It was far from an ideal situation for the Vikings, playing shorthanded in the secondary, on the road, against the Saints.
But as they did so often, they adjusted.
From filling in with safety Andrew Sendejo at slot corner to cover for injuries to some new looks up front, the Vikings defense kept making moves that worked in Sunday’s upset win over the Saints.
“Just giving them different looks,” defensive end Everson Griffen said via Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, understating it nicely.
The Vikings used Griffin and Danielle Hunter as inside rushers often, having them go at the Saints’ struggling guards rather than pedigreed tackles Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramcyzk, a decision coach Mike Zimmer referred to as “a scheme thing.”
“It’s always nice when you do something and it works,” Zimmer said. “It doesn’t always work, but you have to try it.”
Griffen and Hunter each had 1.5 sacks, as they kept the pressure on Brees throughout the day. Hunter’s full sack also forced a fumble by Brees, when they were driving in the waning minutes of regulation.
That wasn’t a given, especially with the depleted secondary they entered the game with. Mackensie Alexander was inactive and Mike Hughes was placed on IR last week, so shifting Sendejo to the slot wasn’t anything they planned on.
But it worked, as did most of the buttons they pushed.