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Greg Jennings runs through Steelers defense for 70-yard touchdown

Greg Jennings takes it to the house in London. (Matt Dunham/AP) If things continue like this for the Minnesota Vikings' passing game, Christian Ponder might be
Doug Farrar|
Greg Jennings runs through Steelers defense for 70-yard touchdown
Greg Jennings runs through Steelers defense for 70-yard touchdown

Greg Jennings takes it to the house in London. (Matt Dunham/AP)

If things continue like this for the Minnesota Vikings' passing game, Christian Ponder might be missing games for more reasons than a rib injury. As the Vikings traveled to London to face the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was revealed that Ponder, the team's starting quarterback, had suffered a broken rib too close to his heart to make playing in the game a safe endeavor. As a result, backup Matt Cassel, signed in March to a two-year, $7.4 million contract, got the start.

And halfway through the first quarter, Cassel threw a little comeback to his left to receiver Greg Jennings. Cassel looked through a blitz like a pro to make the throw, but Jennings did most of the work after the catch. (GIF via Bleacher Report.)

On Friday, Jennings said that Cassel is "more verbal" than Ponder, and "kind of commanding in the huddle."

"If anything, that's the difference," Jennings said of his new quarterback. "That comes with him having much more experience. He's been in position where he's had to be a starter for years now. He knows what's going on. He's commanding. So is Christian. But as far as throwing the ball, it is what it is. Matt's a very smart guy."

Cassel was an undrafted free agent from USC signed by the New England Patriots in 2005. He first gained fame by playing decently enough in 2008 when Tom Brady was lost for the season with a knee injury in the season-opener, though he was less successful in Kansas City after the Chiefs signed him to a six-year, $63 million contract in the '09 preseason.

Ponder was the Vikings' first-round pick in the 2011 draft, and he's thrown just 33 touchdown passes to 30 interceptions in 30 NFL games. In the battle between two quarterbacks with question marks, it may be up to the guy with the hot hand, and right now, that's Matt Cassel.

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Doug Farrar
DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009,  Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine.  He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.

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