Teddy Bridgewater’s first start at quarterback for the Vikings has been a rousing success for three-plus quarters, but there might not be a happy ending for him.
Bridgewater has been taken to the locker room on a cart halfway through the fourth quarter of the team’s game against the Falcons. He was getting his left ankle looked at on the sideline before being ushered off the field.
That means Christian Ponder, the last Vikings first-round quarterback, is in the game as the Vikes try to protect a 35-28 lead that they got on their previous possession. Bridgewater drove the team to the one-yard line and they went for it on a fourth down plunge by Matt Asiata for the touchdowns. Bridgewater appeared to get hurt on third down when he was trying to run for a touchdown, but remained in the game to throw a two-point conversion to Rhett Ellison.
Bridgewater has been brilliant in his starting debut, hitting on 19-of-30 passes for 317 yards and running for a touchdown. The Vikings hope it, and not Ponder running the offense, is a sign of things to come in the next few weeks.
UPDATE 7:31 p.m. ET: Bridgewater has returned to the sideline and KFAN is reporting that x-rays were negative on the ankle. It’s believed to be a sprain and the Vikings have extended their lead to 38-28 after a 55-yard Blair Walsh field goal.