8. Week 10 vs. Raiders – 11 yards to Rhett Ellison
In the first quarter with the game tied at zero, the Vikings have a second-and-eight from the Raiders 11. Vikings line up in shotgun with two tight ends and two receivers to the left.
On the surface this may look like a fairly simple play. Bridgewater drops back, double-clutches and finds Rhett Ellison wide open in the right flat, and Ellison battles his way into the end zone.
However, I think Bridgewater does a subtle little thing on this play that makes it a good play. Note that Bridgewater never looks Ellison’s way until the very last second. Bridgewater keeping his eyes in the middle of the field seems to freeze Raiders linebacker #52 just enough so that he can’t get over and make a play on Ellison.
I believe the technical term for that is eye discipline.