MINNEAPOLIS — Teddy Bridgewater led a touchdown before a lightning delay, and Shaun Hill led one after the extended break, with Chase Ford hanging on for the score despite a thunderous hit.
An interception return of 21 yards by Brian Peters set up the Vikings final touchdown, a 1-yard plunge by Blake Renaud, and the Vikings defeated the Raiders 20-12 on a rainy, windy Saturday night at the University of Minnesota.
View in-game images of Saturday's preseason game against the Raiders.
The only three times the Vikings have trailed this preseason (6-0 and 9-6 against Oakland and 3-0 against Pittsburgh), they've answered with touchdown drives.
The first response on Saturday benefitted from a kicking the ball out of bounds penalty on Sebastian Janikowski and included a scramble by Bridgewater to convert third-and-3. Bridgewater executed a nice rollout pass to Rhett Ellison for a gain of 13, then used his legs and arm to avoid trouble and throw back across the field to McKinnon. The safety valve on the play had plenty of room and zipped down the field for a 21-yard gain to end the first quarter.
Bridgewater delivered his best throw of the night on his next attempt and final one of the night, perfectly placing the ball ahead of Charles Johnson on a timing route that required a quick decision and trust. Johnson reached out despite contact from D.J. Hayden and reeled it in for an 8-yard TD. The ensuing PAT by Blair Walsh from the new distance of 33 yards, however, was pushed wide right.
Bridgewater finished 10-of-14 passing (71.4 percent) for 89 yards with the TD for a passer rating of 111.9. His totals for the preseason are: 22-of-28 passing (78.6 percent) for 219 yards with the TD and a rating of 111.2.
Special teams helped the Vikings win field position early, with Marcus Sherels hustling to down a 44-yard punt by Jeff Locke at the Oakland 2. The Vikings forced a three-and-punt and took over at the Oakland 39, but were unable to capitalize on the advantageous scoring position, despite converting a fourth-and-6 with a great throw from Bridgewater to Johnson. The Vikings opted to kick a 35-yard field goal on fourth-and-3 at the Oakland 17 three plays later, and the kick was wide right.
The second response came during a two-minute drill orchestrated by Hill, who deftly guided the Vikings 80 yards in 1:59 on 9-of-13 passing with help from multiple receiving targets. One of Hill's incompletions during the possession was a spike to stop the clock.
Ford had 4-yard grabs to start and end the drive, and added a circus catch that he followed by quickly getting out of bounds. Adam Thielen had catches of 7 and 15 yards, Cordarrelle Patterson converted third-and-3, and Matt Asiata followed a 9-yard catch on third-and-7 with a 17-yard catch and run.
Raiders QB Derek Carr led a touchdown drive, thanks to runs by Latavius Murray, including a 2-yard TD, and a 40-yard catch by rookie Amari Cooper. Oakland backup QB Christian Ponder also led a FG drive that included a 39-yard catch and run on a crossing route by Seth Roberts in Ponder's return to Minnesota.
Notes: John Sullivan, Antone Exum, Jr., Shamar Stephen, Carter Bykowski and MyCole Pruitt did not dress for the Vikings. Veteran Joe Berger started at center in place of Sullivan. … Clive Walford, Andre Holmes, Jamize Olawale, Roy Helu, Jr. and Sio Moore did not dress for the Raiders. … Mike Zimmer improved to 7-0 in the preseason as a head coach.
