Since the Week 4 debacle in Los Angeles, the Vikings defense is nearing last year’s form, when it was the NFL’s top-ranked unit.
Most of the focus goes to the stingy 17.3 points per game given up in the past seven weeks, when the Vikings surrendered the league’s fewest passing touchdowns. But stopping the run — and particularly how — is what’s giving Mike Zimmer’s defense its old consistency.
The Vikings rank third in the NFL by allowing just 3.7 yards per carry despite playing with an additional defensive back instead of a third linebacker at least 70 percent of snaps — among the league’s highest rates.