Five things that stood out in Vikings’ preseason opener against Texans

After losing the first six preseason games of the Kevin O’Connell era, the Vikings have now won four in a row. They opened their three-game exhibition slate on Saturday afternoon with a 20-10 win over the Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium. Some of the starters saw some action early on before handing things over to players further down the depth chart.

Here are five things that stood out.

The man everyone wanted to see, J.J. McCarthy, played 12 snaps on the Vikings’ opening possession. “Solid” feels like a good word to describe his day. His first three throws were completions to Jordan Addison, including one highlight, and McCarthy scrambled for eight yards on a fourth down. He also missed a couple throws, finishing 4 for 7 for 30 yards. The drive resulted in a Will Reichard field goal to open the scoring.

You can read more about McCarthy’s showing here, but the bottom line is that he showed a little bit of everything we’ve seen from him on a daily basis throughout training camp — both up and down.

Vikings backup quarterback Sam Howell hasn’t had a particularly encouraging training camp so far. He’s struggled with accuracy and decision-making against Brian Flores’ complex defense, which has resulted in plenty of sacks and interceptions. That’s led to questions about whether or not the Vikings might need to look elsewhere at the backup spot behind McCarthy.

On Saturday, Howell quieted that notion, at least temporarily. He was excellent after taking over for McCarthy on the Vikings’ second offensive possession. Howell led the Vikings to points on both of his drives. The first ended up in another Reichard field goal. The second was a gem: A 14-play, 94-yard drive that Howell capped on his own with a one-yard rushing touchdown.

Howell finished his day 11 of 13 for 105 yards and the rushing TD. He operated the offense effectively and was decisive and accurate with the football. Howell’s best sequence came midway through the second quarter, when he threw a dart to Lucky Jackson for 17 yards and then found an open Jeshaun Jones for 20 yards on the very next play. Finally freed from going against Flores’ defense, Howell looked sharp. There’s more work to do to convince the Vikings he’s their QB2, but this was certainly a step in that direction.

Another offensive player who impressed in this one is Zavier Scott, the third-year running back who has had a good camp. Scott ran for 40 yards on seven carries and added 11 yards on his lone reception. His vision, burst, and tackle-breaking ability were on display. The 6’1″, 219-pound back runs hard and doesn’t go down easily.

Scott played college football at UConn and Maine, where he was primarily a wide receiver. He signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and moved to running back, and the Vikings signed him to their practice squad when the Colts cut him last year. Scott might have a real chance to beat out Ty Chandler for the Vikings’ RB3 job.

The Vikings’ top defensive unit, which was playing without nine starters, didn’t have a great day. Davis Mills and the Texans drove 74 yards on 10 plays for an easy touchdown on their opening possession. But further down the depth chart, multiple Vikings defenders impressed. Second-year edge rusher Gabriel Murphy recorded two sacks in the first half and seems to be the clear option as the Vikings’ No. 4 outside linebacker — the role Dallas Turner held last season.

The Vikings’ defense came up with interceptions on three consecutive possessions against Texans rookie QB Graham Mertz in the fourth quarter. Ambry Thomas got the first, and safety Kahlef Hailassie recorded the next two. One of Hailassie’s picks came on a bad overthrow, while the other was deflected into his arms by Tyler Batty at the line of scrimmage.

Vikings rookie QB Max Brosmer took over the offense in the fourth quarter and certainly had a better day than Mertz did. Brosmer went 5 for 8 for 47 yards and a touchdown to fellow undrafted rookie Myles Price. He wasn’t perfect by any means — there was a lost fumble on the center-QB exchange mixed in there — but Brosmer looked pretty good in his first taste of NFL action.