Battle Of Beloved Vikings: Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater Starting Broncos-Browns Game
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A couple of beloved former Vikings quarterbacks will be duking it out Thursday night.
The Cleveland Browns announced Wednesday their starting QB, Baker Mayfield, won't play against the Denver Broncos. His backup, Case Keenum, will take the reins.
Starting on the other side of the ball will be Teddy Bridgewater.
Bridgewater's story is the stuff of Vikings legend. He was primed to be the savior of the franchise until he suffered a devastating knee injury before the 2016 season. After that, he would only throw two more passes for Minnesota, one of them an interception.
Bridgewater backed up Drew Brees in New Orleans for two seasons before taking over as starter for the Carolina Panthers. Last offseason, he was traded to the Broncos and beat out Drew Lock for the top spot on the roster. He's thrown for 1,514 yards, 10 touchdowns and 4 interceptions this year.
When Bridgewater threw his last passes for the Vikings in 2017, he was actually relieving Keenum. That year, Keenum took over in week two due to an injury to starter Sam Bradford.
The Vikings went 12-3 the rest of the way with Keenum at the helm. He's responsible for arguably the most famous moment in Vikings history: the Minneapolis Miracle. Keenum's last-second, 61-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs sent the Vikings to the NFC Championship game. They fell short of a Super Bowl appearance, but it was still a memorable season for fans in Minnesota.
Meanwhile, current Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is off to the hottest start of his career. He's thrown for 1,769 yards, 13 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. The Vikings are 3-3 with a bye this week.