Sports

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ― Their proud run defense falling off a little this season, the Minnesota Vikings have been eager to re-establish that dominance when the other team keeps the ball on the ground.

With a mere 4 net yards allowed on 13 attempts in Sunday's 35-9 victory over Seattle, Minnesota's vaunted group of run-stuffers was back in form. The Vikings forced the Seahawks into an all-time rushing low and yielded the second-fewest yards in franchise history. They held the Detroit Lions to minus-3 yards rushing in a game in 2006, the first of three straight seasons as the NFL run defense leader.

Entering Sunday, the Vikings were sixth in the league in that category this year. Still strong, but not good enough for them.

"We've just been trying to get back to fundamentals. The coaches were telling us we were trying to do too much, putting too much pressure on ourselves trying to keep that crown," defensive end Ray Edwards said. "Now we're just out there having fun and attacking the ball."

Linebacker Chad Greenway made no secret of the goal to rise in the rankings and finish first in rushing defense for an unprecedented fourth straight season: "It's No. 1 on our list of things we want to get accomplished" statistically, he said.

Sunday's game sure helped. After allowing an average of 2.8, 3.1 and 3.3 yards per carry the last three years, the Vikings are giving up an average of 3.9 yards per rush in 2009. Their per-game yardage average is up to 85.5, after holding it to 70.8 over the previous three-season span.

"It has slipped a little bit," linebacker Ben Leber said. "That's very uncharacteristic of our defense, and something we talk about during the week. We need to get better at that. So it was nice to have a performance like today."

The Seahawks lost yardage on six running plays, including a questionable third-and-2 call in the second quarter when backup quarterback Seneca Wallace took the snap, rolled right and was forced out of bounds by Edwards upon seeing no openings.

"We tried to get some things going in the run game early, and they did a heck of a job of stuffing that," Seattle coach Jim Mora said. "We were intent on protecting Matt (Hasselbeck), and we struggled there as well. They've got a fearsome front that kind of took it to us."

Justin Forsett, taking the place of injured starter Julius Jones, totaled 9 yards on 9 carries, including a late touchdown.

"We had some good stuff called, but we've got to make more plays," Forsett said. "They're a great defense. They do a good job of pursuing to the ball, everybody from the linebackers to the DBs."

It starts up front, though, as Vikings coach Brad Childress -- and probably every other football coach in the country -- is fond of saying. Edwards, Jared Allen and the Williams Wall inside consistently penetrated the line, whether the play was run or pass.

"Our sack numbers are up, too, so it's not like they've been throwing the ball," Allen said, downplaying the slight slip in rushing defense. "It's just a year to year thing. It depends on the point of the game you're in and stuff like that. Sometimes when teams are down multiple points, they might call it a day and try to get out of there with some dignity and try to run draws and stuff like that."

Quarterback yardage on scrambles to avoid sacks and draw plays also have helped opponents with their rushing totals against the Vikings.

"We weren't worried about it," Pat Williams said. "We always start late."


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The game moves the Vikings to a leading NFC North standing of 9-1.

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