Was It Isaiah Rodgers or the Pass Rush for Vikings?
On Sunday, Isaiah Rodgers put up one of the best defensive performances we will ever see in a single game. He started it off with a pick-six of the Bengals’ backup quarterback, Jake Browning. He then returned a fumble for another touchdown and forced yet another turnover.
Isaiah Rodgers had the game of his life on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, but the Minnesota Vikings’ pressure probably helped.
To say that he was the player of the game for the Minnesota Vikings would be putting it lightly.
The Vikings’ Defense Hummed in Week 3 with Isaiah Rodgers’ Masterful Performance
All season, and dating back to training camp, the question for Minnesota’s defense has been the depth in the cornerback room. Brian Flores has just four cornerbacks on the roster, and he already had to elevate Fabian Moreau in Week 2 after a concussion rendered Jeff Okudah inactive.
On Sunday, it was the Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers show once again. Okudah missed a few plays due to an injury, and the position remained as thin as ever. The key takeaway was that it never seemed to matter.
Sure, the Bengals were starting a backup quarterback. The thing that stood out most, though, was just how much pressure Browning continued to be under. Jonathan Greenard didn’t record a sack in the game, but he consistently impacted plays. Dallas Turner was after Browning, and so too was Andrew Van Ginkel.
That’s the sort of pressure that Minnesota bet on when they set up their front seven. The cornerback position didn’t need to be the same level of strength if the Vikings could get to the opposing quarterback. That’s not the easiest thing to bank on when going up against star tackles in the league, but when you have a rotation like Flores does, it makes things a bit easier.
There’s no question that Isaiah Rodgers impacted the game in his own right on Sunday. He was forcing fumbles with well-timed punches, and he jumped a route to take the interception back to the end zone. However, pressure from the defensive front forces quarterbacks into making bad decisions, and leads allow defenders to be more aggressive when pursuing the ball.
If that’s the sort of production that Minnesota’s pressure allows for the secondary to enjoy this season, then it might not matter how many corners they have to work with.
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