For the second time in the first three weeks of the 2025 NFL regular season, a member of the Minnesota Vikings has been recognized as a superior performer for the week.
Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, who put together a historic performance in the Vikings’ 48-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, has been named the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for Week 3.
Rodgers likely would have won this week’s award even if he had sat out the second half on Sunday. In the first half of Sunday’s game, he had an 87-yard interception return for a touchdown, followed that up with a play where he forced a fumble and returned it 66 yards for another touchdown, and followed that up with another forced fumble that led to more points for the Vikings.
After those plays happened, Rodgers officially became the first player in NFL history to have an interception return for a touchdown, a fumble return for a touchdown, and two forced fumbles in one game. . .and, again, he did it in one half of football.
In a couple of other historical milestones for Rodgers, he became the first player in NFL history with an interception return of at least 85 yards for a score and a fumble return of at least 65 yards for a score in the same game. And, to top it all off, he became the first player in Minnesota Vikings’ history to score multiple defensive touchdowns in a game. . .no small feat for a franchise who has six defensive players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and has been around for 65 seasons.
Rodgers’ performance helped him to earn the highest grade that Pro Football Focus has ever given a defensive player, a 99.9 grade. He’s currently the highest-graded cornerback in the entire league by PFF’s measurements.
The award makes Rodgers the seventh member of the Vikings to win a Defensive Player of the Week Award in the Kevin O’Connell era. He joins the following players:
- Za’Darius Smith, 2022 Week 8
- Jordan Hicks, 2023 Week 6
- Camryn Bynum, 2023 Week 7
- Ivan Pace Jr., 2023 Week 14
- Jonathan Greenard, 2024 Week 3
- Andrew Van Ginkel, 2024 Week 16
Congratulations to Isaiah Rodgers on winning the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week Award for Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season!
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