Stifling Defense Quickly Becoming Calling Card of Undefeated Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings won't have offensive pillars Adrian Peterson, Teddy Bridgewater and Matt Kalil in their lineup for a long time. And yet the Vikes are 4-0.

Minnesota doesn't have a bona fide franchise quarterback, and its running game ranks dead last in the NFL. And yet the Vikes have three consecutive wins over playoff-caliber opponents.

This isn't a mirage. It isn't an aberration. On Monday night, the Vikings again showed the football world they're for real, registering a fourth consecutive tough victory to start the 2016 season.

It was one thing when they beat the Tennessee Titans on the road in Week 1 despite having lost Bridgewater and despite a poor performance by Peterson, and despite the fact that Bridgewater's replacement, Sam Bradford, wasn't ready to start. Still, they held Titans quarterback and 2015 No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota in check, surrendering just 16 points.

But then they held the mighty Green Bay Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers—you know, the highest-rated passer in NFL history—to just 14 points in a Week 2 victory at home.

And then they held the Carolina Panthers, the league's highest-scoring team last season, and reigning MVP Cam Newton to just 10 points in a Week 3 road win.

We should have known right then and there that this Minnesota team was special. After all, the Panthers had won 14 straight home games dating back to 2014, and they'd scored at least 17 points (but usually a lot more) in each of those games.

Monday night in Minneapolis, the Vikings made it official. They'll be a force in 2016 regardless of those losses on offense. Because teams that aren't forces don't hold opponents such as the Titans, Packers, Panthers and New York Giants to 16 or fewer points in consecutive weeks.

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The faces of former Super Bowl caliber QB’s after being run through the Mike Zimmer wood chipper. pic.twitter.com/sBYM2CA5Vw

— xtina (@xtina1229) October 4, 2016"

The Giants ranked sixth in scoring and eighth in total offense last season, and they had the league's sixth-ranked offense entering Week 4. And yet against Minnesota's deep, balanced and fierce defense, they managed just 10 points.

New York and its two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback converted just two of 12 third downs, turned the ball over twice and had possession for only 24 minutes, 28 seconds.

It's not just that this Vikings defense—led by monster defensive tackle Linval Joseph, stout linebacker Anthony Barr and stud safety Harrison Smith and yet still greater than the sum of its parts—has allowed a mere 12.5 points per game, second only to the Philadelphia Eagles' nine points per game against. The reality is a four-game sample can be misleading with numbers like those.

Instead, it's that the Vikes have done so against Mariota and the Titans and Newton and the Panthers on the road, and against Rodgers and the Packers and Manning and the Giants in prime time.

It's that they held that exciting new Titans backfield duo of DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry to just 45 yards on 18 carries.

It's that they limited Rodgers to just 213 passing yards and five completions in 11 attempts to star receiver Jordy Nelson. And the fact that was the 12th-lowest-rated start of Rodgers' illustrious career.

It's that they contained Newton from start to finish, sacking him eight times, intercepting him three times and keeping him to just 26 rushing yards. And the fact that was the fourth-lowest-rated game of Newton's fantastic career.

And on Monday, it's that they held Odell Beckham Jr.—arguably the best receiver in the National Football League—to just three catches for 23 yards on nine targets.

Statistically, it was the worst game of Beckham's short but breathtaking career. It was only the fourth time he caught less than half of the passes thrown his way. It was the first time he had fewer than 25 receiving yards.

Game	Catches	Targets	Yards	TD
Monday Night	3	9	23	0
2014, Week 6 at Eagles	2	4	28	0
2014, Week 7 at Cowboys	4	6	34	2
2015, Week 7 vs. Cowboys	4	6	35	0

That's a testament not just to the talent Minnesota has with Joseph, Barr and Smith—and specifically in coverage with cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes, Captain Munnerlyn and the ageless Terence Newman—but also to what head coach Mike Zimmer has built with defensive coordinator George Edwards.

That's because the Vikings don't just stall you; they rob you.

They intercepted Manning and forced a fumble on special teams Monday night. That marked the first time this season they've failed to register three takeaways in a game. With 11 total, they rank first in the league in that category.

The year before Zimmer took over, in 2013, the Vikes tied for 27th in the league in turnovers forced. They tied for 25th in 2014 and tied for 19th in 2015, and now they're setting the pace. They always had talent on defense, and they certainly have more now than at any other recent time, but the uptick in takeaways isn't a coincidence.

"I'm kind of preaching turnovers more this year," Zimmer said during training camp, per Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune, "because I think that can help us get to somewhere else."

"That's something we have to work on as far as getting the ball back to our offense and giving them more opportunities," said defensive end Brian Robison, who has two sacks and is one of six Vikings who have forced a fumble this season. "So that's something that's going to be a big key for us this year."

So far, so good. And when the defense has given the ball back to that depleted offense, the offense has come through. No, Bradford isn't perfect, but he entered Monday's game as the league's third-highest-rated passer, and he's yet to throw an interception.

Thanks primarily to its strong interior, the offensive line has exceeded expectations, but without Kalil the tackles have struggled and Bradford has been under a lot of pressure. And even after top Peterson replacement Jerick McKinnon put together a solid night with 85 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries Monday, the Vikings rank dead last in football with 257 rushing yards and 2.4 yards per carry.

No balance, limited protection, and yet Bradford has gone three straight games without a turnover and the Vikings are second in the NFL to the Eagles with just one turnover all season.

Team	Takeaways	Turnovers	Margin
Vikings	11	1	+10
Bills	8	2	+6
Eagles	6	0	+6
Raiders	6	2	+4
Rams	9	5	+4

It is sustainable? Not entirely. Only one team in league history has finished a season with a turnover margin better than plus-33, so the Vikings aren't likely to remain on pace to post a plus-40 margin. But the mere fact that they're plus-10 and nobody else in football is better than plus-six indicates this Minnesota team has a special formula.

This isn't a fluke. Anchored by a stacked, well-tuned defense and an offense that knows not to get in the way, the Vikings—even without Bridgewater, Peterson and Kalil—are the real deal.

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon