The Houston Texans rolled into Minnesota on Sunday for a Week 3 showdown between two undefeated teams. The Texans were favored despite being on the road, but they got their doors blown off by the Vikings, getting outplayed in all facets of the game in a 34-7 defeat.
C.J. Stroud and the Texans offense couldn't get anything going against the Vikings' stout defense, and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores deserves a ton of credit for his scheme. Flores has now stifled the flashy 49ers and fiery Texans in back-to-back weeks.
Well, it turns out that Flores' defensive onslaught against the Texans might have been personal. Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL for racial discrimination in its hiring process, and the Texans are included in the lawsuit.
Flores accused the Texans of removing him from consideration for their vacant head coaching job in 2022 due to the lawsuit he had pending against the NFL. In a 2022 NBC News article by Elisha Fieldstadt, Flores' attorneys were quoted as saying that Flores was a finalist for the Texans' head coaching job in 2022, and despite a good interview, he was not selected for the position.
"We would be remiss not to mention that Mr. Flores was one of three finalists for the Texans’ head coach position and, after a great interview and mutual interest it is obvious that the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was his decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL."
Brian Flores had a vendetta against the Texans in Week 3
Flores was hired as Miami's head coach in 2019, and he claims that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to pay him to lose games so the team could get the first pick in the upcoming draft. He remained the head coach for two more years before the two sides parted ways. He became the Steelers' defensive assistant in 2022 before the Vikings hired him as their defensive coordinator in 2023.
On Sunday, Flores' Vikings limited Stroud to 215 passing yards and one touchdown while picking him off twice. Stroud is not someone who throws interceptions often, which goes to show how impressive Flores' scheme was. Stroud was also sacked four times.
The Texans offense only scored one touchdown and otherwise was shut out by Flores and his Vikings defense. Sometimes, when coaches or players want to get their revenge on another team, it pans out, and it did for Flores. He made the Texans offense, which had looked incredible through the first two games, look pedestrian.
Let's hope the Texans can bounce back next week.
