The most underrated defensive guru in the NFL today is the man on the sidelines for the Minnesota Vikings each week: head coach Mike Zimmer.

The past two weeks, his team has taken on the most difficult challenges in football today: stopping Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton, whom I think are the two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL with Tom Brady. And they did it.

Rodgers is the all-time leader in quarterback rating, has the lowest percentage of interceptions of any quarterback in history and has two MVP Awards. The Vikings sacked him 5 times, caused him to fumble three times, intercepted him once and held the high-powered Packers offense to just 14 points.

Newton is the biggest, most mobile, most physical quarterback in football. He’s the reigning MVP, accounted for 45 touchdowns last year and led the NFL’s highest-scoring offense in 2015. The Vikings completely shut him down. They sacked him 8 times. Intercepted him 3 times. Held the Panthers to just 10 points — and none after the first quarter. Carolina’s top receiver Kelvin Benjamin didn’t catch a single pass.

That is just impossible.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman has found great talent on defense, but you need more than just talent to put on performances like this. You have to have the right scheme, the right positioning, the right leadership. Mike Zimmer delivers on that brilliantly, week after week.

On the other side of the ball, Zimmer and offensive coordinator Norv Turner are doing an outstanding job, as well. Without left tackle Matt Kalil, without left guard Alex Boone after the second quarter, and against an outstanding defense with a great front seven, the Vikings got the job done.

I’ve always believed that if you’re overmatched at the line of scrimmage, you have to adjust the type of passes you throw. The way to beat an aggressive pass rush is to get the ball out of your hands; throw shorter, quicker rhythm passes — and keep your quarterback healthy.

During my years with the New York Giants, I had the “pleasure” of playing against the Vikings and the Purple People Eaters in the first game of the 1969 season — Minnesota’s first Super Bowl year. Alan Page, Carl Eller and Jim Marshall were unstoppable rushing the passer.

We couldn’t possibly match up, so we came up with a special game plan, just like I described. In an era when the passing game was defined by deep throws, we used short rhythm passes to move the ball — while double-teaming Page, Marshall and Eller to be sure I would still be standing even for those quick throws! I’m sorry, Vikings fans, but we won that game 24-23, the Vikings’ only loss until a meaningless game in the last week of the season.

The Vikings’ offensive game plan last week accomplished the same thing. Stefon Diggs is a brilliant route runner and an emerging star, and Kyle Rudolph was making great catches. But what made it work against the Panthers was having a scheme that fits what Sam Bradford does best. He’s not a particularly mobile quarterback, but he has tremendous poise in the pocket and great accuracy. As the game went on, Bradford got better and better with the quick rhythm passes and the Vikings put points on the board.

They did all this without a man I haven’t mentioned yet, the man who has defined the past decade of Vikings football: Adrian Peterson.

The Vikings were one of the most run-oriented team in the NFL last year, and Peterson led the league in rushing. Not only is Peterson out, but the Vikings haven’t rushed for 100 yards in a game yet this season. That only enhances what Bradford has done. We’re not winning with the running game; it’s been the defense and the passing game carrying the team.

Does this mean we’re going undefeated, and can finally knock those 1972 Dolphins off their perch? No. But we’ve come a long way. If you told me this summer we would lose Teddy Bridgewater before the season began, lose Adrian Peterson in Week 2, I would never have guessed we’d be 3-0. Not with games against the Packers and Panthers, two playoff teams with good-to-great defenses.

The Vikings are winning because it’s a complete effort from every part of the organization, and that goes from the ownership to the front office to the coaches to the players to the fans and everyone around the team. Mike Zimmer deserved a head coaching job long before he finally got one, but, man, am I glad he’s on our team.