Vikings’ Sheldon Richardson talks defense’s 10-sack effort vs. Lions

When a defense generates 10 sacks in a game, it’s fair to assume that it saw something it could exploit in the opponent’s pass protection.

That, to some extent, was true for the Minnesota Vikings in their dominant pass-rush performance on the way to a 24-9 NFC North victory against the Detroit Lions.

‘They tried to hold a little bit more, that’s about it’

“We’d seen a few things as far as them not being able to block stunts and stuff like that really well,” Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson told Bill Lekas and Steve Torres on The Sunday Drive. “Other than that, honestly, it was just guys getting after it, a little will-power action going on.”

Asked if the Lions tried to make any adjustments to deal with the heat the Vikings were able to apply on Matthew Stafford, Richardson said, “They tried to hold a little bit more, that’s about it.”

‘Everybody played together as a unit, complementary football all the way around’

Richardson said the outcome wasn’t all about the Vikings’ defense.

“Everybody played together as a unit, complementary football all the way around,” he said. “And when the offense made a few mistakes, we had their backs, too. They’ve been holding us all throughout the season, too, so it’s gives-and-takes.”

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