Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has had to learn on the fly in 10 career starts since taking over in Week 4 for Matt Cassel, on injured reserve. The on-the-job training, however, is a good thing in coach Mike Zimmer's eyes compared to Bridgewater spending an entire season holding a clipboard.

Zimmer's remarks occurred a day after the Vikings' 16-14 loss at Detroit, when Bridgewater had another learning experience in a scoreless second half.

"I really think you learn best from playing," Zimmer said Monday. "That's what I believe, and I'm glad that he's playing. … I think in the long run his playing and going through all these experiences and a chance to play against Green Bay, Chicago and Detroit will be a big factor us in the future because he's been through these things now."

Zimmer said he was concerned to start Bridgewater at the start of the season because he didn't want him to become gun-shy or lack confidence after a string of bad outings. Most importantly, Zimmer was worried about Bridgewater's health. The rookie has taken 32 sacks, tied for eighth most in the NFL, but Zimmer believes the protection has improved over the past two games against a good Jets and Lions defensive line.

"I'm glad that we're keeping him upright," Zimmer said. "You can think back, and I know it's just my belief, you think back on some of the quarterbacks that have had to play as rookies or been playing as rookies and got the heck beat out of them and they haven't made it. So that was the most important thing to me to start this season is that we take care of him and when it's time, it's time."

Two-minute mishaps

Zimmer believed the Vikings didn't handle the fourth quarter well during the critical moments Sunday, particularly on the offense's final two drives.

Zimmer

"There are so many games in the NFL that come down to this kind of crunch time, and we didn't do enough to win," Zimmer said.

On their final drive, the Vikings moved 20 yards in 44 seconds with no timeouts and settled for a 68-yard field goal attempt from Blair Walsh that fell short as time expired. Zimmer pointed out mistakes by running back Matt Asiata, who stayed in bounds and fell a yard short of the first down; Bridgewater, who missed an open Jarius Wright on the first play of the drive; and a delay of game penalty when the communicator cut off near the end of the play clock.

Zimmer said the team will get better in late-game scenarios in time.

"My mentality has not changed, my mindset has not changed," Zimmer said. "As I told the team, we're going to stick with it, keep working on getting better because we've got something to build for the future."

Play him anywhere

Defensive end Brian Robison entered the locker room with two bags of ice and his right ankle wrapped tightly after rolling it at Detroit. He said the ankle felt better than anticipated after he hobbled off with assistance with 3 minutes, 43 seconds to play.

"It reacted better than I thought it would, so that's always good news," said Robison, who remains unsure if he will miss any practice time.

Before his injury, Robison kicked inside on third downs when the Vikings were in their nickel package with defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd out. He was used as a DT with Justin Trattou playing left defensive end. The Lions went 2-for-11 on third down.

"I'm going to do whatever they need me to do in order to help us win," Robison said. "If that means playing inside, heck if I need to play safety, which I doubt they'll ask me do that, but if that was the case I'd do it."

He's a good sport

Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway is one of eight finalists for the NFL's new Sportsmanship Award, recognizing players who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field.

Arizona receiver and Holy Angels product Larry Fitzgerald is another finalist. The others are Carolina's Thomas Davis, Detroit's Calvin Johnson, Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu, New England's Matthew Slater, Kansas City's Alex Smith and Denver's DeMarcus Ware.

Former NFL players Curtis Martin, Warrick Dunn, Karl Mecklenburg and Leonard Wheeler picked the eight from 32 nominees, one from each team. Current players will vote for a winner, which will be announced Jan. 31.