Vikings defenders show their best and worst against Tennessee Titans

"That was in honor of [former teammate] Eric Kendricks," Smith said. "He did that back in the day when we were playing the Giants, and he dropped an easy one and laid there for a while. I was thinking about him when I was doing that."

"It just creates so much stress for an offense," linebacker Blake Cashman said of the versatility of rushers. "Who do we chip, who do we slide the protection to? When you have guys who are able to come off different edges or inside, it creates a lot of stress for them."

The big plays put a dent in an otherwise dominating performance at the line of scrimmage. The Vikings overwhelmed the Titans line at the point of attack to eliminate any running threat and create free runners at Levis on the pass rush.

"Whenever your front is dominating, you know it's going to be a good day," Cashman said. "We're trying to mix it up with inside pressure and outside pressure. A lot of times I think where we were most successful is when we just kind of let guys go. Take no restrictions and just let them use their foot and handwork and go one-on-one and get after the quarterback."

"I was just walking in the tunnel after the game, and I heard some chants going on and I was wondering maybe this is it for me, maybe I've finally arrived," coach Kevin O'Connell joked. "And then I realized Harrison was walking right next to me and they were saying, 'Harry.' So, I started chanting, too, because I love him. How many times has he made a play like that, in a moment like that, where his team needs him and he's there to make the play? One of my all-time favorites, it's not close. I absolutely love Harrison Smith."