I’ve never liked the term, “moral victory.” It’s never been part of my lexicon when competing in athletics at any level. My teams either won or lost and that was it.
Last Thursday night felt different for me. I’ve been a diehard Vikings fan since the ‘75 season which ended in the Hail Mary pass to Drew Pearson. I hated the Cowboys then and still do. And throughout the years of being a diehard Vikings fan, I have never considered any loss to be a moral victory for them.
Until now. In so many ways, Thursday night’s loss was a victory, a “W,” and one that all Vikings fans may remember for a long time as this group of young players proceeds to mature and grab hold of their destiny more than ever before.
For the first time this season, the Vikings brass decided to give all the keys to the car, the house, the lake cabin, and even the boat, if you will, to Teddy Bridgewater. Finally. The overly experienced Zimmer and Turner decided to not let fear guide their decision. Rather, they let hope enter into the equation. The hope that if we give the “kid” enough rope, he will fly through the jungle using the branches in front of him.
With full knowledge that the team is now his, Teddy more than took advantage of the opportunity. Not only did he throw for more yards than ever in his career, he sustained drives with his legs and short tosses to running backs and finding receivers open downfield and throwing darts on crossing routes. It was his greatest performance yet, not simply from a statistical standpoint – but more importantly from being a competent and confident general on the field, not a game manager. It was indeed his finest moment.
Never mind the last play. A lot of banter about Teddy’s failing at the most important juncture of the game. Not for me. That one was on the coach who should have kicked the field goal. Nothing was to gain from another pass with less than 15 seconds left in the game and no timeouts. Everyone watching knew the Cardinals would cover the sidelines with everything they had.
This game superseded all expectations that I have ever had for Bridgewater in his less than two years as the Vikings quarterback. Does this game make a career? No. But, until this week, Teddy was never really given all of the keys.
And the thing I like most about his taking advantage of the opportunity is that he let all of the nay-saying (yours truly included in a big way), the negative social media onslaught and the possible lack of trust among his peers and supervisors go out the window – literally leaving all of it in the Arizona dust. He came out not like a gun-slinger in the mode of Favre or Jeff George, but rather as a confident general who knew his troops and wasn’t afraid in the least to call their number.
That’s why this loss was a win – because Teddy won, in a big way. And if the Vikings are going to go anywhere the rest of the season and hopefully make some noise in the playoffs, they need more than AP or its offensive line or its entire defensive unit or Blair Walsh to win – they need Teddy to win, for his confidence and his ego and for the trust they will have in him.
So, as all of the pundits continue their onslaught in what Teddy isn’t – hands are too small, arm is too weak, holds the ball too long, overthrows the deep ones, can’t throw when under center, etc., etc. – take a step back, look at the posture of young Teddy in this game, see how competitive and confident he was and how he put the Vikings in a position to win or at least tie, on the road, in front of a national audience and with playoff implications, and appreciate the beauty of seeing a young quarterback mature before the fans’ eyes.
And that’s also the beauty of December football and perhaps, as well, the spirit of the season.
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