Harrison Phillips is a glass-half-full kind of team captain. That’s how the Vikings nose tackle viewed what happened with 10 minutes left in Sunday’s 34-7 rout of Houston at U.S.
Bank Stadium. The Texans trailed 31-7 and were facing second-and-12 from their 46-yard line. Unfortunately for second-year quarterback C.
J. Stroud, the Vikings defense and its coordinator, Brian Flores, weren’t taking their feet off the gas. Stroud dropped to pass as Phillips rifled between center Juice Scruggs and left guard Kenyon Green.
Phillips came through so quickly that he lost his balance and swiped Stroud’s feet with his right arm. Stroud avoided the tackle. Phillips got up and tried again.
He got both hands on Stroud this time, but the slithery QB escaped again as Phillips fell again. Green, the guard, turned toward Phillips, who was rising for a third crack at his second sack of the season. That, unfortunately, allowed edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, a former Texan , to zoom in and end the play by smashing Stroud for his third sack of the day, a 14-yard loss.
“Don’t kick me while I’m down,” Phillips joked when asked about that play. “I just joked with my teammates that as a captain I have to be very generous. I could have had Stroud down, but I just wanted to make sure JG got his third sack.
That’s what I’m going to chalk it up to. Not the fact I missed two missed tackles.” Sunday wasn’t a big stats day for Phillips.
But we’ll give him Unsung Vikings Player of th.