Star Tribune · Oct 23, 2018
Vikings defense is getting back to what made it great in 2017
On Oct. 7, as the Vikings closed out a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles to end a three-game winless streak by beating the defending Super Bowl champions, they began a run of defensive success that has stirred up echoes of what made their unit so special last year.
If the top-ranked Vikings defense had a calling card a year ago, it was the group’s ability to get off the field on third downs that stood out more than anything it did to pressure quarterbacks or force turnovers. Last season, the Vikings allowed opponents to convert only 25.2 percent of their third downs — the lowest rate since the league started tracking the statistic in 1991.
