Vikings embarrass Bengals 48-10
MINNEAPOLIS – September 25, 2025 – Brendon D. Miller
The Cincinnati Bengals came into their Week 3 matchup with a chance to go 3-0 to start a season for the first time since Andy Dalton’s Bengals did it in 2015. Ironically, that season ended with a backup quarterback, and this season may as well. Joe Burrow is on IR, having just had surgery on a turf toe injury on his left foot, and Jake Browning will, once again, pilot one of the league’s most explosive offenses.
Unfortunately for Bengals fans, what they saw on the field on Sunday might be the worst performance in team history.
Quarter 1
The game started out with the Bengals on defense, and, just like in Weeks 1 and 2, they allowed the opponent to march down the field and score a touchdown to start the game. Carson Wentz, starting in place of injured quarterback J.J. McCarthy, led the Vikings on a six-play, 64-yard touchdown drive (assisted by several defensive penalties) to take a seven-point lead. It was the first touchdown the Vikings scored in the first half of the 2025 season.
The Bengals answered with a Jake Browning drive that went absolutely nowhere. They punted back to the Vikings after a three-and-out.
The defense rebounded on the next drive. Myles Murphy and Kris Jenkins brought Wentz down in the backfield, and the Bengals forced the Vikings to punt, which set the Bengals offense up near midfield.
Browning and the offense followed up a three-and-out with a disastrous second drive. After a couple first downs, including an athletic catch and stumble from Noah Fant, Browning stepped up in the pocket to avoid pressure and threw a pass intended for Chase Brown, but it was intercepted by Isaiah Rodgers, who took it all the way back for a pick six, giving the Vikings a 14-0 lead with six minutes left in the first quarter.
The Bengals’ offense didn’t turn the ball over on their next drive, but they didn’t do anything good either. After two stuffed runs that gained two yards, Browning was sacked on third-and-eight, forcing another Ryan Rehkow punt. The Bengals’ defense returned the favor, this time with a Joseph Ossai sack, forcing a Vikings punt.
The Bengals finished the first quarter deep in their own territory and with 29 yards of offense.
Quarter 2
Browning and the offense started the second quarter the same way they started the first–poorly. A Dylan Fairchild holding penalty reversed a Chase first down. Rehkow mishit his punt, setting the Vikings up with a short field. The Bengals’ defense was able to hold the Vikings to a field goal, though, falling behind by a score of 17-0.
The Bengals got on the board for the first time on their following drive. Thanks to a couple first downs, and an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Vikings for a hit in the head area on Higgins. Unfortunately the drive stalled outside the red zone, but Evan McPherson was able to knock down the 45-yard attempt to cut the Vikings’ lead down to 14.
Jenkins came up with his second sack of the game on the following drive. Hendrickson forced Wentz to step up in the pocket on third down deep in their own territory. Unfortunately for Wentz, that’s where Jenkins was waiting. Thanks to a fair catch interference call on the Vikings, the Bengals were set up on the 48-yard line.
The Bengals were able to get a first down before the two-minute warning, but disaster reared its ugly head again just on the other side of the break. After a short pass to the flat to Noah Fant, Rodgers, who had the pick six earlier in the half, was able to punch the ball out, recover the fumble and take it back for another defensive touchdown.
The Vikings took a 24-3 lead with 1:47 left in the first half. The Bengals offense, needing something positive to happen before halftime, just did everything they could to further bury the team. On a play in which the Bengals were called for holding and for an illegal forward pass, none other than Rodgers punched the ball out of Chase’s hands. The Vikings recovered the Bengals’ third forced turnover, and then proceeded to march down the field as if they were playing against a high school defense, scoring another touchdown on just three plays.
Instead of taking a knee and heading into the locker room with their tails tucked firmly between their legs, they chose to hand the ball to Samaje Perine, who proceeded to fumble just as he crossed the line of scrimmage. This was the third Bengals turnover in four offensive snaps, which is a stat that seems like it should be impossible. The Vikings ended the first half with a 62-yard field goal from Will Reichard, to head into halftime with a 34-3 lead.
Quarter 3
The Bengals started the second half with the ball and a new right guard. Rookie offensive lineman Jalen Rivers replaced Dalton Risner, but the move didn’t spark an offensive explosion by any means. Down 31 points, the Bengals’ offense proceeded to go three-and-out, forcing another Rehkow punt.
The Vikings’ offense, with all the momentum, was a hot knife through butter in their opening drive of the second half. Almost every running play yielded at least five yards, and Wentz was able to sit in the pocket and pick apart the defense when the Vikings decided to throw it. The Vikings capped off their long drive with Jordon Mason’s second rushing touchdown, giving Minnesota a 41-3 lead with six minutes still left in the third.
Browning came back on the field, desperately needing to get something going. At this point it’s likely too late to come back and win, but the Bengals needed to have something to build on heading into the following week. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards. After a first-down catch from Drew Sample, the offense committed its fifth turnover, this time in the form of Browning’s second interception.
The Vikings offense marched right down the field again, scoring another touchdown on a pass from Wentz to TJ Hockenson, giving Minnesota a 48-3 lead with 17 seconds left in the third quarter. This 45-point deficit was the largest in Bengals’ franchise history.
Quarter 4
The Bengals’ offense finally punched the ball into the end zone in the fourth quarter. Of course, by then it was way too little, way too late. On a second-down play, a scrambling Browning found Drew Sample in the flat. The big tight end was able to punch the ball into the end zone, and after a McPherson extra point, the Bengals trailed by a score of 48-10.
The Vikings sent Wentz to the bench, leading by 38 points in the fourth quarter, and sent in former Minnesota Golden Gophers undrafted rookie free agent quarterback Max Brosmer. The Bengals’ defense forced a three-and-out to give the ball back to Browning and company with just over 10 minutes left in the game.
For fans that just wanted the game to be over at this point were lucky. The Bengals kept the clock moving through a Brooks running play, a Mike Gesicki reception, and a Browning sack, and then punted the ball away. The Vikings switched into clock-killing mode and held on to the ball until there were just over six minutes left in the game.
Browning took a seat, finishing his afternoon completing 19 of 27 passes for 140 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Zac Taylor turned the keys to the offense over to Brett Rypien, but the fresh blood didn’t get anything done–they went three-and-out after two runs and a sack on third down. Rehkow punted the ball away for the sixth time on the afternoon, and the Bengals wouldn’t touch the ball again.
The Vikings won by a score of 48-10 in what may have been the ugliest win in franchise history.
