EAGAN, Minn. — Late in the first quarter Sunday, on a third-down play near midfield, Za'Darius Smith bowled his way through the middle of Arizona's offensive line for a crucial sack to force a punt.
On the play, Smith pushed center Billy Price back five yards before taking Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray down for a loss of eight yards. It was one of three sacks for Smith on the day, which capped a 6½-sack October that ended with him being named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month.
Smith joined the Vikings this offseason via free agency after spending the last three years with the Green Bay Packers. While plenty of the Vikings knew Smith the player, over the spring they got to know Smith the teammate.
"(Smith) has been a great addition to our team, everybody can see that," said Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. "Really, him coming here in the spring and connecting with the this team — he's connected with the hearts of our players, not just the play you're seeing on the field."
Donatell referred to the Vikings' pass rush as a "team-rush" scheme, saying that while it may be Smith getting the sacks, what others have been doing has allowed Smith to get to the quarterback. But it certainly helps having a guy like Smith, who has recorded 53 career sacks.
"Once I get (a sack) in the first quarter, I know there's plenty more to be made," said Smith, who is tied for the most sacks (8½) in the league this season. "That's how I look at it coming into a game, if I get one in the first quarter, I know that I can possibly get one or two more."
It could happen again Sunday.
The Vikings will take their five-game winning streak to Washington when they take on a Commanders team that has allowed the third-most sacks (26) in the league this season.
Minnesota's defense has been a work in progress, especially against the pass where the Vikings have allowed the fourth-most yards per game in the league. Their pass rush, however, has been getting more and more disruptive. Minnesota had 14 sacks in October, including 10 in their last two games.
"We had a really detailed rush plan (against the Cardinals) that Ed (Donatell) and his staff put together that involves (Smith) getting to the quarterback, but we did not want Kyler to really impact the game," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell. "To get him on the ground three times, that not only speaks to (Smith) ... but it speaks to those other guys. I can think back on a couple of those sacks — D.J. Wonnum holding the edge and keeping them in there, Harrison Phillips being ready to clean up anything that kind of got out of there — it was a concerted, all-11 effort."
Smith's accolade wasn't the only big news out of TCO Performance Center this week as they made a major splash Tuesday just hours ahead of the trade deadline. The Vikings traded for Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson, who will help bolster an offense that has struggled to get much production from the tight end position.
Hockenson joins the Vikings after spending the first 3½ years of his NFL career with the Detroit Lions. His skills, both as a pass catcher and run blocker, will be a welcomed addition to quarterback Kirk Cousins and the offense. This season, Hockenson has 26 catches for 309 yards and three touchdowns.
Having just joined the team mid-week, it's unclear how involved the Vikings' new offensive weapon will be in Sunday's game plan, but when he gets up to speed, his impact could be significant.
"Our offensive coaches and myself have a strong evaluation of T.J., but it was the defensive coaches coming to me as excited as anyone," said O'Connell. "Having to just had to defend and put together a game plan for a player like T.J. when we played the Lions a few weeks back, they were more excited than anybody."
Hockenson is expected to play "in some capacity" but expect to see Johnny Mundt, who caught his first career touchdown pass on Sunday, to play the majority of the snaps Sunday against the Commanders.
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