That was Favre’s final game…. The Bears suddenly in a third-and-25 situation, ran Forte to set up a punt and the Vikings responded with a 13-play, 93-yard touchdown drive for a 7-0 lead.
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Bridgewater’s 335-yard performance against the Arizona Cardinals on December 10, which ended with a fumble in the Vikings’ 23-20 loss, was going to matter only if the second-year quarterback followed it with another example of his ability to be more than a passenger in the Vikings’ offense. He was 17 for 20 for 231 yards and four touchdown passes-equaling a 154.4 quarterback rating. Danielle Hunter played a number of plays for Everson Griffen (who played, but sparingly) and recorded five tackles and 1.5 sacks. With Stefon Diggs and Jerick McKinnon emerging as reliable wideout threats, the Vikings are more balanced than they’ve been for most of Peterson’s career. The Bears looked ready for an offseason. The game only got better after that for Bridgewater, who became the first Vikings player to throw for four touchdowns in a game since Brett Favre on January 17, 2010, against the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs.
In addition to making plays against the pass, he has also done a nice job of setting the edge in the running game, and he has shown the ability to drop back in coverage in certain situations.
Adrian Peterson missed some time because of an injury to his left ankle, but he still finished with 63 yards on 18 attempts to maintain his National Football League rushing lead. Zimmer pushed them hard in practice this week, challenging the offense to reach 30 points, and the outcome was obvious. “That’s why I left my feet”, Bridgewater said.
The win puts the Vikings at 9-5, and at press time, just a half game back of the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North Division (the Packers are playing the Raiders in Oakland and were up when at the time of this post).
The lowlights included two turnovers the Vikings turned into 14 points. But Diggs and Bridgewater hooked up for two touchdown passes-the second a great 33-yard catch and run to open the third quarter.
The game hit bottom for Cutler in the fourth quarter when he floated a screen pass to Matt Forte that fell short, allowing backup defensive end Justin Trattou to intercept it at the Chicago 16.
The 2014 Heisman Trophy victor and the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, Mariota left and did not return after being sacked to end consecutive second-quarter drives. They could have a playoff spot wrapped up by the time they kick off against the New York Giants next week on Sunday Night Football.
“I didn’t know how it would be, but I’m happy I finally got one”, he said. “Four touchdown passes and a touchdown run, I don’t think it gets much better than that”. “He’s a tough, tough guy”, Zimmer said.
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McKinnon’s score was upheld by replay review, ending a wild sequence in which Chicago was penalized for roughing Bridgewater and McKinnon was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for celebrating too extravagantly with Diggs in the end zone. We might not see him go back on the waivers anytime soon.
