Not since Tommy Kramer was slinging, the St. Louis Cardinals played football at Busch Stadium and Americans were taken hostage in Iran had a Vikings quarterback connected with as many receivers as Teddy Bridgewater in Sunday’s victory at Detroit.
The essence of Bridgewater’s 316-yard performance at Ford Field was his accuracy. He completed 25 of 35 passes (71.4 percent) and tossed a pair of touchdown passes.
More impressive was the diversity of the passing attack, which left the Lions looking like they were chasing ghosts all over the field.
Eleven players caught passes. Stefon Diggs led the parade with six receptions for 108 yards, including a dazzling, diving touchdown grab.
There was fullback Zach Line slipping into coverage and rumbling 49 yards to set up Minnesota’s first touchdown, Bridgewater’s 1-yard strike to tight end Kyle Rudolph.
Rookie tight end MyCole Pruitt turned his first career catch into a chance to play wrecking ball, knocking down would-be tacklers for a 13-yard first-down gain.
Receivers Mike Wallace, Jarius Wright, Adam Thielen and Charles Johnson each had catches of at least 20 yards. Only tight end Rhett Ellison did not have a touch.
“It just happens in this offense if you know where your check-downs are,” Bridgewater said Wednesday. “You always have an outlet in the passing game. Our guys do a tremendous job of understanding passing concepts, getting spaced up (against defenders).
“I try to get through my progressions fast, not hold onto the football, and it allows those guys to make plays. It showed Sunday.”
It was the first time 11 Vikings receivers caught passes since Nov. 4, 1979, a bounty squandered in a 37-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
How long ago was that? That same day, radicals stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and captured 52 Americans in a hostage crisis that dragged on 444 days.
“He doesn’t really lock in on one guy,” said Diggs, who has 324 receiving yards in his first three NFL games. “He spreads the ball like whoever is open kind of thing. It just shows how much of a great job he’s doing.”
Zimmer praised Bridgewater’s growth in the pocket, particularly his ability to let routes develop, discern which players to target and deliver to a variety of ball handlers.
“The one I might have liked the best was the one he threw to Zach Line, because he was working the other side of the field at the time,” Zimmer said.
On that play late in the second quarter, Bridgewater rolled out to his right. Line ran underneath toward the left sideline. Detroit’s linebacker let Line drift into wide-open territory, and Bridgewater threw across his body for a huge gain.
“For him to see him, his vision is starting to expand,” Zimmer said. “That helps to open a lot of other things for a lot of other people.”
The Vikings fell behind 17-6 in the first quarter with the Lions effective early in stuffing running back Adrian Peterson. To attack the deficit and create rushing lanes for Peterson, Bridgewater had to ignite the passing game and keep Detroit from loading up against the run.
Peterson eventually broke free for a 75-yard run in the third quarter.
“Some of those longer runs were against different kinds of defenses that give you good looks to run the ball,” Zimmer said. “We want to be balanced, and we have to be effective in the passing game in order to help the running game and vice-versa.”
The Vikings (4-2) scored 22 straight points in their 28-19 comeback win over the Lions. Another nemesis looms Sunday in Chicago, where they have not won since 2007.
Bridgewater’s lone visit to Soldier Field on Week 11 last year was a wild one. The Bears won 21-13 in a game remembered for a malfunctioning game clock that went blank the final three minutes.
The Vikings had a chance to tie the score with 2:03 remaining. Bridgewater started a drive at Minnesota’s 34-yard line with no timeouts and no idea how much time was left. The referee announced the time remaining after each play.
Thinking time was running out, Bridgewater rushed a throw and had his last pass intercepted.
“That was the first time I ever experienced anything like that,” Bridgewater recalled. “I think we could have handled the situation a little better. When you’re not aware of how much time is left on the clock when you’re down on the playing field, it forces you to make some decisions that you probably wouldn’t have made if you were aware of the game clock or the play clock. I hope it doesn’t happen again this year.”
Peterson, for one, does not see Bridgewater getting rattled again.
“He’s becoming a smarter player,” Peterson told Chicago media Wednesday in a conference call. “He has come out the past two weeks and played with more confidence. Not to say there wasn’t confidence before, but I’ve seen the growth in his confidence when he’s out there playing and throwing the ball.”
Follow Brian Murphy at twitter.com/murphPPress.
