MINNEAPOLIS — Isaiah Rodgers returned an interception 87 yards for a touchdown and added a 66-yard fumble return for a score to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a 48-10 rout of the visiting Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Rodgers became the first defensive player in NFL history to force two fumbles and score a pair of defensive touchdowns as the Vikings scored 31 points off five Cincinnati turnovers.
Jordan Mason ran for a pair of touchdowns and finished with 116 yards on 16 carries for Minnesota, which forced four first-half Cincinnati turnovers and scored 24 points off those turnovers. In all, Cincinnati (2-1) fumbled the ball five times, losing three of them while Jake Browning threw two interceptions.
The 38-point loss was the most lopsided in Bengals history, surpassing a 37-point defeat in four previous games.
Minnesota (2-1), which scored 17 points in the closing 1:47 of the first half, improved to 7-0 all-time in home games against Cincinnati and evened the all-time series at 8-8.
Browning, starting his first game since Joe Burrow’s left foot surgery on Friday, finished 19-of-27 for 140 yards with a late touchdown pass. Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz, who came out with 11 minutes left, didn’t need to do much, completing 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
In a game that featured a pair of backup quarterbacks, it was Wentz who drew first blood, marching the Vikings 64 yards in six plays, capped by a 12-yard pass to an uncovered Josh Oliver for the first touchdown just more than two minutes into the game.
Browning went three-and-out on Cincinnati’s first drive but managed to drive the Bengals to the Minnesota 29 on the second drive. But on second-and-9, Browning targeted Chase Brown and the pass was tipped by safety Harrison Smith before being intercepted by Rodgers at the Minnesota 13.
Rodgers had a caravan of blockers down the left sideline and returned it the distance for an 87-yard pick-6 and a 14-0 Minnesota lead.
The interception was the fourth by Browning in three quarters of action since replacing Burrow in the second quarter of last week’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Bengals got on the board with 4:42 left in the first half when Evan McPherson converted from 45 yards out to cut Minnesota’s lead to 17-3.
But with the Bengals driving into Minnesota territory with 1:47 left in the first half, Noah Fant caught a pass from Browning and then had it poked out from behind by Rodgers, who scooped it up and raced for his second touchdown of the day.
Ja’Marr Chase then fumbled on Cincinnati’s next drive, setting up Mason’s 5-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds remaining.
Jalen Redmond forced a fumble by Samaje Perine with 20 seconds remaining, with Jonathan Allen recovering. Minnesota finished the half in style with a franchise-record 62-yard field goal from Will Reichard to cap the 17-point surge and give the Vikings a 34-3 halftime lead.
–Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media
