Bridgewater, Vikings beat Chargers 23-10 in stadium opener

Chargers: Besides Oliver, RT Joe Barksdale also came out of the game in the first half, limping off with a left ankle injury.

“Ultimately, (Zimmer) wasn’t going to force me to go out there and play”, Peterson said.

The $12 million running back hasn’t played in a preseason game in three years. “I mean, if you go over to Green Bay, they let people tailgate just about anywhere as long as they follow the rules”.

The Vikings were once a candidate to move, but they’re not going anywhere now with light-filled, ship-shaped U.S. Bank Stadium now towering over the east edge of downtown Minneapolis where the Metrodome once stood.

The Vikings will play host to their first-ever game in U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, facing the San Diego Chargers in the exhibition that traditionally serves as the dress rehearsal for the regular season.

After sitting out last week, Bridgewater found Kyle Rudolph for a 27-yard score to cap a crisp 2-minute drill and led the Vikings to points on three of five possessions.

The Vikings hope to harness this same energy from last season on Sunday – for good reason too.

Bridgewater completed 12 of 16 pass attempts, and threw for 161 yards and a touchdown. “It’s just got to get broken in a little bit”.

Zimmer said Friday was the only time the team will practice at U.S. Bank Stadium. “I can’t wait to get out there (for the September 11 regular-season opener against Green Bay) and really open this place for real”.

The play setup Blair Walsh for his second field goal of the day.

“It was awesome. Everything was so real”, Vikings fan Maddux Shockman said.

Even the black-clad, low-life scribes who briefly interrupted this fairy tale with their impertinence last week behaved themselves, asking players about fishing and personal journeys, and head coach Mike Zimmer about anything other than Bridgewater and his would-be backups. Of course, he also saw things needing to be corrected.

The Vikings had trouble scoring touchdowns in the red zone, lost two fumbles and Bridgewater was sacked three times in the first half, although Zimmer attributed some of that to left tackle Matt Kalil being out. The Chargers went up 7-6 when running back Melvin Gordon went up the middle for 39 yards and a touchdown with 9:04 left in the half.

Today we’ll actually get to see Philip Rivers, so that should make this game against the Minnesota Vikings worth watching on its own.