EAGAN, Minn. — Isaiah Rodgers refreshed his music but otherwise bopped to the same beat.
He passed the ball pregame with fans and "didn't change anything," he told a huddle of awestruck reporters. "I probably changed my playlist a little bit. Other than that, I just kept [my routine] going."
Every person at U.S. Bank Stadium and watching on TV, though, knew Rodgers changed everything.
He flipped the Bengals offense on its back. He brought to life a cheat code in a video game, all but guaranteeing his 76 rating in Madden 25 will rocket like he did along the home and visitor sidelines.
He "played out of this world," said Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores, "for the lack of a better term."
Really, there is no better way to describe the game Rodgers enjoyed Sunday against Cincinnati. He intercepted a pass inside Minnesota's 30 and sprinted 87 yards for defensive touchdown No. 1 in his career. A few series later, he forced and recovered a fumble before bolting 66 yards to the opposite end zone for touchdown No. 2. In the same first half, Rodgers rejected a deep ball on an island against Tee Higgins, who has a 6-inch height advantage, and caused Ja'Marr Chase to fumble after a 15-yard catch.
Postgame, 14-year vet Harrison Smith quipped, "We're all greedy in here, so everybody wants more."
Rodgers' appetite for seconds and thirds was most overt:
"I promised [passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Daronte Jones] I was gonna bring him the ball this week, and I told him I kept the first one. I went back to him and I said, 'My bad, I'll bring you another one,' and went and got the second one. [And then] I just told him I'll try to go get another one."
Examining the replay on the video board, Head Coach Kevin O'Connell was in disbelief (a mutual feeling).
"Is that Isaiah again?" he asked rhetorically on the headset. "Dude, this guy's unbelievable."
Rodgers' final stat line – 1 INT TD, 1 FR TD, 2 PBU, 3 TKL – was unbelievable indeed. Based on available records, he's the first NFL player with a pick six, scoop-and-score and pair of forced fumbles in one game.
He accomplished the above in approximately 20 minutes of game time.
Afterwards, Joshua Metellus said, "I've never seen nothing like that. I'm still lost for words."
"I kept thinking it was like practice," added the safety who was drafted in 2020 six slots before the Colts selected Rodgers. "Like, ain't no way he's touching the ball this much. He kept on scoring touchdowns."
Appropriately then, Rodgers earned NFC Player of the Week honors Wednesday, the league announced.
Rodgers is the 16th Viking on offense, defense or special teams to be decorated with such distinction across the 54 regular-season games led by O'Connell, and the seventh defender after OLBs Andrew Van Ginkel (Week 16) and Jonathan Greenard (Week 3) in 2024, and LB Ivan Pace, Jr., (Week 14), S Camryn Bynum (Week 7) and LB Jordan Hicks (Week 6) in 2023, as well as OLB Za'Darius Smith (Week 8) in 2022.
Since we're debriefing his gamut of achievements, let us point out (ICYMI) Rodgers scored the first "perfect" game in the existence of Pro Football Focus, which began comprehensive data accrual in 2006.
To recap, Rodgers' historic, supernatural individual effort resulted in accolades and a 99.9 PFF grade. None of it will affect his preparation for Week 4 and beyond, because he's not one to rest on his laurels.
"I think Isaiah, at the same time, will be the first one to tell you, football is this game where you rely on so many people and he doesn't make those plays without a rush from Jonathan Greenard or Levi [Drake Rodriguez] getting up the field to get the quarterback to move in the pocket, and Harry tipping the ball, and then he catches it, and they're throwing blocks for him," Flores assessed. "But he certainly made a lot of plays – looking for the ball, punching it out, recovering it. And those are some of the things that we kind of saw from him from a playmaking standpoint that he had the potential to do. I'm excited for him."
And for him to build on it, Flores added, hinting there's more meat on the bone for Rodgers to chew.
In the process of evaluating Rodgers, who flashed on the coach's radar when he was at the University of Massachusetts and Flores was with the Patriots, the defensive innovator determined "Zay" had a likable combination of speed, quickness and football acumen. The element Flores "really loved about him was the ball skills," he said. Also, "he's a high-level returner, so if he can catch it on defense, maybe he can go do something with it. Now, I didn't think it was going to be [what transpired]; I'll tell you that right now."
There was a crystal clear vision, however, that Flores felt strongly about because of his career path.
"When you peel back the layers – all the way back – I'm a personnel scout," Flores said candidly. "That's really my comfort zone. In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm better at that than coaching, honestly. I'm very confident in the evaluation process, and I have a process that I've gone through really my entire career. And I love that time of year, [when we] kind of have a vision for the next season, the types of guys we're looking for based on what we have [and] what we want to do a year from now. And I think once you combine the coaching side of it with the scouting background – I feel really comfortable in that setting."
Flores' conviction in what Rodgers could do, no less the player he could become in the 2025 Vikings defense inspired leadership to seek him out in free agency, after he helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX as a reserve, and was the foundation for Rodgers' normal routine reaping an unconscious performance.
Using insights from a special-edition film review, here's a closer look at how Rodgers floored the Bengals.
Off to the Races Part 1
There's a lot to unpack in Rodgers' first house call, starting with an immediate win by Rodriguez, who dipped and ripped past Bengals center Ted Karras to fluster Jake Browning and move the Cincinnati quarterback off his spot. As Browning climbed the pocket, Smith transitioned from tracking Chase to springing up into the throwing window and deflecting it. Rodgers did his part, catching the tipped pass then sprinting untouched behind a couple blocks en route to the southwest corner of the end zone.
"One thing I want to point out is just the coaching staff," Flores said, talking through the tape.
All the angles of the play confirmed an overwhelming sense of jubilation.
Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels shared a funny perspective.
"As [Isaiah] was running down the sideline, Daronte Jones, is like, 'Whoop, there's the return skills right there 'Hat' (Daniels' nickname) is always talking about!'" Daniels recalled. "I'm like, 'That's it right there.' And Flo' is like, 'Yeah, good luck. Not happening.' But, we'll see. Soon. Soon. Don't count him out.
"We just need a little special situation, treat him like DeSean Jackson or something like that," he added.
Rodgers' candidacy to return kickoffs stems from his excellence in that area. As a rookie, Rodgers returned one for a touchdown, and overall, his 27.1-yard average is fifth in the NFL among players with 60 or more returns since 2020. But playing in that phase could increase risks for the defensive starter.
'It's either him or me'
As impressive as the pick six and two punchouts were, Smith was amazed by Rodgers' PBU in single coverage, "especially against a guy like Tee Higgins, who's normally coming down with that ball," he said.
Flores credited Cincinnati for getting the deep shot off when the Vikings were a smidge late executing "really an all-out blitz" on third down. It opened up the 1-on-1 that Cincinnati wanted – Rodgers (5-foot-10) mano a mano with Higgins (6-foot-4), "one of the best receivers in the league," Flores declared.
The cornerback high-pointed the pass just past the goal line and knocked it away.
"It was an incredible play," Flores noted. "They've got us blocked up, or they get it snapped before we get into our full-on blitz, so this really becomes one of those 1-on-1 plays where it's either him or me."
Flores continued, "We really felt like, and I know he felt like, he was having a day – and he sure was."
At his press conference Tuesday, Flores elaborated: "It's not like we're sitting there going, 'Hey, we can't leave him alone.' We can," the coach said. "We expect him to come through on those plays, and he did."
It's been quite the entrance to the season for Rodgers. Through three games, he has produced the highest coverage grade (91.2) out of 94 cornerbacks with at least 50 coverage snaps, according to PFF.
Off to the Races Part 2
Aligned 10 yards off the ball, behind another all-up presentation by the defense late in the first half, Rodgers took a zone drop and closed the distance on Noah Fant after Browning delivered a quick pass.
"It looks like blitz; it's not blitz," Flores said. "And they actually have a good play."
Eric Wilson got blocked, Fant had space, and Rodgers skillfully forced the fumble with a hammer technique drilled so often at practice by Daniels and other coaches that it's a subconscious maneuver.
"Another dynamic, incredible play by him," Flores admired.
Granted, there's room for improvement.
The Vikings defense tied for the league lead in takeaways last season, and consistently coupled momentum-shifting plays with celebrations that went viral. Minnesota has forced seven turnovers so far in 2025, which is good for third, but without Camryn Bynum it has faltered in the dancing department.
Metellus said cellies were planned for Rodgers but "he was so tired he just ran back to the sidelines."
'One thing and one thing only'
Rodgers put a bow on his historic half with a punchout on "one of the most explosive players in the National Football League," Flores noted. "He's a guy we had great awareness of going into the game."
Obviously, that's respect to Chase, the wide receiver who became an NFL Triple Crown winner in 2024 (he led the league in receptions, yards and touchdowns).
"You can see 'Zay' here, he's got his eyes on one thing and one thing only," Flores explained.
They were lasered onto the football, which Rodgers jarred free with another hammer strike.
"It's not all 'Peanut' punches," Flores told media members Tuesday. "Everybody's got terms for [how they try to knock out the football when it's being held], but it's 'Hammer', it's 'Tyson'. There's all these different ways to try to get the ball out, and our players – they work at it. There's a great attention to detail to it because it's such an important stat in football. And we saw it come to fruition on Sunday."
It's muscle memory for Rodgers, who's been play-making since Flores was enamored with him in college.
"It's perfect timing for everything," Rodgers determined. "Just happy he brought me here this year."
NFC Players of the Week under O'Connell
2025 Week 3 vs. Cincinnati: Isaiah Rodgers, CB (Defensive)
2025 Week 1 at Chicago: J.J. McCarthy, QB (Offensive)
2024 Week 16 at Seattle: Andrew Van Ginkel, OLB (Defensive)
2024 Week 14 vs. Atlanta: Sam Darnold, QB (Offensive)
2024 Week 3 vs. Houston: Jonathan Greenard, OLB (Defensive)
2023 Week 14 at Las Vegas: Ivan Pace, Jr., LB (Defensive)
2023 Week 9 at Atlanta: Joshua Dobbs, QB (Offensive)
2023 Week 7 vs. San Francisco: Camryn Bynum, S (Defensive)
2023 Week 6 at Chicago: Jordan Hicks, LB (Defensive)
2022 Week 16 vs. New York Giants: Greg Joseph, K (Special Teams)
2022 Week 15 vs. Indianapolis: Kirk Cousins, QB (Offensive)
2022 Week 12 vs. New England: Kene Nwangwu, RB/KR (Special Teams)
2022 Week 10 at Buffalo: Justin Jefferson, WR (Offensive)
2022 Week 8 vs. Arizona: Za'Darius Smith, OLB (Defensive)
2022 Week 6 at Miami: Ryan Wright, P (Special Teams)
2022 Week 4 vs. New Orleans in London: Greg Joseph, K (Special Teams)
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