Teddy Bridgewater has tough first outing in Lions preseason debut

It didn't start well for Teddy as the backup offensive line allowed pressure giving up a sack on the first play of the game. He had a short completion on a swing pass to Craig Reynolds on second and long and was almost sacked again on third down. 

His second series resulted in a three-and-out as well. The drive started at the Lions' 42-yard line after a good punt return by Chase Cota. Reynolds had two short runs to start the drive, but Bridgewater missed Brock Wright on an out route that would have resulted in a first down. 

The third time he led the offense, the team failed to get a first down again. Reynolds had two catches for short gains. Bridgewater found Cota on third down with a pass on the sidelines. Initially called complete and a first down, but upon review (after a challenge by Jacksonville), Cota failed to get a second foot down in bounds, and the pass was ruled incomplete. 

Bridgewater was moving the offense well at the start of his fourth drive. He had the Lions close to the red zone before a missed assignment on the interior offensive line on a draw play led to a fumble caused by a Jags defender during the exchange with Reynolds. Jacksonville recovered the fumble and returned it down to the Lions' 25-yard line. 

The team had two more three-and-outs with Bridgewater at quarterback. There were timing issues on the offense with him at the helm. The struggles were not surprising. The veteran quarterback has only been with the team for a week and is still learning the playbook. 

To Bridgewater's credit, the backup offensive line did not play their best on Saturday. His final stat line in a half of play was five completions on eleven pass attempts for 34 yards, sacked for a nine-yard loss, with a lost fumble. He looks to play better after another week in Ben Johnson's offense against his former team, the Carolina Panthers.