Minnesota Vikings: Like 2015 Denver Broncos, Only Better
By Luke Sims
The Minnesota Vikings are proving they can win on the strength of their defense and they are going to be as good or better than the 2015 Denver Broncos.
Defensive scores put the Minnesota Vikings over the top of the Tennessee Titans in Week 1. They responded with vigor and eagerness in carrying Shaun Hill and the offense to the win. For some, those two defensive scores (a 24-yard fumble recovery and a 77-yard interception return) were a bit of a fluke.
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Week 2 showed that the recently arrived (and costly) Sam Bradford could do everything the Vikings ask of him in 2016. His two-touchdown, 286-yard performance while still learning Norv Turner’s offense was ridiculous. For some, general manager Rick Spielman started to look like a genius.
Finally, Week 3 showed that the Vikings can swarm over anybody with grit, determination, and a touch of flair. The Minnesota D held reigning league MVP Cam Newton to 262 yards, three interceptions, and sacked him eight times. The Carolina Panthers looked like far different from 2015’s NFC champions.
For some, this may look a little familiar. The Vikings are essentially doing what the Denver Broncos did in 2015. Compensating for shaky quarterback play, the Broncos relied on the defense to get them through games en route to a 12-4 record and a Super Bowl victory.
But the Vikings may be doing it better.
Despite severe adversity (Teddy Bridgewater and Adrian Peterson going down with injury, tackles Matt Kalil and Mike Harris on injured reserve, and now guard Alex Boone being carted off) the Vikings are powering straight through games. This team is coalescing around its defense and head coach to win in decisive fashion.
The Vikings entered Week 3 with a top five defense in both yards and points allowed. After shocking the Panthers 22-10, they’re only cementing their case as a top NFL defense. Credit where credit is due; this resilience and surge of dominance from the defense is a testament to Mike Zimmer.
Jim Souhan at the Star Tribune succinctly summed it up:
"Zimmer’s straight talk and expertise have won over the locker room.After the game, Zimmer offered a typically blunt message about winning big games to one of the NFL’s most battered yet dangerous teams. He said, “Get used to it.’’"
“Battered yet dangerous” is the perfect way to talk about these Vikings. Bill Belichick is having praise heaped on him for surviving without quarterbacks. Yet the Vikings are quietly managing to execute exactly the kind of games that they want to in order to win. Zimmer deserves to be in the same breath as anybody gushing about Belichick.
Taking a championship-caliber team and continuing to thrive is one thing. Belichick can do that with the New England Patriots, just like Gary Kubiak did it with the Broncos. Creating, molding, and solidifying a championship-caliber team in the pressure cooker environment that the Vikings are facing every week is something completely different.
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These 2016 Minnesota Vikings are doing something special this year. Zimmer is doing something downright amazing this year. Defense wins championships. And the Vikings are going to rely on theirs to get them into the postseason and beyond.