The concept of home-field advantage can often be overblown in sports. It’s hard to measure how much it impacts winning and losing because it mostly exists in the abstract.

You can feel it. You can’t see it.

Except on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium, the home crowd legitimately made a difference for the Vikings during a particular stretch against the Houston Texans.

It was so deafening inside U.S. Bank Stadium that the Texans got called for a false start on back-to-back-to-back snaps. That stopped the drive in its tracks, bumping them back from the 25-yard line to the 40-yard line and they ended up having to punt after failing to convert on third down.

It was a signature moment for U.S. Bank Stadium that wasn’t lost on head coach Kevin O’Connell after the game.

“This building was special,” O’Connell said, while joking that every single person deserved a game ball. “I thought our fans were phenomenal.”

That feeling was shared by pretty much every single player that spoke in the Vikings’ locker room.

“Shout out to our fans,” safety Cam Bynum said. “I couldn’t hear myself talk out there, so imagine the offense having to check their protections and do certain things up front.”

That was evident throughout the game as Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud struggled with communication at the line of scrimmage.

“It really is an advantage,” defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said. “When people come to U.S. Bank Stadium, they have to play against 12 people on the field.”

The fact that the Vikings have already notched a pair of wins at U.S. Bank Stadium this season is not insignificant. They struggled at home last season and it irked O’Connell to his core. Why?

“They’re part of the formula here at U.S. Bank Stadium,” O’Connell said. “They deserve to be able to show up and hopefully enjoy what they see on the field for 3 1/2 hours.”

Asked about the home crowd, veteran safety Harrison Smith admitted that it actually makes it hard to communicate on defense. He immediately followed it up by saying that’s a good problem for the Vikings to have week in and week out.

“I’ll take that,” Smith said. “Make it as hard as possible on their offense and we’ll figure it out on defense.”

If the Vikings keep doing their part, the home crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium will undoubtedly do their part as well.

“I think we got the best fans in the National Football League,” O’Connell said. “Not particularly close.”

Briefly

There was a memorable moment on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium as legendary cornerback Bobby Bryant was officially inducted into the Ring of Honor. The ceremony took place halftime of the game between the Vikings and Texans.

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