EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings turned the ball over in 2023 more than every NFL club except the Browns.

Their offseason and training camp was dominated by coaches and players preaching iterations of the same message: Protect the football. Take care of the football. Make smart decisions with the football.

Turns out there's another topic that was under-discussed by the media but a main priority for the team.

Taking away the football.

Minnesota ranked in the bottom half of the league last season in turnovers forced. In its first year of operation, Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores' unit intercepted 11 passes and recovered 11 fumbles.

Well, allow the 2024 Vikings defense to introduce itself.

Minnesota registered four takeaways in Sunday's 31-29 win at Lambeau Field. Through four games the Vikings have 10 – Green Bay, with 12, is the only other defense in double figures – which basic math says is 45.5% of its 2023 total. Minnesota and Green Bay are tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions.

But it gets better than sheer volume. The Vikings takeaway remodeling is an all-hands undertaking.

"There was an equal emphasis put on taking the football away and really maximizing some new elements to the scheme that Flo' and his staff brought forward," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said at his weekly Monday presser. "We've been able to see that show up with some takeaways."

Seven players have picked off at least one pass so far: Camryn Bynum, Shaq Griffin, Kamu Grugier-Hill (two), Joshua Metellus, Byron Murphy, Jr., Harrison Smith and Andrew Van Ginkel; eight Vikings produced an INT in 2023.

Bynum and Jihad Ward have nabbed fumble recoveries.

Grugier-Hill is the perfect example of the entire defense buying into the attention to takeaways.

The seasoned linebacker – playing for his sixth team – has recorded an interception in each of the past two weeks. Grugier-Hill managed to pick off Houston's C.J. Stroud and Green Bay's Jordan Love while logging 47 combined snaps on defense in place of usual starter at inside linebacker Ivan Pace, Jr.

"Yeah, it's awesome. I think the emphasis is always on takeaways, right?" said Grugier-Hill, noting it's rewarding for drills that are unfailingly run in practice to pay off. "I think we hang our hat on that."

Maybe it's been seldom talked about until now – relative at least to the hyper-focused conversations about the Vikings offense limiting giveaways – but game-changing defensive plays are rarely by accident.

The techniques that Vikings players use to gain momentum – and clinch the game against the division rival– are repped to perfection in a circuit of takeaway stations during practice.

Also, Flores flat out trusts his on-field personnel.

"I think that's a good thing that Flo' does," stated Grugier-Hill, elaborating on the freedom Flores enables. "He allows the players to be the players, and players make plays. He gives us some boundaries for sure and he always lets us go, and if it's not working, he's like, 'Hey, I'm gonna call it back, I'm gonna take it back and run it my way,' but he lets us play our thing, and I think we do a good job in here."

Grugier-Hill balanced his coach's trust with extreme individual effort on his third of 26 snaps Sunday.

"I think we were in a two-high [safety coverage] and I knew that they were a little condensed," Grugier-Hill broke down the play. "I knew Harry (Harrison Smith) and them could handle the vert (vertical routes). So I was like, 'I'm gonna try and steal this one,' which sometimes is not recommended, but, you know, might as well try."

Grugier-Hill showed an A-gap pressure pre-snap then bailed into a zone drop in the middle of the field. He noticed a dig route coming at him that started close to the numbers and left his feet for a diving pick.

The takeaway-making was contagious.

Murphy's forced fumble akin to the Charles Tillman "Peanut Punch" made on Packers tight end Tucker Kraft with 4:18 left wasn't random at all.

It was instincts and instruction, specifically from Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels, taking control.

"Coach [was] on my head about it all week at practice, like 'Murph, punch the ball out!' So, you know, I kind of had that in my mind [in] that situation," Murphy said. "I thought he was gonna go out of bounds, so when he cut back, that's the first thing that just came to my mind. I'm just glad that play happened."

The direction to steal possession wasn't particular to the Border Battle. It's coached constantly.

"Every day," Murphy asserted. "Right when I punched the ball out, I just went to the sideline – I was looking for 'Hat' (Daniels) the whole time. He was the first person, right there. So that was a good feeling, too.

"At practice, we focus on it so much," Murphy added. "Obviously the game comes, they're trying to make plays. They're trying to break tackles and make a splash play, so I had an opportunity to [take it away]."

Murphy agreed with some of his teammates – that his interception one series earlier on a deep throw to the end zone was cool, but it wasn't as sweet as causing a fumble with a wind-up-and-punch near midfield.

"I believe that," Murphy smiled. "The picks, they're going to come, but the punch out is kind of harder.

"For me, it's almost every single tackle. It's like when you go to make a tackle, you should try to punch the ball out," said Murphy, sharing his confidence that teammates are flocking. "You've got 10 other guys coming to the ball with you to help you, so every single time you should try to get the ball out."

Grugier-Hill concurred: "I was talking to him today. I was like, 'That pick was beautiful,' but his punch-out was the game-changer, game-winner, I think. That was [clinical]. I think that was the game-sealer right there."

Amazingly, Minnesota's three Week 4 interceptors – Grugier-Hill, Griffin and Murphy – are seated directly next to each other in the Vikings locker room at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center.

As soon as Griffin nabbed his first INT as a Viking, Murphy was extra motivated to go and get his own.

"Everyone's trying to make the play. And that's what this defense is all about. Someone's gonna make the play," Murphy affirmed. "We don't know who it is, but when they do, it always turns out good."