Vikings’ Bridgewater on Peyton: ‘Probably the best quarterback to play this game’

Teddy Bridgewater has always had an admiration for Peyton Manning, a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback and arguably the best ever when it comes to diagnosing defenses and finding ways to beat them with his brain.tmpplchld On Sunday afternoon, Bridgewater, a second-year quarterback, will go throw for throw against the 39-year-old for the first and perhaps last time.tmpplchld Needless to say, this will be a game he will remember for a long, long time.tmpplchld “Peyton’s a great guy, probably the best quarterback to play this game, a great ambassador for this league,” the 22-year-old said Wednesday.tmpplchld Bridgewater can’t remember the first time he watched Manning. “There’s so many memories, I can’t even think of it,” he said. He was just five years old when Manning made his NFL debut with the Colts in 1998. And Bridgewater has watched him win a Super Bowl and five MVP awards.tmpplchld “He’s always in command at the line of scrimmage,” he said. “It’s always like a chess match when you play Peyton Manning. He’s always making checks, audibles at the line of scrimmage, getting himself into the right plays, protecting himself. ... He’s been playing at a high level his entire career.”tmpplchld Since Teddy is such a Manning fan, might we see him flapping his arms wildly at the line someday while barking out, “Omaha!” repeatedly?tmpplchld “No, not at all,” Bridgewater, buttoned-up as always, said with a laugh.tmpplchld While Bridgewater versus Manning will be a storyline all week, Bridgewater is worried about another challenge _ playing that Denver ‘D’ on the road.tmpplchld “Those guys play extremely well at home,” he said. “I believe they were 8-1 last year with their only loss coming in the playoffs. So they have a tough crowd and a tough defense and they’re going to have a lot on their side.”tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 Star Tribune (Minneapolis)tmpplchld Visit the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) at www.startribune.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld