The Minnesota Vikings traded for Sam Bradford and after about two weeks with the team — I’m guessing he had seven practices at most — they decided to start him against the Green Bay Packers.

And Bradford was outstanding.

Bradford’s first Vikings start was impressive, especially considering he was battered behind an offensive line that struggled to protect. Bradford kept taking hits but came back time after time to make big-time throws. And it can’t be understated that he had almost no time to learn the offense. He had no previous experience in coordinator Norv Turner’s scheme, either. That never seemed to be a factor, which is a compliment to Bradford.

Bradford played well from the first drive on. On the Vikings’ first third-and-long, he hit Adam Thielen on a very nice timing throw. Against the Packers’ press man coverage Bradford delivered a nice back-shoulder throw for the first down.

The Packers didn’t do a lot to disguise their defenses or have late movement with the secondary or linebackers. It was not difficult for Bradford to identify where he wanted to go with the ball. He had clean, well-defined throws and he has the arm strength to make tough throws, and made some to the sideline against Green Bay.

Bradford also had to make tough throws because he rarely had a clean pocket. This is a great example. On a third-and-4, Thielen ran a short route and tight end Kyle Rudolph ran a deeper corner route against the Packers’ Cover 2 zone. And Bradford made an unbelievable throw with Packers lineman Mike Daniels driving right guard Brandon Fusco back into his lap. It was an 8-yard touchdown.

The Vikings, particularly at both tackle positions, struggled to protect in one-on-one situations. And Bradford wasn’t fazed by it.

The Vikings hit a big play to Stefon Diggs on first-and-10. Diggs was in the slot and ran a “96” route combination with Charles Johnson. Johnson ran the in-breaking “6” route and Diggs ran the deep over “9” route. The Packers had man coverage with a single high safety, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and he was playing the midpoint between Diggs and Johnson. Bradford recognized Clinton-Dix was not in position to play over the top of Diggs and hit him with an outstanding throw for a 44-yard gain.

Diggs’ 25-yard touchdown was another tough throw by Bradford against pressure. The Packers ran a coverage with two high safeties, so the Vikings’ concept ended up as a high-low on the safety to Diggs’ side. The safety comes up for the intermediate route on the three-level stretch, giving Diggs a go route against single coverage. Even on a well-designed play, Bradford had to beat a pass rusher himself. Daniels came clean on an end/tackle stunt with Clay Matthews. Bradford made an unbelievable throw to beat him just as he was hit hard by Daniels.

This was an excellent performance by Bradford. He made great throws, seemed to grasp the offense well and compensated for an offensive line that struggled to protect him. It’s exactly what the Vikings wanted when they traded for Bradford before the season started.

Shutdown Corner’s NFL Power Rankings after Week 2:

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Follow @YahooSchwab