Inside The Vikings

5 things that stood out from Vikings' ridiculous romp over Bengals

That game went better than even the most optimistic Vikings fan could've imagined. Here's what stood out.
Will Ragatz|
Sep 21, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) hands off to running back Jordan Mason (27) against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Sep 21, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) hands off to running back Jordan Mason (27) against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Vikings

Kevin O'Connell himself couldn't have drawn up a better Sunday afternoon for the Minnesota Vikings than the one they just had at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings scored six touchdowns and made history in multiple ways in a 48-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals that no one in attendance will ever forget. Here are five things that stood out.

Rodgers' all-time defensive half

This offseason, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores was adamant that the team should go out and sign former Colts and Eagles cornerback in free agency. That looks like a pretty good call. Rodgers didn't just have the game of his life on Sunday, he put together one of the greatest individual performances by a defensive player in NFL history — and he did it in just one half of action.

Rodgers had an 87-yard pick-six off of a Harrison Smith deflection in the first quarter. He forced a fumble, scooped it up himself, and ran it 66 yards for another touchdown late in the second quarter. For good measure, he forced another fumble a couple plays after that. Rodgers is the first player in the history of the league with two defensive touchdowns and two forced fumbles in one contest.

It truly doesn't get any better than that for a cornerback, especially a guy in his third game with a new team. Collectively, the Vikings had four of their five takeaways in the first half as they raced out to a 34-3 lead at the break.

Wentz solid in Vikings debut

Making his first start in a Vikings uniform, Carson Wentz had himself a solid day. He threw a touchdown pass to Josh Oliver on the first possession of the game. Then came a shaky stretch of offense where the Vikings went three-and-out three times in their next four possessions, with Wentz holding onto the ball too long at times and taking some sacks as a result.

But Wentz helped spark the offense a bit late in the first half, and he was sharp in a third quarter where the Vikings ripped off two long touchdown drives. Wentz finished his day 14 of 20 for 173 yards, two TDs, and no interceptions. On a day where the defense and running game carried a lot of the load, Wentz didn't have to do a ton. He'll make at least one more start next week in Dublin.

Mason rumbles to big day

With Aaron Jones landing on IR, Vikings running back Jordan Mason took on a bellcow role in O'Connell's offense on Sunday. He looked outstanding. Mason ran the ball 16 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns. He gained at least one yard on every one of his carries and ripped off several chunk gains, which helped him average 7.3 yards on the day despite his longest rush being 24 yards.

Mason runs hard, gets what's blocked, and rarely goes down at first contact. It was also encouraging to see him punch in a couple short touchdowns near the goal line. He looks like another big-time offseason addition for the Vikings.

Reichard makes team history

On a different day where Rodgers didn't do what he did, the kick that happened just before halftime would've been a bigger story. After the Vikings' third takeaway in basically a 90-second stretch of game time, Will Reichard stepped up and drilled a 62-yard field goal. It's the longest in franchise history, breaking Greg Joseph's record by one yard. And it probably would've been good from close to 70 yards.

Penalties and a missed call

The main area to nitpick for the Vikings in this game comes in the penalty department. They committed 13 of them for 105 yards. They were mostly sloppy procedural calls against the offense, including several false starts, but they happened on defense and special teams too. O'Connell and the coaching staff will want to get that cleaned up moving forward.

The Bengals were flagged for penalties on the first two plays of the game but finished with just four as a team. And there was one play that should've been penalized against them but wasn't, which came when Wentz took a shot to the helmet in the second quarter before the Vikings settled for a field goal to go up 17-0.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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