Mike Zimmer on Teddy Bridgewater: 'He needs to play better'
While the Minnesota Vikings did end up winning an NFC North division title with a 20-13 victory over the Green Bay Packers Sunday night, head coach Mike Zimmer acknowledged that Teddy Bridgewater will have to play much better this weekend against the Seattle Seahawks if the team hopes to advance in the playoffs.
Characterizing the second-year quarterback’s play in Sunday’s win as “spotty,” Zimmer said he expects more out of Bridgewater.
“He just wasn’t as sharp (Sunday) night as he was these last three weeks,” Zimmer said, via the Star Tribune. “I thought he moved in the pocket too much, he didn’t take some of the easy throws he had, he was maybe trying to do a little too much.
“But he needs to play better.”
Bridgewater threw for only 99 yards on a 10-of-19 passing night in the team’s win over the Packers. He also missed on a deep throw to a wide open Jerick McKinnon streaking down the sideline on Minnesota’s first drive of the game that would have went for a touchdown.
Perhaps most bizarre of all was the perplexing interception Bridgewater threw to Packers safety Micah Hyde on a desperation left-handed pass during the third quarter.
Bridgewater called the play “one of the dumbest things in my career playing football.” He also added that he “could have done a ton of things better.”
Zimmer, meanwhile, wouldn’t reveal what he said to Bridgewater about that ill-fated interception.
“The left-handed throw was … well, you don’t even want to know what I told him on that one,” he said.
Bridgewater’s rough game came on the heels of several solid performances, highlighted by a three-game stretch where he completed 68 percent of his passes for 734 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions. He notched a rushing touchdown as well.
If the Vikings hope to avenge their 38-7 blowout loss to the Seahawks earlier this season in Sunday's rematch, the team will need a far better performance out of Bridgewater than he put on in the win over the Packers. No desperation left-handed passes would help, too, that’s for sure.
More from Sportress of Blogitude:
