Houston Texans at Minnesota Vikings, 1p.m. EST

First, the Texans are just happy this game is in October and not December. Second, this is a great matchup to see where the Texans stand. It’s tough to tell in that mess they call the AFC South, so these out of division games provide a good litmus test.

Keys to the Game

Houston

The Vikings formidable defense should be Houston’s main concern – outside of Adrian Peterson. They are going to need to find success on offense and control the ball in order to keep it out of AP’s hands. If they can get out to an early lead with a TD strike or two to Nuk Hopkins or rookie Will Fuller and force Minnesota to throw the ball, this game will look a lot better for Houston.

Minnesota

Pound the rock. Running the ball will limit J.J. Watt’s ability to impact the game (he’s still good against the run, but more effective rushing the QB). The last thing Minnesota needs is Watt crushing Bridgewater over and over. When they do pass, short, quick routes to Stefon Diggs will be a great way to get the ball out of Teddy’s hands quickly.

Sunday, Late Afternoon