by By Sean Jensen sjensen@pioneerpress.com , St. Paul Pioneer Press

"If they try to isolate someone else, the other three got to eat," Edwards said. "That's how we work."

Edwards had his best game of the season -- and arguably of his career -- with two sacks, two tackles for loss, two passes defended and four quarterback pressures. Edwards also drew a holding penalty on Packers right tackle Allen Barbre, who struggled to block him the entire game.

"I think I had a more one-on-one opportunities. But once I started getting pressure, they started (helping)," Edwards said, later adding, "I believe I got good pressure on him and got my hands up on a couple of balls and did things to help out our defense."

With Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield out for a second straight game because of a fractured right foot, the Vikings expected the Packers' explosive offense to attack the secondary. But Edwards and the defensive linemen were determined to rush Rodgers.

"He didn't have time to set his feet and throw the ball," Edwards said. "They live and die by big plays, so by not letting him get big plays off, that definitely hurt them."

The Packers again struggled against Allen, who finished with three sacks and three pressures of Rodgers.

"We've all got to be critical," said Rodgers, who was sacked 14 times in two games against the Vikings this season. "I've got to take a couple of those on me, for sure. But we still battled. We hung in there. It's tough to take that many shots, for sure, but you've got to give them credit."

Vikings nose tackle Pat Williams even notched a sack, his first since Nov. 23 last season, when he collected his only sack of the 2008 season against Jacksonville.

"I was just having fun," Williams said. "I was smiling every play. Smiling and joking and talking smack. That's how I play the game."

The Vikings' defensive line was so confident, Williams said, that there was an internal battle taking place.

"We all trying to outplay each other," he said. "That was our game plan from the get-go."

For the season, the Vikings now have 31 sacks, with Allen leading the way with 10 1/2.

"The majority of the game, we played lights out," Allen said. "The third quarter got a little scary for a few minutes. But overall we were able to regroup and close that fourth quarter out in the last two drives."

Now, with a 7-1 record, Allen is looking forward to the bye week.

"It's huge. This is all we could have ask for," he said. "We're exactly where we want to be."

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