Down by three points heading into the the final minutes of Thursday’s game against the Cardinals, Teddy Bridgewater had a chance to lead his Vikings and get in position to tie or win the game. After successfully managing to drive down the field and get his team in field-goal range, Bridgewater and the Vikings had time to take one more shot at the endzone for the win or pick up more yardage to shorten a 48-yard field goal.
With no timeouts left, all they had to do was make sure they didn’t take a sack or get tackled short of the endzone. Pretty easy task, right?
Not quite. As Bridgewater dropped back to pass, he felt the rush coming and — instead of getting rid of the ball — he tried to step up and buy himself some more time, but veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney put forth an incredible effort and managed to knock the ball loose as Bridgewater wound up to pass. The Cardinals recovered, sealing the victory and a playoff spot.
For the Vikings, who are trying to keep pace with the Packers in the NFC North, it’s an absolutely brutal way to lose. There’s really no excuse to not come away with at least a field goal attempt in that situation.
