Bridgewater Continues Fiery Start for Vikings

The stats from Teddy Bridgewater’s first three possessions of the preseason: 12-of-14 passing for 130 yards, a completion percentage of 85.7 and passer rating of 105.4.

Bridgewater played two series Saturday, went 7-of-8 passing for 86 yards and led possessions that resulted in a 46-yard field goal by Blair Walsh and a 1-yard plunge by Zach Line that was set up by a 24-yard completion to Jarius Wright in the Vikings 26-16 win against the Buccaneers.

Bridgewater left the game with a 9-0 lead in the first quarter, and Shaun Hill padded the stat sheet, following with a pair of touchdown drives in his first action of the 2015 preseason on Saturday at the University of Minnesota.

Hill went 8-for-9 (88.9 percent) for 104 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 154.4 that flirted with the NFL max of 158.3.   

Hill connected withCordarrelle Patterson for a 21-yard touchdown after a Tampa Bay turnover and with Adam Thielen on a 15-yard score after a short punt gave the Vikings the ball at the Tampa Bay 34.

Antone Exum picked off the first overall pick of 2015, Jameis Winston, and returned the ball 34 yards to the Tampa Bay 23 to set up the TD from Hill to Patterson. It was the second straight week for Exum to return a turnover more than 30 yards (32 yard return of fumble recovery against the Steelers in the Hall of Fame Game).

Thielen led the way with two catches for 54 yards, Wright finished with two catches for 50 yards, Patterson had two for 29, and Kyle Rudolph had two for 24, including a gain of 18 on the first play from scrimmage. It was the second time in as many games the Vikings opened with a pass to Rudy.

Notes: Phil Loadholt suffered what was initially believed to be an Achilles injury on the second play of the game and replaced by 2015 fourth-round pick T.J. Clemmings. … Tackle Carter Bykowski, an Eden Prairie native suffered a shoulder injury. … Everson Griffen and Gerald Hodges each recorded sacks of Winston. … Fans observed a moment of silence before the National Anthem in honor of Bill Zimmer, father of Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer and grandfather of linebackers coach Adam Zimmer. Bill Zimmer passed away Tuesday night, and his funeral is scheduled for Monday in Florida. Mike Zimmer improved to 6-0 in the preseason as Vikings coach.

Dolphins fall to Bears in preseason opener

 Ryan Tannehill picked apart a rebuilt defense, throwing for a touchdown on the game's opening drive, and theMiami Dolphins led into the second half before the Chicago Bears rallied for a 27-10 victory in the preseason opener Thursday night.

The Bears used two interceptions by reserves to set up a touchdown and field goal that gave them a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

The rally aside, it was not a promising performance by a team coming off a five-win season. The Bears hired general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox while overhauling the defense, but there clearly is work to do.

Miami, 8-8 last season, looked good until Chicago's reserves made their move.

Tannehill, armed with a $96 million contract extension, played like a big-money quarterback, going 6 of 7 for 56 yards.

Packers down Patriots to open preseason

Tom Brady completed one of four passes before giving way to Jimmy Garoppolo, and the New England Patriots fell 22-11 to the Green Bay Packers in both teams’ exhibition opener on Thursday night.

Aaron Rodgers completed 11 of 19 passes for 117 yards for Green Bay. Backup Scott Tolzien was 10 for 16 for 107 yards and a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Janis. Alonzo Harris ran for a 25-yard touchdown for the 2014 NFC North winners

A day after appearing before a federal judge hearing the appeal of his “Deflategate” suspension, Brady played just two series — a three-and-out and a four-and-out.

Garoppolo, who would fill in for Brady if any part of the Super Bowl MVP’s four-game suspension is upheld, played three quarters plus one play. He went 20 for 30 for 159 yards, no touchdowns and one interception, and was sacked seven times.

Brady led the Super Bowl champions onto the field to a loud cheer from the fans that have refused to believe he was involved in a scheme to illegally deflate the footballs used in the AFC championship game. He was suspended four games by the NFL and the team was docked $1 million and two draft picks, but Brady’s suspension is now in the courts.

Patriots fans have never wavered in their support of the three-time Super Bowl MVP, holding “Free Tom Brady” rallies and calling on the team not to raise the championship banner before the Sept. 10 season opener if Brady isn’t there.

Just in case, the Patriots need to get Garoppolo ready.

The second-year second-stringer handed off to Jonas Gray on a 55-yard touchdown run, then pitched it to Gray for the 2-point conversion. In the second half, he was intercepted by LaDarius Gunter, who returned it 28 yards to the Packers 29.

Two plays later, Harris ran it 25 yards for his touchdown.

Rookie Brett Hundley completed a 10-yard pass to John Crockett midway through the fourth quarter to give the Packers a 22-11 lead.

Brady made his first entrance on the field at 6:43 p.m., about an hour before kickoff, drawing a cheer from the few thousand or so fans already in the building. After retreating to the locker room, he led the team onto the field through the tunnel to a huge ovation.

The Patriots started on defense, then took over at their 2 yard-line. Brady’s first pass was badly overthrown, and his second went through Josh Boyce’s hands.

RECAP: Lions vs. Jets

What happened: It was a short but productive stint for most of the Lions’ offensive and defensive starters in Thursday night’s 23-3 preseason win over the New York Jets

All-Pro receiver Calvin Johnson took the night off, and quarterback Matthew Stafford played just one series, but it was a productive series, as the starting offense needed just five plays and 71 yards to get into the end zone on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate.

Tate caught both passes thrown his way on his first and only series, one for 22 yards and the second for the touchdown.

Stafford finished the night 2-for-2 for 57 yards with a touchdown.

“You know, the precision was good,” head coach Jim Caldwell told Fox 2 at halftime of the first drive. “I think the rhythm was good, we didn’t have a whole lot of miscues, and it was pretty smooth.”

Rookie running back Ameer Abdullah, who the Lions drafted in the second round this year, had a terrific debut. He rushed seven times for 67 yards (9.6 average), including a 45-yard burst up the middle in the first quarter.

RB Ameer Abdullah (Photo: Detroit Lions)

Most of the starters on defense played just one series. The Jets were able to convert one third down and one fourth down against them, but the defense finally shut the door and forced a 34-yard Nick Folk field goal.

That ended up being the only scoring of the night for the Jets.

Kellen Moore took over at quarterback for the Lions after the first series and played the rest of the first half. He finished completing 9-of-17 passes for 67 yards and an interception.

The interception was a poor decision by Moore as he tossed the ball up for grabs on a third down play in the end zone just before the half ended. It came after Moore help orchestrate a 16-play, 80-yard drive down to the Jets 10-yard line.

The second half started with a Jets fumble on their second play. The Lions made them pay one play later with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky toGreg Salas that gave the Lions a 17-3 lead.

Orlovsky finished the game 5-of-11 passing for 96 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.

Rookie kicker Kyle Brindza added field goals of 49 and 41 yards for the Lions in the second half.

What didn’t happen: The Jets offense could never find its footing.

It’s the preseason, granted, and starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick played just one series, but there’s a lot of bad film the Jets offensive coaches have to go over in the meeting rooms Friday morning.

The Jets amassed just 123 total yards to the Lions’ 428.

Give the Lions defense credit. They made things pretty tough for Jets backup quarterback Bryce Petty, who finished 10-of-18 passing for just 50 yards.

Critical moment: It only took a seven-second span in the third quarter for the game to swing significantly in the Lions’ favor.

It took backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky just one play to make the Jets pay for the mistake. He hit receiver Greg Salas on a terrific back-shoulder throw from 20 yards out to give the Lions a 17-3 lead.

Key stat: The Jets offense had a tough go of it all night.

Not only did they fail to get into the end zone, but they also converted just three of their 12 third down attempts.

The Lions, on the other hand, were 9-for-16 on the money down.

Play of the game: There’s been a lot of talk in Allen Park about Abdullah bringing the big-play back into the Lions’ run game.

The team finished 28th in rushing last year, averaged just 3.6 yards per carry and had only six rushes of 20-plus yards.

On just his third carry, Abdullah went outside the right tackle, made one cut, and sprinted off 45-yards to the Jets 37-yard line.

Abdullah got terrific blocks from tight end Brandon Pettigrew and receiver Lance Moore to help spring him.

The play helped lead to a 28-yard Matt Prater field goal to give the Lions a 10-3 lead.

Player of the game: Greg Salas last played a regular-season game as a member of the New York Jets in 2014.

He played 10 games with New York last season and had eight catches for 167 yards and no touchdowns.

Salas wasn’t re-signed by the Jets this offseason, instead signing a one-year deal with the Lions.

Thursday was just a preseason game, but it had to feel good for Salas to catch five passes for 92 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown against his former team.

Vikings top Steelers 14-3 in Hall of Fame game

Teddy Bridgewater didn't want to talk about the completions. Last the Minnesota quarterback checked, getting the ball where it needs to go is the main part of his job.

It's that one miss, however, that will stick with the reigning Rookie of the Year.

Bridgewater's only series in a 14-3 victory over Pittsburgh in the Hall of Fame game Sunday ended up with the Vikings getting stuffed on fourth down after Bridgewater failed to complete a simple flip to Mike Wallace on third down that would have given Minnesota first-and-goal.

"It's one of those deals where it's good to stay within the system," Bridgewater said. "If I hit Mike, we avoid fourth down."

Maybe Bridgewater is being picky after going 5 of 6 for 44 yards during his cameo, but with an extra preseason game this summer, the Vikings and their emerging leader have plenty of time to work on it.

Backup quarterback Mike Kafka threw a touchdown pass and running back Joe Banyard ran for another score long after Bridgewater exited as the Vikings improved to 5-0 in exhibitions under second-year coach Mike Zimmer.

"Wish I was 5-0 in the regular season," he said, laughing.

Both teams have a month before things start to count for real, giving the annual exhibition opener an even more pedestrian feel.

Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis waved a "Terrible Towel" during pregame introductions, with the decidedly pro-Pittsburgh crowd roaring its approval, the only moment of true star power on a night the bold-faced names still in uniform didn't break a sweat if they even bothered to suit up at all.

Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson's return from a lengthy suspension will have to wait at least one more week, if not decidedly longer. He hung out on the sideline while the backups did the heavy lifting.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger stuck to attire more appropriate for the gym. All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell and All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown put together a full dress rehearsal, even going through warm-ups then spent four quarters as spectators, the only exercise the notoriously hard-working Brown enjoyed coming while he absentmindedly worked the exercise bike.

Bridgewater deftly guided the Vikings on a 10-play, 51-yard drive in the first quarter, hitting tight end Kyle Rudolph for a pair of 11-yard gains. Rather than attempt a short field goal on fourth-and-1 from the 10, Zimmer opted to go for it only to see Jerick McKinnon stopped for no gain by nose tackle Steve McLendon, one of the handful of Pittsburgh regulars to actually take the field.

With Roethlisberger given the night off and usual backup Bruce Gradkowski dealing with a sore arm, the Steelers gave third-stringer Jones an extensive look. The leading passer in Oklahoma history is trying to convince the team to keep three quarterbacks on the roster. While coach Mike Tomlin said early in camp Jones was on the "incline" he was going to reserve judgment until after seeing Jones face guys in different-color jerseys.

The early returns weren't exactly promising after the Steelers failed to produce a touchdown or generate much momentum with Jones under center.

Jones completed 15 of 32 passes for 128 yards and an interception while taking nearly every Pittsburgh snap.

"Some good things, some bad things," Jones said. "It will be interesting to see what it's like to go watch the film and learn from it. I missed a couple of passes. A lot of these guys have never played in the NFL before, either, so I'm sure they were nervous like me."

Jones led the Steelers on their only scoring drive of the half, finding Shakim Phillips for a 35-yard strike that set up a 36-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham, who later left with what Tomlin called a "potentially significant" injury.

"I just wanted to see a winning performance," Tomlin said. "We come into these situations to win. August or no, that's what we're looking for - not only in (Jones) but all of us collectively. He's got room for improvement. Obviously, some of the game-management things, delays of game, we can't have."

Minnesota didn't have nearly as much trouble finding the end zone after the early near miss. Kafka took advantage of a blown coverage to connect with MyCole Pruitt for an easy 34-yard TD strike 4:20 left in the first half.

The Vikings extended the lead midway through the third quarter following a 62-yard punt return by rookie Stefon Diggs. He was tripped up just short of the goal line. No matter, one play later, Banyard strolled into the end zone to make it 14-3.

NOTES: Vikings first-round pick, CB Trae Waynes, had three tackles and was called for a holding penalty that was declined. ... Pittsburgh's top pick, LB Bud Dupree, had two tackles. ... Pittsburgh visits Jacksonville on Friday. Minnesota hosts Tampa Bay on Saturday.