The Vikings were able to sack Aaron Rodgers five times on Sunday while adding another eight quarterback hits. While it was an impressive night for the defensive line, it has pretty much become the norm. However, there were a couple of defensive linemen who got in on the action and raised their stock.
Danielle Hunter is proving every week that he deserves to be a starter in the National Football League. Hunter came out of nowhere as a rookie to rack up six sacks, and he has set out to prove that last year was not a fluke. Coming off the bench behind Brian Robison, Hunter accumulated four tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
With Sharrif Floyd out with an injury, Shamar Stephen got the surprise start against the Packers. However, it was another player coming off the bench who really stole the show. Tom Johnson was a constant thorn in Rodgers’ side and was able to get a sack, a tackle for a loss, and most impressively, four(!) quarterback hurries.
The rest of the defensive line was impressive as well, but Everson Griffen, Brian Robison and Linval Joseph are already hot commodities in the league. The rest of the defensive line did what they were supposed to do, while Hunter and Johnson took their games to another level.