Teddy Bridgewater Week 3 Props: Over/Under Passing Yards Listed at 222.5

• Teddy Bridgewater tries to keep Saints afloat while Drew Brees nurses thumb injury
• NFL’s most expensive backup was named to Pro Bowl in 2015
• Finding the best bets for Bridgewater’s passing props

The Saints are cashing in on the NFL’s most expensive insurance policy.

With Drew Brees down at least six weeks with a thumb injury, Teddy Bridgewater, the NFL’s highest paid backup ($7.25 million salary this year), will get his first meaningful start in an NFL game since the 2015 campaign.

Will Sean Payton game manage him, or is he confident in letting him run with one of the league’s traditionally potent offenses?

Let’s run through Bridgewater passing props for the Saints’ starting pivot in Week 3, as New Orleans is in the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seahawks.

Teddy Bridgewater Pass Attempts in Week 3

*Odds from 20/09/19

Analysis: Fitting, as the Saints last year averaged 32.4 pass attempts through 16 games. Through this season’s small sample size, New Orleans QB’s have thrown 78 passes through two games, and Bridgewater, in relief work, went 17-for-30 for 165 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

With 14 seconds remaining in the
half, Andy Dalton launches a 55-yard TD to John Ross. Second TD connection in first half for thempic.twitter.com/6qMW5lC1QZ

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 8, 2019

Normally, a trip to Seattle with a backup QB would be a death knell, and coaches would gameplan to escape without getting totally whipped. But as Andy Dalton proved in Week 1, these aren’t the LOB-era ‘Hawks anymore.

However, this pick is more for the fact that the Saints are meeting Russell Wilson, who’s playing so well that I expect the Saints to have to, at some point, abandon the running game as they play catch-up.

The pick: Over 32.5 attempts (-120)

Teddy Bridgewater Completions in Week 3

Analysis: His last meaningful body of work was the 2015 season, and Bridgewater has attempted  55 passes as an NFL quarterback since. A gruesome knee injury that almost cost him his leg the following training camp definitely makes him a different player.

INJURY ALERT – Up close look at #Saints Brees and #LARams Aaron Donald doing high five on QB's throwing hand – Brees on sideline, not getting xrays, UPSET and ya, this changes not only the game but perhaps the season – Time to check out that Teddy Bridgwater investment pic.twitter.com/1IM0oJLDbz

— 🏈 🗳️ Steven Van Over (@StevenVanOver) September 15, 2019

In his two starts since the injury, he’s failed to come close to 21 completions. And as a starter in 2015, he had 20 or fewer completions 11 times in 16 games.

I’m sure the Saints will want to feature a strong running game to take pressure off him, but they’re going up against a Seattle defense ranked 26th in passing yards allowed per game, and is fourth against the run, surrendering just 57.5 yards a contest through two games.

In last week’s loss to the Rams, the Saints managed 57 yards rushing on 20 carries.

The pick: Over 21 completions (-120)

Teddy Bridgewater Passing Yards in Week 3

Analysis: Teddy-Two-Gloves was never a bombs-away gunslinger, but in his short stint of play since coming back, he’s locked into the short passing game, and foregoing any shots over the top of the defense. Bridgewater has completed 56.4% of his passes while averaging a paltry 5.1 yards per attempt.

Saints pass catchers with Teddy Bridgewater at QB Sunday:
* Mike Thomas: 8 catches, 65 yards on 11 targets
* Tre’Quan Smith: 2 catches, 35 yards on 2 targets
* Jared Cook: 2 catches, 18 yards on 5 targets
* Alvin Kamara: 1 catch, 15 yards on 3 targets

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 16, 2019

As the Rams poured it on offensively, the Saints showed little urgency to fire back. Obviously, with a full week to prepare, he should be better, but in Los Angeles, 15 of Bridgewater’s 17 completions came on passes thrown within seven yards of the line of scrimmage.

Teddy Bridgewater was on the money last night 🎯

14/19 | 134 YDS | 1 TD | 0 INT@teddyb_h2o #CardsGonePro pic.twitter.com/uuLfM0Qjil

— CardsGonePro (@CardsGonePro) August 10, 2019

He has a true game-breaker in receiver in Michael Thomas, but Thomas was used more a safety blanket than a threat, hauling in 10 passes for 89 yards in the game. If deployed properly, Thomas and Alvin Kamara should be heavily featured, as they can lift Bridgewater to greater heights.

📽 Mason Rudolph pour Vance McDonald une nouvelle fois pour un TD ! #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/nn3UFmYLke

— NFL France (@NFLFrance) September 15, 2019

Look at the Bengals game, and, even to some extent the Steelers game – who themselves employed their own backup in Mason Rudolph when Ben Roethlisberger went down. There are plays all over the field that can be made against the Seahawks defense.

The pick: Under 222.5 yards passing (-120)

Teddy Bridgewater Rushing Yards in Week 3

Analysis: If the Saints had their way, this one would be a definite under. That means Bridgewater is getting the protection he needs, and not being forced to move out of the pocket to gain yards. He was sacked twice against the Rams, but was pressured on 35.3% of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus stats. If that’s that case, perhaps he does step up in the pocket and find a soft zone where he can get some plus yards.

While running is definitely not his forte, for his career, Bridgewater has surpassed that meager rushing total 18 times in each of his first two seasons in the NFL pre-injury, and has a career average of 11.3 rushing yards per game.

The pick: Over 7.5 yards rushing (-120)

Teddy Bridgewater TD Passes in Week 3

Analysis: Even in his Pro Bowl season, Bridgewater threw just 14 touchdown passes, and broke the 1.5 threshold twice. While on his journey to recovery and to this point, he’s thrown just one major across his seven appearances over the past three seasons.

Last time Drew Brees missed a game due to injury, the Saints played Luke McCown at QB against Carolina.

McCown went 32-of-39 for 335 yards & an INT

Sean Payton will find a way for this offense to move the chains with Teddy Bridgewater at the helm.

— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) September 18, 2019

Payton surely has devised a package that will help Bridgewater succeed. If I’m wagering from the heart, I’m taking the over all day. I hope and pray that I’m wrong, because if anyone deserves a 300-yard 4-TD game to remind everyone how excellent a QB he was at one time, it’s this guy.

The pick: Under 1.5 TD passes (-155)

Teddy Bridgewater Interceptions in Week 3

Analysis: The last interception Bridgewater threw was January 1, 2016, in a win over the Packers. Predicting turnovers is never an easy one, but with the expectation that the Saints will be running much of their same offensive package, which involves throwing the football more and potentially into deeper areas of the field, there’s a greater chance of the Seahawks picking one off.

The pick: Over 0.5 interceptions (-150)