Sunday was the kind of game Vikings fans have been waiting for out of second-year QB Teddy Bridgewater — and the kind of game for which Vikings coaches kept telling everyone to be patient.
How's Teddy lookin'? Vikings' Bridgewater has best game of the season
Sunday was the kind of game Vikings fans have been waiting for out of second-year QB Teddy Bridgewater — and the kind of game for which Vikings coaches kept telling everyone to be patient.
October 25, 2015 at 8:39PM
The Vikings came into their 28-19 win at Detroit ranked last in the NFL in passing yards at 180 per game. Most of Bridgewater's individual numbers, not surprisingly, also lagged near the bottom. The notable exception was Total QBR; in that category, Bridgewater was 8th in the entire league heading into Sunday.
As such, Sunday's game was finally an opportunity to see what some of the advanced metrics (and Vikings coaches) were trying to tell us: Bridgewater has been fine this season — far from the dreaded "sophomore slump," with traditional stats that were more a function of game situations than poor play.
Still, it was nice for fans and coaches alike to see the kind of final line Bridgewater put up in the victory over the Lions: 25 of 35 for 316 yards, a pair of TDs and no interceptions. In terms of crispness, command and overall effectiveness, it was his best passing day of the season. And I imagine when Total QBR numbers are tabulated after the full week is done, Bridgewater will again fare quite well in that category as well.
He did so in spite of a running game that was mostly non-existent thanks to a combination of clogged running lanes and Adrian Peterson approaching the line of scrimmage as if he was on roller skates — out of control with his lateral movements and trying to do too much. Peterson's final line of 19 carries for 98 yards was just fine, but 75 came on one carry while the other 18 carries netted just 23 yards. That put the onus on Bridgewater to make plays.
Bridgewater also put up those numbers in spite of getting sacked four times and being under duress several other times (though the pass blocking was at least adequate on the majority of plays and Bridgewater can take some blame, too, for holding the ball too long a few times).
If the simple question — one that has become a Twitter meme of its own this season — is "How's Teddy lookin?" then the answer Sunday was, "As good as he's looked all season," which is greater praise than those who focus just on traditional stats might realize.
Minnesota rallied for an overtime victory without its superstar after trailing by two goals entering the third period.
