J.J. McCarthy’s first game action in nearly a year lasted one series, and it went well enough to remind Minnesota why it used a first-round pick on him in 2024. The Vikings quarterback, who missed his entire rookie season after tearing a meniscus in the team’s 2024 preseason opener, completed his first four passes and converted a fourth-down run to help set up a field goal as Minnesota opened its 2025 preseason with a 20-10 win over the Houston Texans on August 9 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Sam Howell took over from there, and Minnesota’s defense delivered the finishing blow, intercepting Texans rookie Graham Mertz three times in the fourth quarter.
What follows is the complete box score from that game: the scoring summary, team totals, game leaders, and every passing, rushing, receiving, defensive and special teams number logged by either team.
Table of Contents
Final score and scoring plays
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Vikings | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
How each score happened
| Quarter | Time | Play | Drive | Score after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 8:57 | Will Reichard, 48-yard field goal | 13 plays, 58 yards, 6:03 | Vikings 3, Texans 0 |
| 1st | 3:54 | Braxton Berrios, 14-yard touchdown catch from Davis Mills (Fairbairn kick) | 10 plays, 74 yards, 5:03 | Texans 7, Vikings 3 |
| 2nd | 12:27 | Will Reichard, 38-yard field goal | 12 plays, 40 yards, 6:27 | Texans 7, Vikings 6 |
| 2nd | 3:20 | Sam Howell, 1-yard touchdown run (Reichard kick) | 14 plays, 94 yards, 7:10 | Vikings 13, Texans 7 |
| 3rd | 9:42 | Ka’imi Fairbairn, 43-yard field goal | 10 plays, 48 yards, 5:18 | Texans 10, Vikings 13 |
| 4th | 9:48 | Myles Price, 3-yard touchdown catch from Max Brosmer (Reichard kick) | 9 plays, 40 yards, 3:48 | Vikings 20, Texans 10 |
Team stats
| Stat | Texans | Vikings |
|---|---|---|
| 1st downs | 13 | 20 |
| Passing 1st downs | 10 | 12 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 2 | 6 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 1 | 2 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 6-14 | 5-13 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-1 | 2-2 |
| Total plays | 53 | 64 |
| Total yards | 194 | 261 |
| Total drives | 9 | 10 |
| Yards per play | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| Passing yards (net) | 129 | 175 |
| Comp/Att | 22/34 | 21/32 |
| Yards per pass | 3.6 | 5.1 |
| Interceptions thrown | 3 | 0 |
| Sacks-yards lost | 2-19 | 2-13 |
| Rushing yards | 65 | 86 |
| Rushing attempts | 17 | 30 |
| Yards per rush | 3.8 | 2.9 |
| Red zone (made-att) | 1-1 | 2-3 |
| Penalties | 8-49 | 4-47 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Defensive/special teams touchdowns | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 26:23 | 33:37 |
Game leaders
| Category | Texans | Vikings |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | Kedon Slovis, 71 yards (11 of 15) | Sam Howell, 105 yards (11 of 13) |
| Rushing | Dare Ogunbowale, 29 yards on 5 carries | Zavier Scott, 40 yards on 7 carries |
| Receiving | John Metchie III, 45 yards on 5 catches | Jordan Addison, 33 yards on 3 catches |
| Sacks | Casey Toohill, 1.0 | Gabriel Murphy, 1.5 |
| Tackles | Myles Bryant, 6 total (4 solo) | Mekhi Blackmon, 5 total (4 solo) |
Full box score
Passing
Texans
| Player | Comp/Att | Yards | TD | INT | Sacks-yards | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kedon Slovis | 11/15 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 2-19 | 82.9 |
| Davis Mills | 4/5 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | 147.9 |
| Graham Mertz | 7/14 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0-0 | 16.7 |
| Total | 22/34 | 129 | 1 | 3 | 2-19 | 47.2 |
Vikings
| Player | Comp/Att | Yards | TD | INT | Sacks-yards | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Howell | 11/13 | 105 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 100.3 |
| Max Brosmer | 5/8 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | 118.2 |
| J.J. McCarthy | 4/7 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 67.6 |
| Brett Rypien | 1/4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2-13 | 39.6 |
| Total | 21/32 | 175 | 1 | 0 | 2-13 | 91.7 |
Team totals above are net passing yards, after sack yardage is subtracted. Add up the receiving yards in the tables further down and the gross number comes out higher: 148 for Houston, 188 for Minnesota, since receiving totals aren’t reduced by sack yardage the way team passing totals are.
Rushing
Texans
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dare Ogunbowale | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 0 | 9 |
| Jawhar Jordan | 6 | 18 | 3.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Graham Mertz | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 |
| J.J. Taylor | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 3 |
| Woody Marks | 3 | 4 | 1.3 | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 17 | 65 | 3.8 | 0 | 9 |
Vikings
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zavier Scott | 7 | 40 | 5.7 | 0 | 12 |
| Jordan Mason | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Tre Stewart | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 6 |
| J.J. McCarthy | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 |
| Ty Chandler | 5 | 5 | 1.0 | 0 | 4 |
| Sam Howell | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 |
| Brett Rypien | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Max Brosmer | 5 | -1 | -0.2 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 30 | 86 | 2.9 | 1 | 12 |
Receiving
Texans
| Player | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD | Long | Targets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Metchie III | 5 | 45 | 9.0 | 0 | 18 | 8 |
| Braxton Berrios | 3 | 33 | 11.0 | 1 | 14 | 3 |
| Jaylin Noel | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Xavier Hutchinson | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Brevin Jordan | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Cade Stover | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Jayden Higgins | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| J.J. Taylor | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| British Brooks | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Luke Lachey | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Quintez Cephus | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Xavier Johnson | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Daniel Jackson | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jakob Johnson | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 22 | 148 | 6.7 | 1 | 18 | 31 |
Vikings
| Player | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD | Long | Targets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Addison | 3 | 33 | 11.0 | 0 | 18 | 4 |
| Lucky Jackson | 3 | 30 | 10.0 | 0 | 17 | 4 |
| Jeshaun Jones | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 | 20 | 3 |
| Ty Chandler | 3 | 20 | 6.7 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| Myles Price | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 1 | 15 | 2 |
| Dontae Fleming | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| Tai Felton | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| Bryson Nesbit | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| Zavier Scott | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Jalen Nailor | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Silas Bolden | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Thayer Thomas | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jordan Mason | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tre Stewart | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| C.J. Ham | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | 0 | -3 | 1 |
| Total | 21 | 188 | 9.0 | 1 | 20 | 30 |
Defense
Columns show total tackles, solo tackles, sacks, tackles for loss, passes defended and QB hits.
Texans
| Player | Tot | Solo | Sacks | TFL | PD | QB hits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myles Bryant | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jamal Hill | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| D’Angelo Ross | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Russ Yeast | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Niemann | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Hansen | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E.J. Speed | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jaylin Smith | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Junior Tafuna | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| M.J. Stewart | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Solomon Byrd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tremon Smith | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Casey Toohill | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Haggai Ndubuisi | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| K.C. Ossai | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Damon Arnette | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marlon Davidson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Justin Watson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darrell Taylor | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arthur Maulet | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| British Brooks | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Johnson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Lachey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jackson Woodard | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Woody Marks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Togiai | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 67 | 40 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
Vikings
| Player | Tot | Solo | Sacks | TFL | PD | QB hits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mekhi Blackmon | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zemaiah Vaughn | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chaz Chambliss | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kobe King | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tavierre Thomas | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Asamoah II | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jay Ward | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Murphy | 3 | 1 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Dorian Mausi | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Batty | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Eric Wilson | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight McGlothern | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Austin Keys | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ivan Pace Jr. | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elijah Williams | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bo Richter | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Theo Jackson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Jones | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Travis Bell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tai Felton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas Turner | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Okudah | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalen Redmond | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mishael Powell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ambry Thomas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kahlef Hailassie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Reddy Steward | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 56 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
Turnovers
Interceptions
| Player | Team | Int | Yards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kahlef Hailassie | Vikings | 2 | 22 |
| Ambry Thomas | Vikings | 1 | 1 |
| Total | Vikings | 3 | 23 |
Houston’s defense did not intercept a pass. All three Vikings interceptions came off Graham Mertz in the fourth quarter, on three consecutive Texans possessions.
Fumbles
| Player | Team | Fumbles | Lost | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jawhar Jordan | Texans | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tremon Smith | Texans | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| K.C. Ossai | Texans | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Texans total | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Max Brosmer | Vikings | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sam Howell | Vikings | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Vikings total | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Special teams
Kick returns
| Player | Team | No | Yards | Avg | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woody Marks | Texans | 1 | 26 | 26.0 | 26 |
| Braxton Berrios | Texans | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 24 |
| John Metchie III | Texans | 1 | 23 | 23.0 | 23 |
| Daniel Jackson | Texans | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 |
| Texans total | 4 | 85 | 21.3 | 26 | |
| Tai Felton | Vikings | 2 | 36 | 18.0 | 24 |
Punt returns
| Player | Team | No | Yards | Avg | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braxton Berrios | Texans | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 |
| J.J. Taylor | Texans | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 |
| Jawhar Jordan | Texans | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Texans total | 3 | 12 | 4.0 | 9 | |
| Silas Bolden | Vikings | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 |
| Rondale Moore | Vikings | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 |
| Vikings total | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 8 |
Kicking
| Player | Team | FG | Pct | Long | XP | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ka’imi Fairbairn | Texans | 1/1 | 100.0 | 43 | 1/1 | 4 |
| Will Reichard | Vikings | 2/2 | 100.0 | 48 | 2/2 | 8 |
Punting
| Player | Team | No | Yards | Avg | Touchbacks | Inside 20 | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Townsend | Texans | 4 | 173 | 43.3 | 0 | 1 | 54 |
| Ryan Wright | Vikings | 2 | 103 | 51.5 | 0 | 1 | 54 |
| Oscar Chapman | Vikings | 1 | 52 | 52.0 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| Vikings total | 3 | 155 | 51.7 | 0 | 1 | 54 |
Game information
Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025 Venue: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 66,715 Broadcast: NFL Network, Fox 9 (Vikings market), KTRK (Texans market) Officials: Referee Brad Allen, Umpire Marcus Woods, Down Judge Sarah Thomas, Line Judge Walter Flowers, Field Judge Rick Patterson, Side Judge Chad Hill, Back Judge Tyree Walton Result: Vikings improved to 1-0 in the preseason; Texans dropped to 0-1
What happened next
The game cost the Vikings two players for the rest of the year. Center Zeke Correll, an undrafted rookie playing in his first professional game, fractured his ankle in the fourth quarter. The Vikings placed him on waivers with an injury settlement on August 12, 2025, and when he went unclaimed, he reverted to injured reserve the next day, ending his rookie season before it started.
Rondale Moore’s night ended earlier than that. The wide receiver and return specialist, who signed with Minnesota in March 2025 hoping to revive a career stalled by injury, was tackled along the sideline on his first punt return of the preseason and carted off the field. Three days later, on August 12, the Vikings placed him on injured reserve with a season-ending left knee injury, his second in as many years after a dislocated right knee ended his 2024 season in Atlanta. He never played another regular-season snap. Moore died in February 2026, at age 25, in his hometown of New Albany, Indiana. His only game action in a Vikings uniform was the punt return against Houston.
