Entering the game early in the second quarter after starter Matt Cassel left with multiple broken bones in his foot, rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater looked plenty competent in his NFL debut Week 3 at New Orleans. He couldn't get the Vikings in the end zone, but he led them to two field goals in six series, including his first. Of the other four series, three ended in punts. The fourth marked the end of the first half.
Though Bridgewater wasn't bad throwing the ball, completing 12 of 20 passes for 150 yards, his mobility did the most to distinguish him from Cassel. He ran six times for 27 yards. Only one of those carries came in the second half, but again, the Vikings didn't possess the ball enough for him to have many more. His yards per carry would have been better if he didn't kneel the ball twice to end the first half.
"I thought he was very composed. I didn't see any panic," coach Mike Zimmer said of the rookie, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "I believe that he's going to be pretty good."
With Cassel sidelined for an extended period (and potentially the season), Bridgewater has a chance to make a name for himself over the next several weeks, beginning Week 4 against the Falcons.