Teddy Bridgewater played the occasion, not the game at Vikings

Teddy Bridgewater’s production at Vikings

It was a rough game for Teddy Bridgewater. He missed the previous weekend’s win over the Detroit Lions with an MCL sprain and this period off the field seemed to hamper his accuracy early on.

This was not a formidable defensive front facing the Carolina Panthers in Week 12. They lost the services of Linval Joseph and Everson Griffen in free agency, new signing Michael Pierce opted out due to COVID-19 health concerns, and stud edge rusher Danielle Hunter hasn’t played a down this season due to a neck injury.

Couple this with a suspect secondary in Minnesota after wholesale changes during the offseason. And everything was in place for Bridgewater to succeed.

Sadly, this scenario didn’t play out.

Bridgewater looked hesitant in the pocket and his timing was off early, which was especially evident with wide receiver D.J. Moore throughout the game.

Missing the former Maryland standout when he was wide open in the end-zone was inexcusable and although he brought Carolina down the field to give them a shot at winning the game, kicker Joey Slye didn’t live up to his end of the bargain.

The quarterback completed just 52.78 percent of his passes, which was Bridgewater’s lowest of the campaign. His passer rating of 74.7 was the second-worst of the season and his QBR of 53.2 was another damning indictment of his level of production against the team that drafted him.

Whether Bridgewater thought too much about everything he’s been through for his career to come circle is up for debate. But it did appear as if this particular occasion was too big for him.