Vikings Blow Out Bengals behind Isaiah Rodgers’ Historic Day
Kevin O’Connell and Carson Wentz both talked of the importance of the Vikings getting off to a faster start against Cincinnati on Sunday compared to the first two games of the season. Mission accomplished with an opening drive touchdown and four forced turnovers in the first half, leading to a 34-3 halftime lead.
The 48-10 blowout of the previously unbeaten Bengals, coupled with Cleveland’s 13-10 upset of Green Bay, pulled the Vikings into a tie for the NFC North lead with the Packers at 2-1. The Vikings are feeling better about their play and getting a bit healthier as they head to Dublin and London the next two weeks to face the Steelers and Browns.
Isaiah Rodgers delivered a historic performance as the Vikings dominated the Bengals in Week 3, fueling a decisive blowout win at U.S. Bank Stadium.
They also get starting wide receiver Jordan Addison back from his suspension this week, and center Ryan Kelly is also expected back from his concussion for the Pittsburgh game. Fullback C.J. Ham should return from I.R. for the Cleveland game.
The Vikings will be missing starting guard and first-round pick Donovan Jackson, who had wrist surgery on Monday. He’s expected back after the bye week that follows the two international games.
Other Reactions to the Vikings’ Romp over Cincy
1. What an amazing, historic day for Isaiah Rodgers: he became the first player in NFL history to return an interception and a fumble for a TD in the same game that he also forced two fumbles.
I had my doubts when the Vikings signed Rodgers for $15 million over two years, saying he would start at one of the outside corner spots, despite never having been a full-time starter. I’m becoming a believer after his performance against the Bengals, who feature one of the league’s top receiving duos in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Rodgers’ playmaking skills, ball-hawking punch-outs, instinctive play, and speed were on full display with the three turnovers he forced that turned into 21 points. He’s another great recommendation by DC Brian Flores, who was also a key part in bringing in free agents such as Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, and Blake Cashman last year, and Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave this year.
2. Greenard, Van Ginkel, Allen, Hargrave, running back Aaron Jones, guard Will Fries, and center Ryan Kelly were relatively high-cost free agent signings that have paid off.
Three lower-cost players acquired in free agency and via trade contributed greatly to Sunday’s win. I’m talking about Rodgers, Wentz (one year, $1.4 million guaranteed plus incentives) and running back Jordan Mason (signed for two years, $12 million after the trade with 49ers for a fifth rounder and swap of sixth round picks…Mason had 16 carries, 116 yards and two TDs for the first game of his career with two TDs).
3. Wentz was poised and efficient as what O’Connell called “the point guard” in an emotional first start for the team he grew up rooting for as a North Dakota kid. Wentz completed an impressive 70% of his passes (14 of 20) for 173 yards and two TDs, including a tone-setter on the opening drive (finding Josh Oliver for 12 yards). He held the ball early, taking three sacks in the first half, but that’s better than forcing picks, as Jake Browning did twice under pressure and McCarthy did against Atlanta.
I thought O’Connell helped Wentz by calling for more quick passes and screens with shorter drops. He needs to do more of that when McCarthy returns to the lineup, and McCarthy must get the ball out quicker, as Wentz did for the most part.
Next Gen Stats reported that Wentz threw in under 2.5 seconds on 60% of his pass attempts, completing nine of those 12 passes for 101 yards and the two TDs. McCarthy attempted a quick pass on just 17% of his dropbacks in the first two weeks.
McCarthy also should follow Wentz’s lead in throwing more to the tight ends. Oliver had his TD reception, and T.J. Hockenson had five catches for 49 yards and one TD after having only four receptions for 27 yards in the first two games.
4. While McCarthy must improve and should as he gets more experience, it’s also important to point out that he didn’t have star left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who made a huge difference in pass protection and the run game against the Bengals. It was a terrific return for Darrisaw, who dominated last year’s NFL sack leader, Trey Hendrickson (one tackle, no QB hits or sacks).
O’Connell said Darrisaw’s return gave the O-line a boost of confidence, which showed as they dominated up front and will be even better when Kelly returns from his concussion this week, but it’s unfortunate they’ll be without Jackson, who played well alongside Darrisaw on Sunday.
Having Oliver on the field more on Sunday also helped the run game and pass protection.
5. The return of Van Ginkel and Harrison Smith was big for the D: there were two sacks for Van Ginkel in only eight defensive snaps as he returned from his concussion. Smith played 22 of the 52 snaps in his first game after dealing with an illness, and he made an immediate impact by tipping Browning’s pass that Rodgers intercepted and returned for the first quarter TD.
6. The run defense was outstanding: after the down game against Atlanta, the defense that ranked second against the run last season stepped up and held the Bengals to 53 yards on 21 carries (2.5-yard average) and completely shut down starting back Chase Brown (10 carries, three yards).
Second-year DT Levi Drake Rodriguez had a standout performance, recording four tackles and two tackles-for-loss. Alongside Ivan Pace, he pressured Browning into a bad throw that Smith tipped, and Rodgers intercepted for the TD, which halted a Bengals drive and turned the game into a 14-0 lead.
7. Vikings D back in top takeaway form: 33 last season tied for league lead with the Steelers. The Vikings had five takeaways on Sunday, and their seven for the season ranks third behind Pittsburgh (8) and Jacksonville (9). Takeaways will be crucial, as always, when the Vikings and Steelers meet.
8. Will Reichard’s 62-yard franchise record field goal made it 34-3 at halftime. He’s a great weapon, and he’s off to an excellent start this season with a perfect 6 for 6 on field goals and 7 for 7 on PATs.
It was a good day for the special teams, with Ryan Wright punting well and the kickoff return team performing better than last week. Jeff Okudah made a successful return from his concussion with a big hit on a kickoff return and a fumble recovery that set up the late first-half TD by Mason to make it 31-3.
9. Penalties are a problem: 13 for 105 yards after eight for 50 yards last week are far too many. There were five false starts on offense, which should not happen at home, and several other pre-snap penalties. O’Connell said post-game that this is an area that must improve moving forward.
Around the NFL Observations from Week 2
1. Blocked field goals turned the Packers-Browns and Eagles-Rams games. Brandon McManus’ 43-yarder was blocked with 27 seconds left, setting up the game-winning walk-off 55-yarder by Andre Szmyt for a 13-10 upset.
Jordan Love threw a costly interception with 3:18 left, setting up the Browns’ TD that tied the game 10-10. For the Eagles, Jordan Davis blocked Joshua Karty’s 44-yard attempt with three seconds left and returned it for the game-winning score in a 33-26 win that kept the Eagles unbeaten.
2. Caleb Williams threw four TD passes as the Bears whipped the Cowboys 31-14 at Soldier Field.
3. Ex-Viking and Giant Daniel Jones now has three TD passes and three rushing TDs with no turnovers in the first three weeks as the Colts won convincingly in Tennessee to improve to 3-0.
4. The Steelers beat the Patriots 21-14 in Foxboro. Like the Vikings, the Steelers are 2-1 and tied for their division lead. Also like the Vikings, they forced five turnovers on Sunday (four of which were fumble recoveries).
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