Mike Zimmer has a history of quick defensive turnarounds, and he has done it again in 2014.
No NFL team has improved its ranking in total defense from 2013 to 2014 more than the Vikings, who with a strong finish can climb into the league's top 10.
The Vikings are tied for 11th in total defense, allowing 339.9 yards per game. Last season, under Leslie Frazier, they ranked 31st at 397.6 per game.
This year's team is 43 total yards allowed behind the San Diego Chargers, who rank ninth.
"It always comes back to one attitude I like about this team," defensive end Brian Robison said. "No matter what our ranking is, we're not satisfied and we want to be better. So for these next two games, we're going to make a push to keep climbing the rankings and hopefully have something good to build off in the offseason."
There is instability when it comes to top-10 defenses. Only three teams that ranked in the top 10 in yards allowed a season ago — Seattle, San Francisco and Buffalo — are in the top 10 this season. There are five offenses in the top 10 in total yards for a second consecutive year.
Denver, Kansas City, San Diego, Washington and Miami, which the Vikings play this weekend, have gone from the bottom half of the league in 2013 to the top 10 in 2014. But no team has climbed higher than the Vikings' 20-spot rise even with eight new starters on defense.
"It is a totally different room," Robison said.