EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- It stood to reason that Teddy Bridgewater would be affected less by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' pass rush than he was by Detroit and Buffalo's formidable fronts in the previous two games. But even if the defense Bridgewater faced on Sunday represented a step down in class, the quarterback still handled pressure about as well as he has during his rookie season.

Bridgewater was blitzed on 14 dropbacks, according to ESPN Stats and Information, which matched a season high. The Buccaneers' lone sack came on a blitz, but Bridgewater completed 8 of 13 passes against blitzes, throwing for 82 yards and hitting a 17-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings when Tampa Bay brought extra pressure.

For all the flak they've taken in recent weeks, the Vikings' offensive line is due some credit; they allowed Bridgewater to be pressured on just 10 dropbacks, despite how often Tampa Bay committed extra help to rushing the rookie. When Bridgewater was pressured, he hit 4 of 8 for 32 yards, including the touchdown pass.

The Vikings' protection also gave Bridgewater time to take some downfield shots when Tampa Bay blitzed him. He threw five passes that traveled at least 10 yards against the blitz, hitting the touchdown pass, a 15-yard throw to Cordarrelle Patterson and a 19-yard pass to Chase Ford that set up the Vikings' final field goal.

There's not much mystery here. Bridgewater generally makes good decisions against pressure when he's given enough time to survey his options, and if the Vikings can protect him sufficiently, he'll find some chances to connect with receivers down field. The fact Bridgewater got some time to throw on Sunday gave the Vikings' passing game some juice, even if it was against a more forgiving defense than they've seen in recent weeks. They'll face a heavy blitzing team this week in the Washington Redskins, but if they can handle extra pressure as well as they did on Sunday, Bridgewater should have opportunities to work against a suspect secondary.