In which we pick the one player (or coach, or equipment manager, or mascot, or drunk fan) who made the biggest impact on NFL Sunday — the one who gets people talking the most, in a good way. Week 1’s winner was Oakland’s Derek Carr.
When Teddy Bridgewater’s knee basically exploded during the Minnesota Vikings’ preseason, a potential NFC contender’s season went up in smoke. With the kind of defense Minnesota has and talent all over the field on offense, all they seem to need is a quarterback. That’s why when Teddy went down, the Vikings paid such a hefty price for Sam Bradford.
Giving up first- and fourth-round draft picks for a QB who hasn’t put together a full season of competence was roundly mocked around the league, but in Bradford’s first game in purple (opening up the glimmering US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis), he provided a bright ray of hope that maybe the price was worth it. He was excellent against a good Packers defense, with accuracy to multiple levels of the field. He even connected on a deep shot to Stefon Diggs, an area of his game that was notoriously bad in St. Louis and Philadelphia. Look at this gorgeous throw:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3t5YDJ4C6w
In total, Bradford threw for 286 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while his non-throwing hand turned into an eggplant. Hi performance helped the Vikings earn a 17-14 win and improve to 2-0 to start the season. Impressive stuff for the guy who looked like a lame duck in Philly just weeks ago.
Diggs himself had a fantastic game, with nine catches for 182 yards on 10 targets, and his athleticism jumped off the page — he’s a burgeoning star. Bridgewater, for all of his positive attributes, has a suspect deep ball, and if Bradford can all of a sudden develop one at this point in his career, that over-the-top connection can be fruitful all year. It might be needed, too — Adrian Peterson went down with a scary-looking knee injury, and his timetable to return is unknown.
Bradford has had all of two weeks to absorb the Vikings’ playbook, and he looked as comfortable as he ever has on Sunday night. Whether it was beginners luck or the start of the former top overall pick’s redemption, it’s too early to tell. But with another few performances like he just had, Bradford can restart the Vikings’ playoff aspirations.
Other Week 2 Winners
Cam Newton: The defending MVP hung 46 points on the San Francisco defense that shut out St. Louis just a week before (with the Rams again failing to score a touchdown this week, that may not have been much of a feat). Cam passed for four touchdowns and over 350 yards, and though they couldn’t close the deal against the Broncos in Week 1, the Panthers look every bit as dangerous this year as last — perhaps even more so offensively, where the return of wideout Kelvin Benjamin has made Carolina look incredibly lethal vertically.
The New York Giants defense: Holding Drew Brees to just one passing touchdown is no mean feat, and this is the second game in a row in which the Giants’ run defense has seemed downright stout. They absolutely broke the bank to bring in big (but not exactly established) names on defense, and new players Janoris Jenkins, Damon Harrison and Olivier Vernon have all looked good. Jenkins even had the Giants’ only touchdown of the day on a blocked field goal runback, and he graded as Pro Football Focus’ best player of the game. With Odell Beckham and Rookie of the Year contender Sterling Shepard on offense, the Giants look like they could be dangerous.
Melvin Gordon: The former Wisconsin Badger was picked two selections after Todd Gurley in the 2015 NFL Draft, and the two had polar opposite seasons. Gurley burst onto the scene, and Gordon truly fell flat behind a shaky offensive line. This year, the shoe is now on the other foot: Gurley can’t find any lanes in the Rams’ repugnant offense, and Gordon has the first three touchdowns of his career in the season’s first two games. Melvin carried the ball 24 times for 102 yards and a score in the Chargers’ beatdown of the Jacksonville Jaguars, showing off the strength and burst he had in college. Philip Rivers has worked with spare parts for years now, but with a workhorse back like Gordon, maybe San Diego can hope to outscore the buckets of points their porous defense gives up.
