The headline sums it up well.

"Brian Flores' diabolical blitz rates … fueling Vikings 2026 rampage"

CBS Sports on Thursday delved deep into Minnesota's 3-0 start, particularly the defensive group and the pressure it has applied on quarterbacks in victories over Green Bay, Chicago and Tampa Bay. Of course, there's more to the Vikings story so far, and worth pointing out.

The third phase is humming, with back-to-back NFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards distributed to Isaiah Rodgers and Myles Price (the latter also claimed Special Teams Player of the Month honors), and kicker Will Reichard being his usual All-Pro self and a punting duo of Brett Thorson and Johnny Hekker that's performed well (Thorson missed the game in Tampa due to a hamstring injury suffered in a great game in the slosh at Chicago). Additionally, Kyler Murray took steps forward in his first full outing since October 2025, and Jordan Addison stepped up in Week 3 when Justin Jefferson left with an ankle injury that has him day-to-day ahead of Sunday's matchup against Miami.

All that to say, the total-team effort is undeniable, but the CBS Sports headline is accurate.

Douglas Clawson began his article with a historical nugget, and some context:

The Vikings are the first team to start 3-0 with under 250 total yards each game since the 1957 Cleveland Browns, who had a rookie running back by the name of Jim Brown win NFL MVP that year.

Well, there's no Jim Brown on Minnesota's offense so how exactly is a team with the most punts in the NFL (18) off to a 3-0 start? It's the wizardry of Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores, who is blitzing at earth-shattering rates this year.

Keep in mind, a Flores defense has led the NFL in blitz rate in each of his past four seasons as a head coach or defensive coordinator entering 2026. It was around 50% last year. Now it's skyrocketed to an astronomical 71% this year.

Clawson pointed out the disparity between the Vikings blitz rate and the second-most aggressive defense this season, Tampa Bay (46%), is approximately as wide of a gap between the Buccaneers and the 30^th-highest team blitz frequency through three games.

There are charts in Clawson's article that illustrate the imbalance, as well as a "combined weight of pass rushers this season" for each team, which is a unique look at the problems in which "the pure power the Purple People Eaters are proliferating this season." (Clawson said he couldn't resist the wordplay — and we'll accept it, being we're a sucker for it, too.)

Clawson wrote the following about how Minnesota's pressure is crippling offenses:

The Vikings are playing base defense at one of highest rates in the NFL, [which] means even more mass barring down on the quarterback. They average nearly five pass rushers per play this season and 1,300 average pounds of pass rushers per play, both the highest figures in the NFL.

Combine that with over 100 pass plays this year, and the Vikings have sent roughly 175,000 pounds of pass-rushers at the quarterback this season (or nearly 100 tons of pressure). The Lions are the only team with more, a result of more pass plays faced. I'm going to resist the urge to do more math (I did google Newton's Law of Motion for what it's worth) which would tell us that's a [lot] of force Flores has sent at opposing passers this season.

Check out the rest of Clawson's story here.

Very early picks for major awards

It's hard to dispute the ballots cast Wednesday by FOX Sports' Eric Williams, who ordered his early picks for Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player.

To cut to the chase, there's one Vikings player included as an Honorable Mention, if you will — outside linebacker Dallas Turner, who leads the NFL in pressures (25) and has 3.5 sacks.

Here's how Williams is perceiving each player race right now:

Offensive Player of the Year

3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Seahawks WR

2. Bijan Robinson | Falcons RB

1. Kenneth Walker III | Chiefs RB

Defensive Player of the Year

3. T.J. Watt | Steelers OLB

2. Will Anderson, Jr. | Texans DE

1. Greg Rousseau | Bills OLB

Offensive Rookie of the Year

3. Kenyon Sadiq | Jets TE

2. Denzel Boston | Browns WR

1. Jeremiyah Love | Cardinals RB

Defensive Rookie of the Year

3. Genesis Smith | Chargers S

2. Josiah Trotter | Buccaneers LB

1. Hezekiah Masses | Raiders CB

MVP

3. Patrick Mahomes | Chiefs QB

2. Jared Goff | Lions QB

1. Brock Purdy | 49ers QB

And now, drumroll please — and forgive us for burying the "lede" — Williams highlighted Kevin O'Connell as his favorite to be tabbed Coach of the Year, an award he won in 2024.

Williams reasoned that although Murray "has yet to get on track," the Vikings undefeated start is too strong to ignore. Williams ranked Cleveland's Todd Monken and Las Vegas' Klint Kubiak at Nos. 2 and 3. You can click here to check out Williams' analysis for each award.

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