Zimmer’s defence dominant for Vikings
The defence that Mike Zimmer has deliberately built since he became Minnesota’s head coach has been gradually ascending into one of the league’s best. The Vikings have sure begun this season with a bang. For the second straight game, they turned an NFL MVP into a flustered, ineffective quarterback.
The defence racked up eight sacks and three interceptions of Carolina’s Cam Newton in the 2210 victory over the defending NFC champion Panthers on Sunday. It was a resounding response by the Vikings (3-0) after having to put running back Adrian Peterson and left tackle Matt Kalil on injured reserve earlier in the week.
The eight sacks were the most by the Vikings in a road game since Dec. 28, 2003, at Arizona. Newton, the most valuable player in 2015, fared even worse than Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, the award winner in 2014, did the week before when the Vikings beat the Packers 17-14.
The Vikings lead the league with a plus-8 turnover margin. They have a league-high 15 sacks for a whopping 116 yards. Philadelphia is the next closest team with a total of 72 sack yards.
The engine of the group is in a front four that’s one of the deepest in the league, led by Everson Griffen, who had three sacks at Carolina. The heart rests with young linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks, the handpicked high draft picks who run Zimmer’s patented Double-A-gap blitz scheme.
There are so many athletic, versatile players throughout the defensive lineup that the Vikings are able to apply a pass rush from all corners of the field, making up for it with sound coverage beneath it. Rodgers, who has one of the keenest senses of pocket awareness in the NFL, said he didn’t see the pressure on any of the three times he fumbled last week. Newton sounded even more baffled.
“These guys are all pretty good players,” Zimmer said. “...It’s a players’ game, and these guys have been executing and doing a nice job ...”
Here are three highlights from the game that displayed the defence’s prowess and proved pivotal in the outcome:
SAFETY FIRST
Trailing 10-0 late in the first quarter, on a second-and-9 play for Carolina at the 5-yard line, the Vikings rushed only four players and dropped seven into coverage. The Panthers protected Newton with seven blockers. Danielle Hunter still worked his way into the end zone to take down Newton for a safety. Hunter knocked over Michael Oher at the line of scrimmage, hurdled over the fallen left tackle and slid past a push by left guard Andrew Norwell to reach the quarterback.
NEWMAN!
Late in the third quarter, with the Vikings leading 16-10, the Panthers ran a third-and-11 play from their 33. Newton threw toward the sideline, where Terence Newman jumped in front of Ted Ginn for the interception that set up a field goal by Blair Walsh.
SNEAKY SACK
With less than four minutes left in the game, after Walsh’s second field goal had given the Vikings a 12-point lead, the Panthers had a first-and-10 play at the Minnesota 35. The drive later ended with Tom Johnson’s interception of an under-pressure pass heaved by Newton and tipped at the line.