Vikings CB Isaiah Rodgers wins the award many predicted him to receive after historic performance

Isaiah Rodgers wins NFC Defensive Player of the Week award

It's no surprise that Rodgers ended up winning the award. He was dominant on Sunday afternoon. His performance was so dominant that he ended up receiving the first-ever 99.9 grade from Pro Football Focus in their 20 years of grading.

Rodgers also became the first player in NFL history to have two defensive touchdowns and two forced fumbles in the same game. He also had an interception, three tackles, and a pass defended. In fact, it was the pass that he batted down in the end zone when covering Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals that was arguably his best play of the day.

If the Vikings didn't get that pass batted down from Rodgers, the score is 17-7 and the Bengals have momentum going for them. The entire game could have been different, because the Bengals would have had momentum going into the following drive.

"I just know this guy is begging to return kicks and he's begging to go back there, but as I've told him many times, you're going to score this year," said O'Connell after Sunday's game. "And he told me in the locker room, he's like, 'Coach, you said I was going to score.' I said I wasn't telling you something you didn't know. We just had to get your hands on the ball and then he's a problem when he's got it, because he's got natural running instincts. And the guys get, the guys know when, number two catches that ball that there's going to be some reasons to go put a hat on somebody and block, because he's all he needs is a crease, and he's going to be a tough guy to catch."

Rodgers became the 11th player to earn Player of the Week honors under O'Connell

• 2022: P Ryan Wright, Week 6 (Special Teams)
• 2022: EDGE Za'Darius Smith, Week 8 (Defensive)
• 2022: WR Justin Jefferson, Week 10 (Offensive)
• 2022: RB Kene Nwangwu, Week 12 (Special Teams)
• 2023: ILB Jordan Hicks, Week 6 (Defensive)
• 2023: S Cam Bynum, Week 7 (Defensive)
• 2023: QB Josh Dobbs, Week 9 (Offensive)
• 2024: EDGE Jonathan Greenard, Week 3 (Defensive)
• 2024: QB Sam Darnold, Week 14 (Offensive)
• 2024: EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel, Week 16 (Defensive)

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