Minnesota Vikings: 5 keys against San Francisco 49ers

Sep 7, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) warms up before the game between the St. Louis Rams and the Minnesota Vikings at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

2) Teddy Bridgewater must remain near perfect

Teddy Bridgewater’s dominance in the preseason was almost unparalleled by other quarterbacks.

An extremely efficient, accurate quarterback, it is widely expected that Bridgewater will breakout in 2015. As noted by Gordon McGuiness at Pro Football Focus:

"Most observers are aware that the Vikings’ young signal-caller really improved at the end of last season, but just how much he improved really stands out. Over the final five weeks of the season, no quarterback had a higher overall grade than Bridgewater (+11.0), not even the league’s MVP Aaron Rodgers (+10.2). Heading into his second season, expectations are high that he can continue to improve, and if he can perform like he did to end his rookie season, he’ll have the Vikings contending for a playoff spot come December."

That improvement was on display all last season and well into the preseason. I’m calling it now and declaring that Bridgewater’s stellar play will continue against the 49ers.

Completing over 80% of his passes in the preseason is well and good, but the sample size (35 attempts) is small. Fortunately, the Vikings won’t need Bridgewater to toss the ball 30 times in a game because the running game can be so dominant.

If the running game falters against the strong San Francisco 49ers defense, Bridgewater will be relied upon to keep the Vikings in the game. He’s been near perfect so far and he can remain so. Expect him to keep the Vikes in the game if the worst-case scenario of a struggling running game does occur.

Next: Can Colin Kaepernick be stopped?