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The Vikings have had only eight coaches in more than 50 years. On Sunday, Mike Zimmer notched the best debut performance of any of them.

Zimmer’s 34-6 road win over the Rams, a 28-point margin, edges Norm Van Brocklin’s franchise debut, a 37-13 victory over the Bears in 1961.

Two other coaches won their first games — Dennis Green in 1992, with a 23-20 win over Green Bay, and Brad Childress in 2006, with a 19-16 victory over Washington.

“I assume that there won’t be very many of these,” Zimmer told reporters after the game. “I have said for a long long time, that I think the fans of the Vikings will like how this team plays. When they watch this game today, they will be excited about continually watching. We played with a lot of heart and a lot of effort. For the most part we did a lot of the right things.”

They did plenty of the right things, on both sides of the ball. And now the Vikings have seized the early lead in the NFC North, with a 1-0 record. The Packers and Bears are 0-1, and the Lions have yet to play.