MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &045; Brad Johnson has yet to lose as the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback this season. He has the defense to thank for that.

Johnson threw three touchdown passes to Marcus Robinson, each of them set up by Cleveland turnovers, and the Vikings beat the Browns 24-12 on Sunday for their fourth straight victory.

Minnesota’s defense forced five turnovers and sacked quarterback Trent Dilfer five times to lead the Vikings (6-5) to their fifth victory in six games.

&8220;The defense is really playing with confidence right now,&8221; coach Mike Tice said. &8220;They’re believing in what we’re doing. … The guys are playing well together and we’re getting some leadership from our guys.&8221;

Rookie C.J. Mosley and Keith Newman both forced fumbles by Dilfer with sacks, leading to Robinson’s first two scores and Darren Sharper picked off two passes to overwhelm the Browns (4-7).

&8220;That one wasn’t very much fun,&8221; said Dilfer, who left for one series with an injured right knee, but returned later in the third quarter. &8220;It’s just very disappointing once again to not play as well as you think you’re going to as a team.&8221;

Coming off of an impressive 22-0 victory over Miami, the Browns were looking to inch closer to .500 and continue building in Romeo Crennel’s first season as head coach. Instead they took a massive step backward, looking more like the mistake-prone team that went 4-12 last season.

First-round draft pick Braylon Edwards had a pass slip right through his fingers and into the arms of Antoine Winfield for an interception, rookie quarterback Charlie Frye threw an interception on his only play of the game and the offense managed just 262 total yards.

Dilfer finished 23-for-35 for 214 yards and a 9-yard touchdown to Dennis Northcutt and Reuben Droughns was held to 73 yards rushing.

&8220;We reverted back a little bit,&8221; Crennel said. &8220;Now we will have to go back to the drawing board and try to fix those things.&8221;

The Vikings started from scratch a month ago, when Daunte Culpepper was lost for the season with a knee injury and all seemed lost after a 1-4 start.

Johnson is 4-0 as the starter, providing a steady hand that continued Sunday with 207 yards passing and one interception.

The offense has been anything but spectacular, relying on an improving defense and big plays from the special teams to put them in a position to score.

The Vikings’ three touchdown drives on Sunday covered 35, 17 and 32 yards.

&8220;We can’t turn the ball over and put our defense on the short field; and when our defense is

giving us the ball, we have to score,&8221; Johnson said. &8220;We put away touchdowns. … When you play on short fields it changes the whole momentum of the game if we are able to convert.&8221;

Robinson capped all three drives with TD catches, his most productive game since scoring four times against Detroit in 2003 when he played for Baltimore.

&8220;It feels great to come out here and get wins and get ourselves our fourth win in a row,&8221; Robinson said. &8220;We dug ourselves a hole in the beginning but we’re coming back strong now.&8221;

For once, the Vikings seem to be peaking at the right time. They got off to fast starts each of the past two seasons, only to see them tarnished by back-to-back 3-7 finishes.

With a defense that is getting better every week and an opportunistic offense, the Vikings are amazingly creeping back into the playoff hunt, an utter absurdity before the team’s first 4-0 November since 1999.

&8220;If you compare it to seasons past,&8221; offensive coordinator Steve Loney said, &8220;we’re getting hot at the right time.&8221;

Notes: Mosley had two of Minnesota’s sacks after replacing Kevin Williams at tackle. Williams, an All-Pro last year who has just one sack this season, sprained his right knee. … Dilfer said his injury would be evaluated on Monday. … Cleveland tight end Steve Heiden had five catches for 55 yards. He played at Rushford-Peterson High School, in southeast Minnesota. … One highlight for the Browns was Joshua Cribbs, who returned five kickoffs for 155 yards and a long of 48. … Cleveland starting left guard Joe Andruzzi (knee, calf) missed his second straight game.