EAGAN, Minn. — Isaiah Rodgers was involved in two game-defining plays.
On the first Sunday in Chicago, he dove on a fumble at the goal line, forced by Jalen Redmond, that kept the Bears out of the end zone in the third quarter, then did the "Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog" dance to fulfill a promise to his son. On the second, he zoomed off the edge with six-and-a-half minutes left and rejected a 23-yard field goal attempt by Cairo Santos. The play preserved a 6-3 lead on the way to Minnesota's 9-3 win.
It also earned Rodgers NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors, the NFL announced Wednesday.
The cornerback won his first career POTW accolade 364 days ago when he was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance of epic proportions in a 2025 Week 3 blowout of Cincinnati. In this instance, he made a brilliant impact on defense, recovering the fumble that turned the tide amidst the slosh at Soldier Field — but his block sent him over the top.
In response, Minnesota's offense marched 11 plays, tying its longest possession (by number of plays) of the game and returned the ball after another Will Reichard field goal with 1:09 on the clock.
Vikings Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels gave his thoughts on the moment Tuesday and listed a number of impressive aspects: Rodgers' ability to eliminate the space between him and the holder; his skill at dodging or knocking down the arm of the "wing" on the end of the line of scrimmage (rookie tight end Sam Roush on this occasion); his preparation and expertise of the opponent's operation; and, of course, his ball get-off in slippery conditions.
"Everyone knows that this guy is probably one of the fastest guys in the NFL, but his acceleration to get off of the football and be able to bend," Daniels said. "His ability to slip Roush's hand that got thrown out and be able to bend and be able to take it off the foot — [it] says a lot about the type of athlete that he is, and on plays like that we say it all the time that 'Great plays are made from great effort,' and it was just unbelievable effort by him."
Rodgers has done this before for the Purple. He blocked a 30-yard try by Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell, who is close to automatic on kicks under 40 yards in his career (94.6%) during the Ireland game last season. And Rodgers has stated his plans to do it again — and again.
"He's already kind of put it out in the air that he's going to take three; he's going to take three off the foot this year," Daniels shared that Rodgers expressed that intention right before the game vs. Green Bay. "That's surely enough the first thing he said when he came to the sidelines [this Sunday], 'That's one Hat, that's one. I got two more to go this year,' so we're off to a good start there."
Rodgers got a hand on Santos' 50-yarder on Chicago's opening drive, as well.
View game action photos from the Vikings Week 2 game vs. the Bears at Soldier Field.
"His pinky wasn't big enough, I guess, to deflect it enough," Daniels quipped.
But his near block early on likely affected Chicago's failure to launch later. The sight of Rodgers lined up in a track stance and threatening his speed, at this point, is a warning.
"Absolutely," Daniels said opposing kickers are thinking about a possible block. "100%."
On Daniels' watch, the Vikings have done a fabulous job of instilling that fear.
While opponents have attempted the second-most field goals against Minnesota since 2022 (160), they've converted only 83.1%. That's the 10th lowest hit rate in the NFL in that span, following the Browns (79.1%), Bears (79.3%), 49ers (81.1%), Buccaneers (81.3%), Giants (81.5%), Raiders (82%), Seahawks (82.7%), Patriots (82.9%) and Chargers (83%).
Santos has suffered the second-most blocked field goals (five) during that timeframe, by the way. Who has more? Minnesota's next opponent, Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin has six.
19 NFC Players of the Week under Kevin O'Connell in 67 games
2026 Week 2 at Chicago: Isaiah Rodgers, CB (Special Teams)
2025 Week 17 vs. Detroit: Harrison Smith, S (Defensive)
2025 Week 9 at Detroit: Levi Drake Rodriguez, DL (Special Teams)
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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