Hit early and often, Teddy Bridgewater didn't back down

Detroit – Teddy Bridgewater gave his coach one more football than he threw the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

To Mike Zimmer, he presented the game ball, commemorating Zimmer's first road victory in the NFC North. To the Lions, Bridgewater offered only frustration as he withstood a savage beating yet produced his best game as a pro.

Before the first quarter had ended, the Vikings trailed by 11 points as the Lions played briefly like the talented team they are and not the embarrassment they have again become, and Bridgewater looked like he needed smelling or at least Epsom salts.

The thumpings only punctuated completed passes. Bridgewater connected on 25 of 35 passes for 316 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions against a team capable of turning him into purple-and-gold origami. The Vikings won 28-19, indicating they might be ready to rise above the division's dust bunnies.

Bridgewater has thrown for more yards once — in his first NFL start, when he shredded a woeful Atlanta defense at home for 317. While the Lions have earned their 1-6 record, their defensive front causes more headaches than cheap beer, and they were playing with desperation in front of a loud crowd. After two hits in particular, Bridgewater was slow regaining his feet.

He took four sacks and was forced to throw away several passes but only once put the ball close to a defender's hands. This was what the Vikings envisioned when they drafted him — a composed and accurate passer.

The process of judging a young quarterback is constant and difficult. Andrew Luck was on his way to the Hall of Fame before he began playing like Matt Hasselbeck's backup this season. Colin Kaepernick came one pass from winning a Super Bowl and now might get run out of San Francisco. Russell Wilson came within one pass of becoming the eighth quarterback ever to win two consecutive Super Bowls. Now, with a new Pro Bowl tight end on the roster, he and his team are in trouble.

Christian Ponder looked promising until he didn't. Three teams, including the Vikings, underestimated Rich Gannon before he became a star in Oakland.

Ryan Tannehill looked like a bust under supposed offensive guru Joe Philbin, then put up exponential numbers Sunday under new coach Dan Campbell. Robert Griffin III went from savior to scout team, a Reverse Rudy.

It takes a long time, a lot of completions and a lot of victories for a quarterback to prove himself beyond a shadow of a doubt, or the shade thrown by doubters. Bridgewater, like his team, at least spiced up the résumé Sunday.

"He got beat up," Adrian Peterson said. "He got hit pretty hard a few times, and he got back up and stayed with it. That's what I love about the young guy — his poise, and that he gives you everything he has."

In his first career start at Detroit, last December, Bridgewater completed 31 passes for 315 yards and got sacked four times for 31 yards — numbers almost identical to Sunday's — but threw two killing interceptions in a two-point loss.

"The thing that impressed me the most today with Teddy was he got rocked a couple of times," Zimmer said. "I wasn't sure he was going to be able to finish. He got up and he made some great throws. He's always an accurate and composed guy."

Throw out the abominable season-opening loss at San Francisco — which is against NFL rules and would cause Roger Goodell to throw you into jail if you even suggest it — and the Vikings have won four of their past five games, with their only loss a close one to the undefeated Broncos in Denver.

Their license to operate Stefon Diggs in public finally arrived from the DMV a few weeks ago, former UCLA teammates Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr are now rooming in the opposing backfield and Peterson can survive eating, depending on what you believe, chaw, shrimp, or chaw-infused shrimp.

Sunday, Bridgewater completed passes to 11 teammates and no opponents. It was his best game, and he'll have bruises to remember it by.

Jim Souhan's podcast can be heard at MalePatternPodcasts.com. On Twitter: @SouhanStrib. • jsouhan@startribune.com