Vikings notes: Bridgewater's rookie stats impressive

Teddy Bridgewater didn't complete 70 percent of his passes in the Vikings' 13-9 victory over the Bears on Sunday, but he did enough to end his rookie season on a high note. He was 17 of 25 for 209 yards with a touchdown and an interception that deflected off a receiver's hands.

Bridgewater finished the season with the third highest completion percentage for a rookie in NFL history (.644), behind Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger (.664 in 2004) and Washington's Robert Griffin III (.657 in 2012).

Bridgewater, who entered the game with a rookie record five consecutive games with 70 percent efficiency, finished with 2,919 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 6-6 record after being taken with the 32nd pick out of Louisville. His 85.2 passer rating was seventh-best among rookie regulars in NFL history.

"I thought that this was going to be a year where I was just going to be able to come in and compete, but things happen," Bridgewater said. "We were faced with adversity this year, and whenever my number was called I had to always be ready."

Bridgewater was thrown under center in Week 3 after Matt Cassel suffered a broken foot that sent him to injured reserve. Bridgewater hit a rough patch in the middle of the season, but showed significant improvement over the last five games.

"This kid is really everything that you want in a quarterback, I think, personality-wise," Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said.

"I know that Teddy is going to work extremely hard in the offseason to get bigger, stronger, because he's still a little bit undersized for an NFL quarterback.

The dates will be determined in the spring, but the Vikings officially know who they will play next season.

Their final two opponents were determined Sunday, based on third-place finishes. The Vikings, third in the NFC North, will play host to the third-place teams in the NFC East (New York Giants) and play at the third-place team in the NFC South (Atlanta).

With Sunday's victory, the Vikings and the University of Minnesota avoided a situation where the Washington Redskins (fourth in the NFC East) would have returned to TCF Bank Stadium. The Week 9 matchup this year made the university home to the largest protest against the Redskins nickname before an NFL game, including Washington's home game on Sunday.

The Vikings, next season, also play teams in the NFC West and AFC West, along with home-and-home against their division rivals Green Bay, Chicago and Detroit.

The Vikings will travel to Arizona, San Francisco, Denver and Oakland and play host to St. Louis, Seattle, Kansas City and San Diego.

The Vikings did not beat a team with a winning record all season. Their seven victories came against teams with a combined record of 34-77-1.

The Vikings finished with the eighth overall pick last year. They traded a spot down and drafted rookie linebacker Anthony Barr with the ninth choice.

Tampa Bay will have the top overall pick, followed by Tennessee. Chicago will pick seventh after Sunday's loss.

Matt Asiata had 91 yards on 19 carries Sunday and led the Vikings with 570 rushing yards this season.

That's the same number of yards Hugh McElhenny had when he led the Vikings in rushing in their first season, 1961. Since then, the only lower rushing totals for a Vikings leaders have been from Ted Brown (515 in 1982), Darrin Nelson (380 in 1988), Scottie Graham (488 in 1993) and Onterrio Smith (544 in 2004).

Asiata believes he can be a key part of the Vikings offense, even if Peterson returns next season.

"I hope so," Asiata said. "I go out there trying to score touchdowns and try to win for our team by executing. I try my best every game."

Cordarrelle Patterson filled in for Jarius Wright, who dealt with a lower back injury, and had a Bridgewater pass deflect off his hands and into Bears rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller's lap for a third-quarter interception.

Zimmer took Patterson out for the remainder of the game in favor of Adam Thielen.

Patterson didn't record a catch and completed the year with 33 receptions for 384 yards and a touchdown.