Teddy Bridgewater was knocked out of Sunday's win against the Rams after being concussed while taking a late shot to the head while sliding. The hit came from Rams cornerback Lamarcus Joyner, and Vikings coach Mike Zimmer did not mince words after the game when asked about it.
"I would say that if we were out on the street, we would probably would have had a fight," Zimmer said, while confirming that he considered the hit a cheap shot.
The play that Bridgewater was hurt on came only one series after he appeared to be hit late below the knees. No penalty was called on the low hit because Bridgewater was out of the pocket, but Joyner was penalized for unnecessary roughness for his hit. Zimmer called out Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
"I do know there is a history there, with their defensive coordinator," Zimmer said. "I'll leave it at that. ... We're a disciplined football team, we do things right. That's why we are the least-penalized team in the league, because we play by the rules. We continue to play by the rules. And just because other teams don't do it doesn't mean we're not going to do it."
Joyner was apologetic after the game.
"I know that guy. I grew up across the railroad tracks from him. My mom knows his mom. My dad knows his mom. I would never intentionally do a dirty play like that on Teddy Bridgewater. It was a bam-bam play. He's a taller-in-stature guy compared to me. I did not know he was (planning) to slide when I launched. He slid and we connected. If I could take it back, personally, I would take it back because I'm not a dirty player," Joyner said.
