Defensive efforts don’t get better than this.
Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers put on a defensive clinic Sunday and single-handedly outscored the entire Cincinnati Bengals offense by himself during a dominant Minnesota first half.
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By halftime, Rodgers had forced three Bengals turnovers. He converted two into defensive touchdowns. The third led to a Vikings touchdown on offense as Minnesota entered the break with a 34-3 advantage.
In total, Minnesota forced four Bengals first-half turnovers, including three on Minnesota’s last four snaps of the half. And Rodgers’ first half tally is unmatched in the history of the NFL.
Rodgers got the barrage started with a first-quarter interception of Bengals of Bengals quarterback Jake Browning. Safety Harrison Smith tipped the pass, and Rodgers corralled it at the Minnesota 13-yard line. He returned it 87 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown to extend Minnesota’s lead to 14-0.
Then, with two minutes remaining before halftime, Rodgers did it again. This time, he stripped tight end Noah Fant of the ball after a pass from Browning. He then sprinted 66 yards untouched down the left sideline for his second touchdown of the day.
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This score extended Minnesota’s lead to 24-3.
And he wasn’t done. Two Cincinnati snaps later, Rodgers forced another turnover. This time, he stripped Ja’Marr Chase of the ball after a pass from Browning.
He didn’t score this time. But Minnesota’s offense did three plays later to extend Cincinnati’s lead again, this time to 31-3.
And first-half the woes for the Bengals didn’t end there.
The Bengals came out on offense again with 28 seconds remaining in the second quarter, simply looking to run down the remainder of the first-half clock. They didn’t even manage to do that.
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Samaje Perine fumbled on the first play of the drive. Minnesota recovered and converted the turnover into a field goal to take a 34-3 lead into halftime.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor summed up the disastrous first half in a sideline interview with CBS.
“Anytime you have four turnovers in the first half, two for touchdowns, one as you’re trying to run out the clock at the end of half, it’s unacceptable,” Taylor said.
It added up to a dominant half for the Vikings and history for Rodgers. The Vikings cornerback is the first player in NFL history with a pick-6, a fumble return for a touchdown and two forced fumbles in a single game. And he did it all in the first half.
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