Joseph's play on Vikings defensive line gets Zimmer's attention

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer took advantage when he got an opportunity to praise defensive tackle Linval Joseph on Monday.

Joseph has combined for 22 tackles during the Vikings' 4-2 start and had six in Sunday's 28-19 victory at Detroit. He had 48 tackles and three sacks in his first season with the Vikings and Zimmer in 2014, but the coach has been impressed with everything Joseph has done better in their second year together.

"I don't want to get too gushy here, but I've had a couple of really good nose tackles in my career, this guy may be the best," Zimmer said. "He's really good. He cares. He's tough. He's physical. He's got some pass rush to him when he wants to go. He plays blocks. He doesn't get defeated in one-on-one blocks."

The 27-year-old Joseph, who signed as a free agent last year following four seasons with the Giants, also has been good at keeping Zimmer motivated. Each time the defense took the field in the second half of Sunday's victory, Joseph told Zimmer, "Keep your foot on the pedal, Coach."

Zimmer responded, "Yes, sir."

The Vikings sacked Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford four times and gave up only 106 yards in the second half.

Zimmer interrupted himself during Monday's news conference at Winter Park to give tight end Kyle Rudolph credit for much more than his 1-yard touchdown reception Sunday.

"It's really what I'm trying to get our team to understand; the focus may not be on you today, but who cares? Let's just to play together, let's go win, let's everybody do a good job."

The insight was prompted by a question about fullback Zach Line accepting his role on the team. Zimmer didn't forget about Line and had much of the same appreciation for him.

Rudolph and Line both play an important role in the Vikings' run and pass protection, but don't get many touches. However, when they have, they've been productive. Line caught a pass and gained 49 yards to jump-start a drive that finished with Rudolph's touchdown reception.

"Zach is … very unselfish," Zimmer said. "He's not going to get the football very much, and he has to go in there and billy-goat a bunch of linebackers. That's part of his job assignment and then he gets an opportunity to get the ball in the flat and he runs for [49] yards."

Vikings players stressed the importance of being 2-0 in the NFC North, but to start 3-0 they will have to break a fairly long losing streak in Chicago.

"I was shocked," cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said of the streak. "It's been a long time. … [Robison] said, 'Yeah, we haven't won down there since 2007, and I was like 'Whoa' … so that's definitely motivation to go down and beat Chicago in Chicago.

"We're 4-2 and in a great spot, we're 2-0 in the division, got another division opponent on the road, so we got to go there and take care of business."

Said defensive end Everson Griffen: "That's just a stat. The best team's going to win, and if we practice hard and do our job for four quarters, the best team's still going to win. It's another divisional game. We're 2-0 in the division, and go 3-0 in the division would be huge."

• The Vikings moved into seventh in the NFL in total defense and are second in scoring defense, giving up an average of 17 points per game.

• CenturyLink will be a founding partner of U.S. Bank Stadium and the communications provider for the team. A 10-year agreement with the Vikings means CenturyLink will handle the communications infrastructure at the stadium.