Bridgewater completed 17 of 20 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns in Sunday's win over Chicago. He added 17 yards on the ground along with a touchdown and a fumble.
Bridgewater's performance came out of nowhere as he had thrown for just four touchdowns in his last seven games combined. The game marked just the second time this season that Bridgewater threw for multiple touchdowns in a game. Bridgewater has failed to put up big numbers this season in large part due to Minnesota's reliance on the run, putting the second-year passer in position to simply try and limit mistakes. That won't cut it anymore, however, as Minnesota makes a play-off push. Peterson has been held under 70 yards in four of the Vikings' last five games, meaning that Bridgewater may have to throw down field in order for the team to be successful. That may be a sound idea with a matchup against the league-worst Giants pass defense next weekend.