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| Sam Bradford passing under pressure on Sunday in Philadelphia. |
Obviously, Sam Bradford did NOT look good on Sunday against a solid Eagles defense. He completed 58.5% of his pass attempts for 224 yards and one interception. Bradford did manage to throw a TD pass to Cordarrelle Patterson after the game had already been decided. Its worth noting that Bradford's arm was hit on the one interception he threw into the endzone in the first quarter.
During and after the game, Social Media was buzzing with talk of Bradford being overrated and reverting back to his "Bust" status (you know who you are). Is it time to panic Vikings fans? How much of Bradford's poor play was his fault versus other factors? Well, that's hard to quantify.
Obviously, the offensive line has been a liability this year: Matt Kalil, Andre Smith, Phil Loadholt, and Mike Harris have ALL been lost for the season. The Vikings signed Jake Long off the street last week and were forced to play him even though he hadn't worn football pads in over a year.
Typically a quarterback's best friend, the Vikings running game has been non-existent this year. The Vikings are 31st out of 32 teams in rushing yards per game and dead LAST in the NFL with 2.6 yards per carry.
How tough is that Eagles defense? The Eagles are currently ranked #2 in the NFL in yards allowed and #3 in the NFL in points allowed. The Eagles have an elite pass rush; they are currently tied for #3 in the NFL with 20 sacks. Will they be a top 5 defensive unit at the end of the season? Maybe not, but those rankings show you that they are for real. This Eagles D was the best defense that Bradford has faced this year.
Against the Eagles, Bradford's Quarterback Rating was 71.6 on the day; by far his worst game as a Viking. To put it in perspective, Bradford's previous worst outing was at Carolina on September 25th, when he finished with a 93 QB Rating. Even including the clunker on Sunday, Bradford's QB Rating is 100.3 on the year. Hot rookie of the year candidate, Carson Wentz, owns a 92.7 QB rating this season. How does that compare to an elite quarterback who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Last season, Aaron Rodger's Quarterback Rating was 92.7 and this year its 91.7; and that's WITH Jordy Nelson back....
The bottom line is that on Sunday, Bradford played against a very tough defense on the road with a terrible running game and one of the worst offensive lines in football. Bradford was pressured and knocked down on almost every passing play, and yet with all that adversity, his numbers weren't horrible. If the Vikings can somehow keep Bradford healthy all year (a big IF from this offensive line and Bradford's injury history), he should continue to put up solid passing numbers to help this team get to the playoffs and make a deep run.
Skol Vikings!
