Football broadcasters and analysts love hyperbole more than anything else in the entire world. And we heard plenty of it in Week One, whether it’s the best catch you’ve ever seen to the best running back I’ve ever seen to the best throw you’ll ever see (Jon Gruden actually said that last night, and it wasn’t even close to being the best throw of the game).
But when it comes to instant-analysis claims that Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford played the best game of his career, it wasn’t an exaggeration. That’s not to say Bradford hasn’t had other great games. On Monday night, however, he completed 84.4 percent of his passes and averaged 10.8 yards per pass, a lethal combination of accuracy and efficiency that puts an offense on rails and keeps it there.
Along the way, Bradford lofted a seeing-eye rainbow to Jarius Wright on a crossing route, who wasn’t open and never broke open. Instead, Bradford managed to drop a pig through the eye of a moving needle.
Bradford has never played, or looked, better. While it helps to have time to find an open receiver, it also helps to have the benefit of the time that comes from being with the team throughout the offseason program, training camp, and the preseason.
Last year, his arrival on Labor Day weekend was akin to changing a tire on a moving car. This year, the wheels are rolling well out of the garage. There’s a long way to go, but so far the Vikings are going in the right direction, with Bradford firmly in control of the offense -- and having the ability to properly run it.