Despite being the home team, the Minnesota Vikings had to take a back seat to the pre-game media monster that was the coverage of first overall pick, and former Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston’s NFL debut.
Not a stranger to being overlooked by other quarterbacks, Teddy Bridgewater continued to roll and now through two preseason games is showing the skill set that at a time made him the top ranked quarterback in his draft class.
A horrible pro day destroyed his draft status, seeing him fall from potential first overall pick – all the way to the end of the first round, where the Vikings traded back in to to select him.
Taking over for Matt Cassel late in the season, Bridgewater finished strong after finding his footing at the NFL level, and while it is still just preseason, looks like he is ready to take his game to the next level.
Teddy Bridgewater: Great Start To Preseason Continues
Due to Minnesota playing in the Hall of Fame game, this is already the second game for Bridgewater and his Vikings, and they showed it in their ease in moving up and down the field against the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The former Louisville standout threw only one incompletion – a well thrown deep pass to Mike Wallace in the end zone that was nearly completed – and totaled 86 yards on 7-of-8 passing.
Bridgewater found Kyle Rudolph early once again, as he and the tight end hooked up on a 18 yard completion his first drop back attempt. The two also connected for a pass of 11 yards in the Hall of Fame game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on the first pass attempt of the game for the Vikings.
After settling for a field goal on the team’s first possession and punted on their second, the third saw Bridgewater find Jarius Wright on a short crossing route in which he led his receiver perfectly and allowed him to continue to run after the catch, eventually gaining 24 yards on the play before getting tackled at Tampa Bay’s three yard line. Zach Line would punch it in the very next play.
Through two games now, Bridgewater has completed 12-of-14 passes for 130 yards. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown yet, but that isn’t completely surprising when you only play parts of the game. Maybe the biggest surprise has been his efficiency. All though he has been known for his accuracy (68.4% in college, 64.4% last year), Bridgewater has increasingly thrown with pinpoint accuracy that would seem to defy even his numbers. Even his incompletion against the Buccaneers was a well thrown ball to the back hip of his receiver so than he can be the only one who could make a play on it.
Bridgewater is on the radar of a lot of people as a potential breakout candidate, and while it’s hard to take preseason results too serious, he is certainly looking the part early on.
A Healthy Rudolph is a Breakout Rudolph
Kyle Rudolph has always had the size and skill set to be one of the more dangerous receiving tight ends in the league, but hasn’t always been able to stay healthy. If he does find a way to stay on the field this year, you could finally see that as Bridgewater has looked his way early and often. Of his 14 pass attempts, four have gone the tight end’s way (28.5%).
Vikes Lose Starting Right Tackle
On the very first play of the game, the Vikings offensive line was altered for the entire season as starting right tackle suffered a torn achilles. Loadholt missed the last five games of last season with a torn pectoral muscle and will now in all likelihood miss this year. Fourth round pick T.J. Clemmings replaced the big tackle, and will likely get first crack at replacing him.
