The Minnesota Vikings are sitting pretty at 3-0 as they prepare for the New York Giants. Photo by Marilyn Indahl/UPI | License Photo

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The Vikings should beat the New York Giants on Monday Night Football and become just the eighth team in franchise history to start a season with four straight wins.

Who would have thought they would have read that sentence a month ago when Teddy Bridgewater's left knee imploded during a non-contact practice drill two days before the preseason finale? Or when Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson and starting left tackle Matt Kalil went on injured reserve leading up to last week's trip to Carolina? Or when a hip injury sent left guard Alex Boone, the team's prized free-agent acquisition this past offseason, to the sideline with the Panthers leading 10-2 midway through the second quarter?


Yet here we are. After flustering Aaron Rodgers and the Packers 17-14 at home on Sunday Night Football two weeks ago and flattening Cam Newton and the Panthers with eight sacks, three interceptions and 22 unanswered points a week ago, the Vikings have announced themselves as the team to beat in the NFC.

It doesn't matter that Sam Bradford has been with the team less than a month. He is 2-0 with no turnovers. In fact, the offense has played 12 quarters of football -- the first four with Shaun Hill at quarterback -- and still hasn't turned the ball over. The only giveaway this season came when the defense gave away one of its nine takeaways during a return.


It doesn't matter that Peterson may have played his last down as a Viking. He was averaging only 1.6 yards per carry in two games anyway. No team is better off without an Adrian Peterson, but his primary replacement, Jerick McKinnon, proved last year against the Giants -- seven carries for 89 yards and a career-high two touchdowns -- that he can take advantage of favorable run looks.

And it doesn't matter that Kalil also may have played his final down as a Viking. In his first-ever start at left tackle, second-year pro T.J. Clemmings played better than he did at any point during his 17 starts at right tackle as a rookie.

And, again, here we are. The last time the Vikings started 4-0, Brett Favre was the quarterback. It was 2009, a magical season in Vikings history. At least up until the overtime loss at New Orleans in the NFC title game.

The Vikings also started 4-0 in 2003, 2000, 1998, 1996, 1975 and 1973. They have made the playoffs after every 4-0 start except 2003. They made the Super Bowl in 1973 and the NFC title game in 1998, 2000 and 2009.

Now comes Giants quarterback Eli Manning, whose history against the Vikings is atrocious. In seven games, he has thrown 14 interceptions with only five touchdowns. In last year's meeting at TCF Bank Stadium, safety Harrison Smith returned one of Manning's three interceptions to a franchise-record fourth career pick-six in a playoff-clinching 49-15 rout.


And this might be the best defense the Vikings have had since the Purple People Eaters of the 1970s. They lead the NFL in sacks (15) and takeaways (nine) while ranking third in points allowed (13.3).

Asked if his dominant defense allows the banged-up offense breathing room to grown, coach Mike Zimmer didn't abandoned his team-game mentality.

"We're fighting our rear ends off every week in every phase: offense, defense and special teams," Zimmer said. "We're just trying to find ways to win, however we can win games. I keep saying this team is pretty resilient about that and understanding what we try to do each week."

So while everyone fixates on the injuries to the offense, let's try to remember how healthy and vibrant the defense has been. The only injury on that side of the ball has been to chronically injured tackle Sharrif Floyd. And coach Mike Zimmer made a point this week to credit Floyd's replacement, Shamar Stephen, as the primary reason behind the team's much-improved run defense.

And if the Vikings stop the run, Manning will be punished and the Vikings should be 4-0 heading into a Week 5 home game against Houston.

"I like the way this team fights," Zimmer said. "They've been in some situations that we've put ourselves in, and we've had to fight out of it. They don't panic, and they continue to fight and continue to try to do their job."