Vikings notes: Defensive tackles getting it done

The Vikings' defensive tackles had 7 ½ sacks in 16 games a year ago. In half as many games this season, they have 10 ½ sacks and rank No. 2 behind Buffalo's defensive tackles (11 ½).

"Everybody is working off of each other," said nickel pass rusher Tom Johnson, whose career-high five sacks rank second among defensive tackles behind Buffalo's Marcell Dareus (seven). "It can be anybody's day in this defensive line. You can't focus on one of us."

Sharrif Floyd has a career-high three sacks. Nose tackle Linval Joseph is at 2 ½. And then there is Johnson, who has as many sacks in eight games with the Vikings as he had in 40 games with the Saints. Johnson never had posted consecutive games with a sack before this season, but he's riding a three-game streak.

"I'm playing my best pass-rushing ball right now," Johnson said. "Coach [Mike] Zimmer's defense is helping me."

Although the focus of Zimmer's defensive line philosophy is stopping the run by engaging blockers to control the line of scrimmage, Johnson said the technique also helps hassle the quarterback because the linemen do a better job keeping the passer in the pocket.

"We're engaging them and forcing them off-balance instead of going by them and letting them run us out of the play," Johnson said. "And when there's a tight pocket like that, any one of us can get to the quarterback."

They worked together on opposite sides of the ball for three years under Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati. Each got his first head coaching job after last season. And both are 3-5 and playing each other on Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium.

"Everyone thinks I know exactly what he's going to do and they think he knows exactly what I'm going to do," Gruden said. "I don't know what I'm going to do yet. And I know he doesn't know, so we're still working."

Gruden, 47, called Zimmer the "blitz doctor." Zimmer, 58, said Gruden did a great job getting the most out of the Bengals offense. And despite losing the Redskins job to Gruden, Zimmer doesn't sound like someone who's looking forward to using this game to prove the Redskins made a mistake.

"I honestly don't like going against my friends," Zimmer said. "I know at the end of the day one of us is going to be upset."

Zimmer said it's important to guard against overthinking the game plan because of the coaching familiarity.

"What you don't want to do is mess up your players," he said. "That's the most important thing is your players. Coaching your players to do what they know how to do."

Limited in practice were: Floyd, cornerback Josh Robinson (ankle), linebacker Gerald Hodges (hamstring), safety Antone Exum (shoulder/ankle) and tight end Chase Ford (foot).

Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said he's still trying to tell himself, "Just to think less. Go out and play pitch and catch."

Two-minute situations appear to be helping. In hurry-up mode at the end of both halves Sunday in Tampa, Bridgewater led the Vikings to field goals, one that gave them a 3-0 lead and one that forced overtime. He completed eight of 12 passes for 92 yards and six first downs. One of the incompletions was a spike to stop the clock.

"Sometimes in the two-minute drills, defenses aren't able to get too many defensive calls to do the exotic things they do with their blitzes and changing their fronts," Bridgewater said. "It's one of those deals where you know what you're going to get from the defenses and you just go out there and play fast."

Rookie linebacker Anthony Barr, whose fumble return for a touchdown beat the Buccaneers in overtime, was named the NFC's Defensive Player of the Week.