Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford has made a great impact on his teammates, and not just because of his ability to throw a football. On Monday, tight end Kyle Rudolph became the most recent Vikings to praise Bradford’s ability to take a hit.
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned about Sam is just how tough he is,” Rudolph said on PFT Live. “The way that he stood in there not only yesterday but also last week taking hit after hit after hit and still making throws downfield. A couple throws come to mind against Green Bay last week to [Stephon] Diggs and you don’t really see it until you go back and watch the tape. He’s got a lot of guts and a lot of grit and he stands in there and throws the ball downfield knowing he’s gonna take a hit.”
The passing game has become more important given the knee injury suffered by running back Adrian Peterson.
“Anytime you lose a player of that magnitude it has an effect,” Rudolph said of Peterson. “We kind of went through it with Teddy [Bridgewater] a little under a month ago and you can never replace a player of that caliber. They’re just irreplaceable but it was kind of the message when Teddy went down and it’s been the message unfortunately throughout the early part of our season. Each guy on the team has to do one more thing better and get a little better each day and try to make up that ground that we’re missing when you lose a great player.”
Even without a couple of great players, the Vikings could be on the verge of becoming great.
“For us it’s about getting better each and every week,” Rudolph said. “Obviously, we think we have a ton of talent. We wouldn’t have traded a first-round pick for a quarterback at the beginning of the season if our organization didn’t believe that we can win now and believe in the talent that we have in that locker room but for us it’s about sticking to what we do. Playing complimentary football, playing smart football and winning the game in the fourth quarter.”
They’ve done it for three straight Sundays, getting better as the game unfolds. The next chance comes Monday night, against the Giants.