2024 NFL picks, score predictions for Week 3

Houston Texans (2-0) @ Minnesota Vikings (2-0)

Sunday, September 22, 1:00 PM ET

It’s unfortunate that we’re going to have to see one of these two teams come away from Week 3 of the NFL season with a loss, because the storylines have been great with them being undefeated through the first two games.

The Minnesota Vikings have been a lot of fun with Sam Darnold at the quarterback position, a sentence not many people thought they would actually read when the games started mattering. Darnold’s emergence under Kevin O’Connell is not altogether surprising since the guy has not been in a good situation since he came into the NFL in 2018. Now, he’s in a good situation, he’s had plenty of time to grow and learn in the NFL, and he’s making plays.

Not only that, but Brian Flores is calling a great defense and O’Connell is really able to lean on that side of the ball right now. Even though Christian McCaffrey didn’t play, the fact that the Vikings just held the 49ers to only 17 points is significant.

Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans is certainly familiar with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell from their time going against each other in the NFC West as members of the 49ers and Rams, respectively. This will be a fun chess match and a really good test for Darnold against a Texans defense that just embarrassed Caleb Williams and the Bears.

The Texans racked up seven sacks and a pair of interceptions in Week 2 and they’ll smell blood in the water against a quarterback like Darnold, who has been turnover-prone for the majority of his NFL career.

The Vikings have been a great story thus far, but I’m going to remain a skeptic for at least one more week here.

Prediction: Texans win 24-20