7 takeaways from the Vikings playoff win over the Saints

Moving Hunter and Griffen to the inside was brilliant

Mike Zimmer knew he was going to have to get creative with his defense if the Vikings were going to pull off the upset on Sunday and that’s exactly what he did.

With Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen being Minnesota’s two most dangerous pass rushers and the Saints’ interior offensive line being the worst part of the unit, Zimmer came up with a clever plan. On numerous occasions against New Orleans, he had Griffen and Hunter line up as defensive tackles and bring their pass-rushing havoc up the middle.

It worked out gloriously as the Vikings were able to put a ton of pressure on Saints quarterback Drew Brees for most of the afternoon. Thanks to this tactic, Hunter was even able to force Brees to fumble late in the fourth quarter and stop a potential New Orleans scoring drive.

A lot of times, games in the NFL really just come down to matchups. Zimmer knows this and by using his two best pass rushers to exploit one of the Saints’ biggest weaknesses on Sunday, Minnesota was able to leave the field with a win.