injury, Thielen and Cordarrelle Patterson capably stepped up for the Vikings with the former collecting a 36-yard pass for the opener before Matt Asiata went over from a yard.
The visitors were unable to contain Marcus Sherels who returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown and Patterson scored on another sharp throw by Bradford, who produced another turnover-free game and deftly guided the Vikings into their bye week without a defeat.
Osweiler was overmatched by Minnesota's relentless rush and coverage, finishing 19 for 42 for 184 yards, one interception and a late touchdown pass while taking four sacks.
The Texans (3-2) were denied on 12 of 13 third downs and were unable or unwilling to do much other than dump off short passes.
Lamar Miller only had eight carries for 20 yards during a performance by the Texans that felt a lot like the 27-0 loss at New England two weeks ago.
Will Fuller wasn't targeted until the first play of the second half and had only one catch, a head-scratching fourth-and-16 call in the third quarter at the Vikings 39 that netted 4 yards on a screen play.
Minnesota have a bye week coming up before heading to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles while the Texans host the Indianapolis Colts next weekend.
