Minnesota rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater outgunned Atlanta's Matt Ryan on Sunday to lead the Vikings to a 41-28 victory before limping out of his first NFL start with an ankle injury.
The first-round draft pick Bridgewater was pressed into service sooner than expected after Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel broke a foot in a defeat at New Orleans last week.
The rookie took the helm of a team troubled not only by the loss of its seasoned signal-caller but also by the controversy over the child abuse charge facing star running back Adrian Peterson.
Bridgewater coped admirably, passing for 317 yards and running for one touchdown before he was hurt late in the fourth quarter on a drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown plunge by the Vikings Matt Asiata.
Asiata scored three times and Jerick McKinnon rushed for 135 yards as Minnesota won for the first time in three games.
"He put the ball in the right places, made good decisions," coach Mike Zimmer said of Bridgewater. "I think we did a great job calling plays today and Teddy obviously did a fantastic job.
"We were down a few guys offensively, too, and for those guys to come out and perform like that, it's impressive."
Jacksonville's Blake Bortles, another rookie quarterback whose expected internship as a backup ended with a sudden move into the starter's role, was unable to counter the display of San Diego's Philip Rivers, who threw for three touchdowns and 377 yards in a 33-14 Chargers victory over the Jaguars.
Rivers completed 29 of his 39 passes, Eddie Royal catching two for touchdowns.
Ryan Tannehill, whose status as Miami's quarterback had been rumored to be in jeopardy, staked his claim to the starting job as he guided the Dolphins to a 38-14 victory over winless Oakland at London's Wembley Stadium.
In other games, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for 302 yards with four touchdowns in the Packers' 38-17 rout of Chicago. Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes to lead Indianapolis to a 41-17 victory over Tennessee.
Tony Romo connected on three touchdown passes to guide Dallas to a 38-17 victory over New Orleans, and Matthew Stafford had two touchdown passes and ran for another score as Detroit downed the New York Jets 24-17.
The San Francisco 49ers rallied to beat Philadelphia 26-21, handing the Eagles their first defeat of the season.
Tampa Bay rallied late to stun the Steelers 27-24 in Pittsburg. Houston beat Buffalo 23-17, with JJ Watt contributing an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown.
In Baltimore, Steve Smith caught two touchdown passes to help the Ravens crush his former team Carolina 38-10.
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