EDEN PRAIRIE — Minnesota Vikings defensive end has won the NFC Defensive Player of the Month award for October.

The NFL made the announcement Thursday. Griffen had six of his eight sacks in the last four games and also led all NFC defensive linemen with 20 tackles. For the season, Griffen is third in the league with eight sacks and also third with 13.5 quarterback knockdowns.

Griffen says while he’s excited about the accolade he can’t let it make him think he’s “arrived.” He says “there’s still more to come.”

The award is another sign of progress being made on a defense that has struggled in recent seasons. The last Vikings winner of the monthly defensive award was defensive end Jared Allen in 2011. Prior to that was safety Darren Sharper in 2005.