The Minnesota Vikings turned their defensive line loose on Matthew Stafford in a dominant performance that would have made the old Purple People Eaters proud.This unstoppable pass rush was led http://www.seahawkslockerroom.com/authentic-tre-flowers-jersey , predictably, by Danielle Hunter.Hunter had 3 1/2 of Minnesota's franchise-record 10 sacks plus a fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown , tormenting Stafford and the Detroit Lions all afternoon in a 24-9 victory by the Vikings on Sunday."We knew he liked to throw the ball down the field, so that's something that really helped us a lot because he held on to the ball," said Hunter, who moved into the NFL lead with 11 1/2 sacks for the season. "So as long as we executed the rush plan, we knew we'd be able to get back there."Hunter also was credited with nine tackles and four quarterback hits. The Vikings (5-3-1) limited the Lions (3-5) to a season-low 214 total yards, and their pressure on Stafford was so intense he literally had pieces of rubber pellets from the artificial turf flushed out of his left eye in the second quarter. The Lions had a streak of 25 consecutive games with at least 14 points come to a crashing halt."The fault is on everybody," said Stafford, who was sacked a total of 13 times over the first seven games. "I have to get the ball out faster."After Dalvin Cook dropped a pitch from Kirk Cousins and A'Shawn Robinson recovered at the Detroit 28 with Minnesota leading 17-6, the Lions converted a fake punt to keep that drive alive. Two plays later, Stafford ran right on the short side of the field and tried an option-style flip that Kerryon Johnson was unable to secure, and Hunter scooped it up on his way to the easy score."I don't know why he pitched it. He could've just run," Hunter said. "I thought it was a pass all the way, but I guess he didn't want to get hit or something."That happened a lot, including a total of three times in the second quarter on two separate possessions inside the Minnesota 20 that forced the Lions to settle for field goals by Matt Prater.After a throw by Cousins to Adam Thielen near midfield was intercepted by Darius Slay, the Lions made it as far as the 12-yard line. Hunter sacked Stafford on consecutive snaps, sharing the first one with Everson Griffen."He's a freak of nature. He looks like a superhero," Griffen said of the fourth-year defensive end. "I expected that from him."Nine of the 10 sacks by the Vikings came from their front four, including 2 1/2 by backup defensive tackle Tom Johnson. During the heyday of the Purple People Eaters, the Vikings had nine sacks in a game in 1968, 1969 and 1970. They also did it in 1993. But this was the record-setter, thanks to a well-timed mix of blitzes called by coach Mike Zimmer and the relentless rush by Hunter and his friends up front."We know if we give them time, they'll get there Womens Richard Sherman Jersey ," safety Harrison Smith said. "It's fun to be a part of."HE'S COOKIN'With one burst through a big hole in the left side of the line , Cook made clear he's healthy again with a 70-yard gain in the second quarter to set up a short touchdown catch by Thielen. According to the NFL's NextGen Stats tracker, he averaged 22.07 mph during that run for the fastest in the league this season. The Lions have allowed a rush of 50-plus yards in four different games this year.NOT THIELEN ITThielen's streak of 100-yard receiving games ended at eight in a row, leaving him in a tie for the record with Lions legend Calvin Johnson. The Lions double-covered him often, taking advantage of the absence of fellow standout Stefon Diggs to rib injury, and Thielen finished with only four receptions for 22 yards.STACKS OF SACKSThe previous high sack total for Stafford in his career was seven, against the Vikings in 2015. He has been sacked five times or more on 15 different occasions, six of those by the Vikings. The Lions are 3-12 in those games."It's a big shot to our pride," left guard Frank Ragnow said.UH-OHThe opening kickoff was ominous for the Lions when Prater slipped after his leg swing, an unintentional squib the Vikings returned to their 35. Practice squad promotion Chad Beebe caught back-to-back passes on the first drive of his NFL debut. The second one netted 13 yards on fourth-and-2 from the Detroit 37. Latavius Murray finished the march with a 1-yard touchdown run.INJURY REPORTLions: DE Ziggy Ansah (shoulder) returned from a six-game absence with had a sack in the closing seconds of the second quarter that forced the Vikings to settle for a field goal. ... LT Taylor Decker left in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury but later returned.Vikings: LB Anthony Barr (hamstring) and LG Tom Compton (knee) were held out for the second straight game, and SS Andrew Sendejo (groin) missed his fourth straight contest. ... Backup TE David Morgan hobbled off in the third quarter with a left knee injury.UP NEXTLions: Play at Chicago next Sunday.Vikings: Play at Chicago on Nov. 18, after the bye. On Sunday in Super Bowl LIII the New England Patriots defense suffocated the powerful offense of the Los Angeles Rams on their way to the sixth Super Bowl title for the franchise in the past 18..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections VideosCoffee and CigarettesGame AnalysisThe Numbers GameCigar ThoughtsThe Offseason2019 NFL Free Agency NewsPatriots blueprint for slowing down Rams is nothing newNew,65commentsPSTShareTweetShareSharePatriots blueprint for slowing down Rams is nothing newJason Getz-USA TODAY SportsOn Sunday in Super Bowl LIII the New England Patriots defense suffocated the powerful offense of the Los Angeles Rams on their way to the sixth Super Bowl title for the franchise in the past 18 seasons. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have been as dominant over the past couple of decades as an duo in NFL history, and it was Belichick who once again drew up a plan to bring one of the highest powered offenses in NFL history to a grinding halt. But the blueprint Belichick used is nothing new. He used a gameplan not dissimilar from the gameplans that other defenses have used to stifle how powered offenses. The Patriots put pressure on the quarterback and eliminated Todd Gurley as a threat in the passing game, and without his safety outlet at his disposal, Jared Goff crumbled. How crucial is Gurley catching the ball out of the backfield to the Rams offense? In the two seasons since Sean McVay took over as head coach, the Rams have gone 26-10. However, of those 36 games the team has played during that timeframe, Gurley has played in 33 of the games. Of those 33 game, Gurley has had at least 25 yards receiving in 23 of those games, and the Rams are 19-4 when he crosses that extremely low threshold. In the games where Gurley does not have at least 25 yards receiving Los Angeles is just 5-5. Does this mean that Gurley is in fact the key to the Rams offense, and that running backs actually matter? No, not at all. Gurley not getting catches and yards is indicative of a different issue with the Rams offense. Specifically, the offense McVay uses is based on stressing a defense by putting five guys into the pattern and finding the open man. When a running back in that offense is not accumulating receiving yards in that offense Germain Ifedi Jersey Green , it is typically a side effect of the fact that the defense is bringing pressure and the running back is forced to help out in pass protection. There was a significant amount of discussion about this topic in the build up to the Super Bowl, as the thought was the Belichick could use blitzing to prevent Gurley from becoming a receiving threat. Belichick had done this successfully the first time these two teams met in the Super Bowl following the 2001 season, as Marshall Faulk started the game with two receptions for 25 yards in the first ten minutes, but then wouldn’t catch another pass until the final play of the third quarter. By eliminating one of the primary outlets for the quarterback when pressured, the Patriots defense forced quarterbacks to go to their fallback plans when pressured. Kurt Warner did a far better job than Jared Goff, who looked like a deer in headlights for most of the night. He he was constantly on the run and his passes off target as a result of the pressure he routinely faced. After taking just 34 sacks and 84 hits in the previous 18 games, the Pats lived in the pocket and hit Goff 12 times while recording 4 sacks.In short, they put pressure on Goff and Goff couldn’t handle it, and it’s not all that different from the way the 2001 Patriots slowed down Warner and the Greatest Show on Turf, how the 2007 New York Giants battered and beat Brady in Super Bowl XLII or how the Seattle Seahawks shut down the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. In short, if you want to stop a high powered, prolific offense, it takes a pass rush that can create pressure and harass and harangue the quarterback.Eleven years ago yesterday Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Michael Strahan showed that an unstoppable pass rush could slow down even the most the highly prolific offenses in the wake of the post 2004 rules changes, and the game Sunday changed nothing. The Patriots got pressure early by stunting and exploiting the weak points on the Rams line - center John Sullivan and first year starter Austin Blythe at right guard - and once they had shown pressure up the middle, that altered Goff’s pocket mechanics. For that, I’ll let right tackle Mitchell Schwartz of the Kansas City Chiefs explain.There could not be a more perfect segue into the series we will be going through this week on offensive line protection and how the quarterback plays a major role in how often they are pressured. However, that’s getting ahead of ourselves, because the moral of story from Super Bowl LIII is that defenses have to be able to get to the quarterback in order to slow down high powered offenses. Thus, while Pete Carroll may have been at home enjoying the defensive struggle, the biggest smiles were likely on the faces of Frank Clark and his agent. With the propagation and spread of aggressive offenses, the ability to get to the quarterback is a premium skill that teams must pay for if they want to have a chance to slow down those top offenses.And now is Frank Clark’s opportunity to write himself a blank check as the legal tampering period starts just five weeks from Monday.