Vikings lose game, Cassel in New Orleans
The Teddy Bridgewater era has begun sooner than expected, with the rookie quarterback taking over for injured starter Matt Cassel in the second quarter of Sunday's 20-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Bridgewater, the 32nd overall pick in May's NFL draft, made his professional debut after Cassel injured his toe on a second-quarter scramble. When Bridgewater walked into the huddle for the first time in a regular season game, with the crowd roaring for the Saints defense inside the Superdome, the Vikings trailed, 13-3, after the Saints scored touchdowns on their first two possessions.
But Bridgewater immediately displayed poise, more than Cassel did before exiting the game, and moved well in and out of the pocket while escaping the aggressive Saints pass rush. Bridgewater rushed for 27 yards on six carries and completed 12 of his 20 attempts for 150 yards with no turnovers.
The Vikings (1-2) clawed their way back into the game with a trio of field goals from kicker Blair Walsh. But the Saints (1-2) pulled away for good in the fourth quarter when quarterback Drew Brees hit wide receiver Marques Colston for an 18-yard touchdown. The drive was kept alive by a sure-to-be controversial roughing the passer penalty on cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, who drove Brees into the turf after a third-down sack. Seven plays later, Colston scored to put the Saints up, 20-9.
The Saints salted away time on a long, fourth-quarter drive, converting twice on third-and-long to deny Bridgewater the stage for late-game heroics and a chance at his first NFL touchdown pass.
Matt Asiata started at running back with Adrian Peterson on the reserve list. He had 35 yards on 12 carries and three catches for 36 yards. Rookie Jerick McKinnon had two carries for negative-1 yards.
Matt Vensel * 612-673-7966
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