The Minnesota Vikings are hoping to have caught a break. The team is hoping to not be down two starting quarterbacks after an injury to Teddy Bridgewater occurred in the win over the Atlanta Falcons. With Matt Cassel officially done for the season with a foot injury, anything wrong with Bridgewater would be disastrous for Minnesota. While an MRI on the rookie's ankle came back negative, the quarterback has not been practicing, forcing Christian Ponder into the spotlight.
Head coach Mike Zimmer noted that Bridgewater's ankle had no structural damage and the team was hopeful that he would be ready to play against the Green Bay Packers. The rookie had a breakout game in his first start, putting up 317 yards while the Vikings racked up over 600 yards of total offense under the direction of the quarterback. According to Mike McCarthy via the Green Bay Press-Gazette, the Packers are preparing to play Bridgewater this week on Thursday night football. However, if the rookie is no healthy, Ponder will get his first start of the season after being benched last year.
The Vikings certainly want to see Bridgewater back on the field as the quarterback displayed a style that represents a very bright future for the franchise at the position. One person that benefitted from Bridgewater's play on Sunday was wide receiver Jarius Wright who was responsible for 132 yards of the 317 passing yards Minnesota had against Atlanta. The receiver had just 37 yards over the first three weeks of the season, but finally jumped into the spotlight thanks to the rookie.
"It took me three years to finally get this game but it came for me," Wright said, via TwinCities.com. "Coach Turner saw something that he really believed in. The first two games, they were two big drops. I felt like I had to come out here and make a statement today."
Wright is benefitting from chemistry with the rookie, noting the quarterback simply knew where to put the ball for him to catch it. The breakout game from Wright is certainly a welcome sight after Cordarrelle Patterson has been to be under achieving since arriving last year. Patterson has battled some inconsistencies since getting drafted last season along with veteran Greg Jennings. Fantasy owners in deep leagues should take note. Wright might continue to put up big numbers thanks to Bridgewater's arm.
