Vikings Win 6th Straight

Brad Johnson isn’t surprised by anything the Minnesota Vikings’ defense does anymore.

“Our defense is playing unbelievable and that’s what’s expected of those guys,” Johnson said after a 27-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

It has been a long, long time since such high expectations have been bestowed upon the defense, which has thrust the Vikings back into contention for the NFC North title.

The Vikings forced six turnovers and held Steven Jackson to 67 yards rushing in their sixth straight victory.

With Chicago (9-4) losing at Pittsburgh, the Vikings (8-5) pulled within one game of the division lead in a season that appeared lost after a 2-5 start. And the Bears will come to town on the final Sunday of the season.

“It is hard not to look ahead,” receiver Koren Robinson said. “You just have to stay focused and understand that if we don’t handle our business, regardless of what the Bears do, we’re going to miss the playoffs.”

Playoffs?

Even mentioning that word would have been ludicrous six weeks ago, when the Vikings appeared to be spiraling out of control with a myriad mistakes on the field and an embarrassing boat party scandal off it.

That was before the defense, with five new starters, started coming together. Now that it has, the wins just keep coming.

“I think we’re gelling,” said cornerback Brian Williams.

Williams led the way with two interceptions as the Vikings confused and battered rookie quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was 26 for 44 for 235 yards and five interceptions for the fading Rams (5-8).

Fitzpatrick made several poor decisions, including throwing a ball right to Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield deep in Ram territory with less than two minutes to play in the first half.

That set up Paul Edinger’s second field goal and gave the Vikings a 13-6 halftime lead.

“He didn’t have a very good day today,” Ram interim Coach Joe Vitt said of Fitzpatrick.

Robinson, Michael Bennett and Ciatrick Fason all scored touchdowns on the ground for the Vikings. Johnson was 16 for 25 for 146 yards.

Fitzpatrick tied the score, 13-13, with a 14-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter, but the Vikings’ defense shut out the Rams the rest of the way. It is giving up 15.5 points per game during the winning streak.

Ram Isaac Bruce had five catches for 66 yards to pass Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner for 10th place in NFL history with 12,181 yards.