The individual achievements of Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen continue to shine through the dark, disappointing season of his team. Today, Allen was honored today as Defensive Player of the Month for October.
While most of the attention in Minnesota has been focused on the team's 2-6 start and the political and financial complexities of trying to fund a new stadium in order to keep the team from moving elsewhere, Allen has put together one of the most statistically dominant seasons ever for a defensive player.
Heading into a bye week, Allen already has accumulated 12.5 sacks this season, eight of which he racked up in October. As such, Allen is on pace to break the all-time single season sack record of 22.5, held by Michael Strahan.
The three-time Pro-Bowler has 95.5 sacks in his career. But despite his performance, the Vikings have allowed 199 points this season, second most in the NFC.