Vikings have NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense. And age may be their secret weapon.

Brian Flores is using the experience of one of the league’s oldest defenses to outsmart opponents, disguise pressure and stay a step ahead of opposing offenses.

The Vikings are the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense through four weeks.

They’re also the NFL’s second-oldest defense.

“Is it?” edge rusher Kyle Van Noy, 35, deadpanned to the Minnesota Star Tribune. “I feel like it’s a good mix of guys. We’re very young in the D-line. That’s a lot of where my time is. I think we all work really well with each other and that’s what you want.”

Age is just a number to defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Experience is a defining trait of the Vikings’ top-ranked group. Minnesota’s average age of nearly 28.5 among its top 12 defenders in playing time ranks second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers (29 years).

Nobody is doing it like the pressure-happy Vikings, who have allowed the fewest points in the NFL (51) and have the most sacks (16).

Behind Flores’ aggressive, league-high blitz rates, which jam running lanes on early downs and confuse quarterbacks on passing downs, is a crew of veterans equipped to make their own calls and adjustments on defense. They include five defenders age 30 or older: Van Noy, safety Harrison Smith (37), linebacker Eric Wilson (32), edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel (31) and linebacker Blake Cashman (30).

All 12 of the Vikings’ most-used defenders are in at least their second seasons with Flores in Minnesota; the 13th and 14th Vikings defenders, cornerback James Pierre and Van Noy, spent time with Flores elsewhere.

That experience with Flores’ playbook kickstarted this Vikings defense back in April, when veterans first sat down inside the meeting rooms at TCO Performance Center to discuss the coach’s plans.

There were no reviews of basic coverages. No entry-level stuff.

“This year we didn’t do any of that,” safety Joshua Metellus said. “We just went straight into it.”

The knowledge those veterans bring has helped the Vikings improve each year under Flores: they allowed 21.3 points per game in 2023, 19.9 in 2024 and 19.6 last season.

This year the team installed new designs and tweaked old ones. Flores wanted to harness his group’s savviness so his players can adjust the defensive call based on what they anticipate the offense is going to do.

Did an unblocked Vikings blitzer hit a quarterback? They may have correctly identified the offense’s pass protection call and adjusted to attack a weak point.

“We have a group that’s, I’d say, accelerated from a football IQ standpoint,” Flores said. “I know they understand those things, so how can we accelerate the process? How can we get them thinking about the game? Thinking about adjustments? Thinking about offensive personnel? Thinking about offensive formations? Recognizing the different offensive variables and things we can do?”

How Kyle Van Noy’s experience makes the Vikings defense better

Van Noy exemplifies what that knowledge can do under Flores.

He, like Smith, didn’t show up on the Vikings roster until September.

They’re among just 12 NFL defenders age 35 or older to see the field this season; only the Vikings and the Ravens have played two of them.

When the Vikings lost edge rusher Tyler Batty for the year due to a knee injury he suffered in the preseason, Flores’ connections led the team to Van Noy, who signed to the practice squad on Sept. 2.

Van Noy previously started 53 games for the Patriots over parts of five seasons. His position coach for his first three years in New England was Flores, and the two won the Super Bowl together in February 2019.

Van Noy has drawn on their shared history, which also includes a season in Miami together in 2020, in Vikings meetings.

“He’s like, ‘Remember when we did this?’” Flores said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s add that.’”

Van Noy has been active for all four Vikings games so far. He’s adapted to his new surroundings quickly. He has a team-leading six tackles for loss in 81 defensive snaps.

Van Ginkel, who was drafted by Flores’ Dolphins in 2019, called Van Noy “one of the smartest players I’ve ever played with.”

The two stayed in touch after their time in Miami together.

In 2024, while Van Ginkel racked up 11½ sacks and two pick sixes for the Vikings, he was actually losing a “friendly competition” with Van Noy for most sacks.

Van Noy finished the 2024 season with 12½ sacks for Baltimore.

“Anytime you play within a Flores scheme, you learn the overall big picture and you learn how you’re being attacked and how you’re trying to limit their explosives and take away their best players,” Van Ginkel said. “Just from that standpoint, he understands and he does a great job of relaying that information to the young guys.”

The Vikings’ young defensive line, featuring 23-year-old edge rusher Dallas Turner, has given Van Noy some clay to mold. One pass-rushing tip he’s given younger teammates is how to time the snap in road stadiums.

“It’s been good getting to know this group,” Van Noy said. “It’s been fun getting to see guys like Gink who I’ve been around before have a lot of success and see Dallas Turner who’s coming alive. Just giving him some nuggets here and there, see him use it. It’s fun to watch.”

Turner’s team-leading 5½ sacks must mean he’s listening.

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