Teddy Bridgewater: Terrible day turns around on big plays

Teddy Bridgewater was having a terrible day in Chicago until two big plays turned everything around.

The Vikings’ passing game in the first half was mostly a mess. Things began ominously on the first drive with two straight incompletions after an Adrian Peterson run set the Vikings up with a second-and-four.

The playcalling became fairly conservative for much of the rest of the first half, with Bridgewater completing mostly short passes to tight ends and backs and passes behind the line-of-scrimmage.

This conservative, controlled passing game was enough to keep the ball moving as long as Adrian Peterson kept running, but you felt that eventually the Vikings would have to open things up a little in order to win.

Bridgewater had a shot at a touchdown pass to Mike Wallace from 23 yards out early in the second quarter but failed to connect. The Vikings would settle for a field goal.

The QB’s struggles to connect with both Wallace and Stefon Diggs likely led directly to his biggest mistake of the first half.

The Vikings led 10-3 when they got the ball back with 1:46 remaining in the second quarter. On third-and-ten, Bridgewater made the terrible decision to force the ball to a well-covered Stefon Diggs and was picked off.

The Bears took advantage of this opening when Jay Cutler hit Alshon Jeffery on a sweet TD pass in the back of the end zone, tying the game at 10 going into the half.

More from The Viking Age

Things didn’t look a whole lot better for Bridgewater and the Vikings passing game through most of the second half.

They started moving the ball a little on their first possession of the half but it stalled when Bridgewater missed a wide open Mike Wallace streaking down the right sideline for what would have been a touchdown.

After the game, Wallace said he lost the ball in the sun. Whatever the cause of the incompletion, the result was more frustration for Bridgewater and the Vikings offense.

Thankfully the Vikings defense was able to keep the Bears from taking control of the game.

The Vikings did manage to tie the game early in the fourth on a Blair Walsh field goal. But this was followed by a long Bears drive capped by a Jay Cutler TD run to take the lead 20-13 with under five minutes left in the fourth.

At this point, Bridgewater had only 87 yards passing in the game and there was little reason to believe things were about to turn around.

But Teddy Bridgewater is nothing if not gutsy and poised.

After a sack put the Vikings in a second-and-seventeen hole, Bridgewater broke out on a scramble and picked up a first down with a 19-yard run.

Two plays later Bridgewater finally hooked up with Stefon Diggs for a big play, gaining 20 yards to the Minnesota 49.

Three plays later, this happened.

Thanks to Stefon Diggs’ heroics, Bridgewater’s terrible day was suddenly redeemed. But the redeeming wasn’t done yet.

After the Vikings defense forced a seemingly shellshocked Bears offense to punt, the ball went back into Teddy Bridgewater’s hands for one last drive with the game tied at 20.

On second-and-six from the Minnesota 38, Bridgewater heaved one seemingly right at Bears safety Antrel Rolle.

But at the last second Charles Johnson cut in front of Rolle, leaped as high as he could and plucked the ball from the air.

Adrian Peterson followed up Johnson’s huge play with a run to set up Blair Walsh for the game-winning field goal.

After throwing for just 87 yards through three-quarters-and-change, Bridgewater finished with 187 yards mostly thanks to two plays.

And just like that, a day of frustration turned into a day of triumph. Teddy Bridgewater can thank Stefon Diggs and Charles Johnson for saving his bacon.

Had it not been for those two plays, the conversation today would be all about Bridgewater’s brutal performance at Soldier Field.

His performance was still worrying, but at least he got it done at the end. With more than a little help from his friends.

Home/Minnesota Vikings News