The first thing to know about the Minnesota Vikings is the thing you already know. Their defense is really good. But one stat jumps off the page ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Detroit Lions. The Vikings have allowed only three fourth-quarter points this season. That’s three points in six games.

That’s how a team can struggle to score, need a late touchdown to beat Indianapolis, and still arrive in Detroit at 6-0. Minnesota has a defense that keeps giving its offense another chance. If the Lions spend Sunday waiting for that unit to wear down or make things easier, they could be waiting a long time.

Minnesota’s 6-0 record isn’t what it looks like

When you see 6-0, you might picture an offense rolling through everybody. That hasn’t been Minnesota’s season.

The Vikings just beat the Colts 16-10. They trailed at halftime. Their offense had opportunities and didn’t finish. Indianapolis had chances to swing the game, but the Colts didn’t score a point in the second half. Eventually, Harrison Smith picked off Daniel Jones to end it.

You have to understand that about this opponent. Minnesota doesn’t need everything to go well offensively to stay in a game. Brian Flores has built a defense that keeps the score manageable while the offense searches for enough plays to win.

The Vikings are allowing a league-low 12.3 points per game, and what they did to Jones shows how aggressive Flores is willing to get. Minnesota blitzed on 85.2% of his dropbacks. That was the highest single-game blitz rate by any defense in the Next Gen Stats era, which goes back to 2016.

Minnesota generated pressure on more than half of Jones’ dropbacks and recorded four sacks. Jones finished with 108 passing yards. That’s a rough afternoon.

The Lions shouldn’t expect that exact blitz rate. Jared Goff is a different quarterback than anyone Minnesota has faced, Detroit has different weapons, and Flores builds a plan for each opponent. I don’t think the Vikings will blitz that much. I still believe they’ll blitz a lot. The season-long number tells you why: Minnesota has blitzed on 70.4% of opposing dropbacks through six games.

‘Get the ball out quickly’ is only half the answer

Everybody has the same response to that kind of pressure. Get the ball out quickly. That’s part of the answer, but a quick throw only helps if Goff knows where it’s going and the receiver sees the same thing.

Flores is trying to make that difficult. Who’s coming? Who’s dropping? Which defender does the protection account for? Where does Goff expect his open receiver to be? If the quarterback expects a receiver to break one way and the receiver reads it differently, a quick throw can turn into a turnover just as easily as a long-developing play.

That’s why this is a test a very good offense needs to pass. The line has to communicate. The backs have to handle protection. The receivers have to recognize what’s happening. Goff has to make the decision. One guy being late can sink the whole thing.

The good news is Detroit just handled a version of this. Green Bay threw plenty of disguises at the Lions last week, and Goff showed what he’s capable of by making changes at the line and beating that defense.

More than anything, though, the Lions can’t just focus on surviving the pressure. They need to threaten this defense. Flores wants Detroit uncomfortable, so the Lions need to make him uncomfortable.

That’s where Jahmyr Gibbs matters. He can carry the ball, release into a route, or help in protection. Where Detroit puts him changes how Minnesota has to account for the formation.

There’s a balance, though. If Gibbs stays in to protect, somebody else has to win a receiving matchup. If he releases, the protection and the throw have to work together. You also can’t just say “throw to Gibbs” and assume the defense hasn’t thought of it. The Packers clearly did. They were so ready for the screen game that the Lions basically had to abandon it, and this offense loves its screens.

So whether it’s Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Jameson Williams, or Isaac TeSlaa, everyone needs to be in their spot and give Goff dependable options.

Goff is the best quarterback Minnesota has seen

Here’s the thing. When it comes to handling pressure, Goff is the best quarterback the Vikings have faced all season.

Goff ranks sixth in the league in completion percentage under pressure at 50.8%, with 434 yards, three touchdown passes, and no interceptions. Tyler Shough is seventh. Malik Willis is 11th, Caleb Williams is 14th, Jones is 15th, and Jordan Love is 16th.

The blitz numbers are even better. Goff is completing 74.1% of his passes when blitzed, the best mark in the NFL, with no interceptions. Shough ranks fourth at 68.7%. Baker Mayfield is 11th, Williams is 16th, Jones is 17th, Love is 22nd, and Willis is 28th.

That’s going to make a difference. Still, if you’re expecting the Lions to blow Minnesota out because the Vikings haven’t played a tough schedule, temper that. This defense is going to be a difficult task. Expect a hard-fought game, and let’s see who blinks first.