Brian T. Smith: A good team must be able to win on road.
A Texans win over a similar blue- collar Vikings team would go along way toward legitimizing O’ Brien’ s crew
MINNEAPOLIS— Beating obnoxiously overpaid Sam Bradford two years ago wouldn’t have meant anything. Defeating the Adrian Petersonless Minnesota Vikings last season would have only been a step above bullying Tennessee and Jacksonville again. But these Texans pulling it off? Yeah, Week 5 could mean something in 2016. No sane human being would even consider making a far- reaching statement if Bill O’Brien’s squad ends Minnesota’s inspired undefeated streak. It’ll take the rest of this season to make up for 27- 0New England. Denver, Green Bay and Oakland await on the road. Yet that early season- defining victory we’ve been waiting on since O’Brien’s 2014 rookie year? It could arrive Sunday. Andwe might suddenly be staring at 4-1 if the team without J. J. Watt takes down the team missing Teddy Bridgewater and Peterson inside a state- of- the- art stadiumthat doubles as a “Star Wars” spaceship.
Road hazards
“That’s something thatwe have to answer. How can we play great on the road?” linebacker Whitney Mercilus said. “We haven’t done that yet, so this is a great, great test for us… especially in an environment like that.” The Texans received an impossible- to- forget “F-” plaque after their last public assessment away from the cushy comforts of NRG Stadium. I’ll gladly inflate their overall grade all the way up to a “B” almost a third of the way through 2016, if we’re discussing the second- best start in franchise history Sunday night on “Texas Sports Nation.” “You see where your team is at ( on the road).… We understandwhat it’s going to take to win,” said nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who scolded his squad after it bombed its last gut check. You’re going to see too many zoomed- in close- ups of that humongous horn that apparently links one of America’s most underrated metropolises to its ancient pillaging and marauding days on a distant continent. I’mnot recommending that you spend the final day of your weekend playing a three- hour drinking game. But if you do, you might want to lift your cup ( grape juice, of course) every time CBS announcers rave about just how amazing Minneapolis’ $1.1 billion architectural wonder is in person.
Hostile environment
It’ll be crazy loud, constantly screaming cuckoos will be dressed up early for medieval Halloween and Mike Zimmer has both hands on the coach of the year award a quarter of the way into 2016. But it’s also just Week 5, this game will be played indoors in October— no iced beards or frozen snot— and it’s not like the Texans haven’t dealt with enraged people shouting at them before. They have a two- game division lead. They should win the AFC South again this season. They ought to be able to handle this. Or at least hang close enough— especially if receiver Stefon Diggs doesn’t play— to make it fun in the final minutes. “You have to find away to win. That’s what good teams do,” said Wilfork, who centers a defense that ranks eighth in the NFL in average scoring ( 18.2). “If we want to be a good football team, we have to be able to go on the road and win some. It starts thisweek.” It’s another prove- it game for Zimmer’s team, which is second in the league in points allowed ( 12.5), has been the NFL’s most surprising first- quarter story and even stronger without its top two offensive assets. It’s another can-we-believein-them test for O’ Brien’ s Tex ans, who will take the field with sharper weapons and significantly more scoring options. Want to win a bet? Find someonewho’s convinced they can name two active Vikings on offense ( Bradford doesn’t count). Even the biggest fantasy nerds would cough up easymoney. “We’re kind of a blue- collar team,” said Zimmer, who also characterized his Vikings as resilient “high- character guys” who “love to compete.”
A coaching duel
Why does that sound so familiar? Because that’s how O’Brien has long described his team. And it’s a reminder that Sunday isn’t set up to be defined by superstar names or gaudy stats. It’s O’Brien versus Zimmer. The better next- man- up coach will win. It’s Osweiler against Bradford. The quarterback who doesn’t throw the game away and does more with less will take another step forward in 2016. It’s the Texans trying to win us over again. “That’s something that good teams do in this league: They win on the road,” O’Brien said. “If youwant to be at the end of the yearwhere you think you’re supposed to be, then you need to win some road games.” Being 4- 1 after fiveweeks would start to do the trick.