Vikings notes: Bridgewater bounces back from shaky start

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The first half for Teddy Bridgewater on Sunday looked a lot like his performance the previous week, when he tossed the first three interceptions of his career.

Against a tough Buffalo Bills defense that has shown a penchant for producing turnovers and getting after the quarterback, the rookie quarterback threw two interceptions before halftime. One was a fluky bounce. The other was a poor decision. And Bridgewater was reeling.

After the second interception, Bridgewater had a 0.0 passer rating. But he quickly bounced back to connect with wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson for his first career touchdown pass. He stabilized in the second half, though he wasn't asked to throw the ball that much in the last-second 17-16 loss, and finished the game with 157 yards on 15-for-26 passing.

"I think I did a great job of fighting back and the guys showed their support and they are willing to stand behind me no matter how my play is going," Bridgewater said. "I was overthinking things, but as the game went on we found some consistency."

Bridgewater's finest throw of the game, and perhaps of his young career, came at the start of the fourth quarter, when he hit wide receiver Jarius Wright with a back-shoulder throw on the sideline. The 28-yard gain on third-and-18 set up a field goal.

"That's what we see every day out of him," coach Mike Zimmer said. "We see these things. He made a great throw to Jarius."

The Vikings lost a pair of offensive linemen on the same play in the first quarter. On a running play with rookie running back Jerick McKinnon running around the right end, center John Sullivan suffered a concussion and right guard Vlad Ducasse injured his knee.

"It's tough, but I think Mike Harris and Joe Berger stepped in today and did a very good job for us and we'll just see what we have to do moving forward," right tackle Phil Loadholt said.

Zimmer was not sure whether Sullivan and Ducasse will be sidelined in Week 8.

One of a handful of bright spots on defense was the play of end Everson Griffen, who tied a career high with three sacks and forced a fumble inside the red zone.

"It feels better if you get the victory," Griffen said. "Three sacks doesn't mean anything when you lose."

Griffen has seven sacks on the season, moving him into the top five in the league. One more sack this season and he'll match his career high of eight, which came in the 2012 season.

McKinnon got his second consecutive start, and the rookie made the most of it, rushing for 103 yards on 18 carries. It was the second time he hit triple digits this season.

McKinnon, a third-round draft pick, has rushed for 309 yards on 60 carries, giving hope that he may be a long-term replacement, if needed, for exiled running back Adrian Peterson.

"It's something that's not my decision, not in my control," McKinnon said. "All I can do is when my number's called, do what I can, whether it's running the ball or pass protection."

Patterson scored the team's lone touchdown, but he finished with just two catches for 9 yards. It was his fourth game in a row with two receptions.

While Patterson feels he was open frequently enough to put up better numbers, he wasn't going to blame Bridgewater for another unproductive game in terms of catches and yards.