Teddy Bridgewater's voice was a little deeper and nasally than normal after Sunday's game.
The rookie quarterback has been battling an illness over the past couple of days, and being in the cold probably didn't help matters.
But between the white lines, he looked to be just fine. And for maybe the first time in his rookie season, so did Bridgewater's deep ball. Bridgewater's 35-yard completion to wide receiver Jarius Wright in the third quarter didn't directly result in points.
But the accurate throw flipped field position for the Vikings, who would later make it a three-score game with a field goal before cruising to a 31-13 victory over the Panthers.
"I think his confidence really showed on that third-and-[3] play," head coach Mike Zimmer said. "It's third-and-[3] and he's throwing the ball 40 yards down the field and puts the ball on the money."
The completion came after he just missed wide receiver Charles Johnson down the right sideline earlier in the drive, a play that Zimmer felt could have been completed if Johnson made a play on it.
"Each week we practice on deep balls and we just continue to make progress and make strides in completing them," Bridgewater said. "You're going to have some opportunities. You're not going to hit them all. But when the opportunities present themselves, you have to take advantage of them."
The 35-yard completion to Wright was the highlight of an efficient afternoon for Bridgewater, who completed 15 of his 21 attempts for 138 yards with two first-half touchdown passes and no interceptions.
