For years, NFL fans have been teased with glimpses of the supposed “true Sam Bradford.” The guy who came out of college with the most hype of any working QB (except maybe Andrew Luck). Every once in a while, we see a glimpse of that man and the articles about how Sam Bradford is finally going to be the player he was supposed to be. After a good but not great game against the Packers last night, Peter King wrote his:

Bradford looked precisely like the quarterback the Rams drafted in 2010, the quarterback who was supposed to command the huddle, throw accurately downfield, not get overwhelmed by big moments, and lead a team to a win over a Super Bowl contender.

This was supposed to finally be the team that had a running game to help Bradford. He hadn’t had a great one before. But Adrian Peterson was a non-factor from the start (12 carries, 19 yards), then hurt his right knee late in the third quarter and left the game, and left the stadium on crutches, bound for the MRI tube this morning. So Bradford had to play with no help from the ground game.

Sunday was a rivalry game. The Vikings have stunk recently in the rivalry, winning two of the previous 13 meetings. And Rodgers had his weapons back.P

Pressure of replacing a quarterback who was becoming beloved, Teddy Bridgewater, whose knee three weeks ago forced the Vikings to look for a sub.

Pressure to learn offensive coordinator’s Norv Turner’s downfield offense, diametrically opposed to the one Bradford ran in Philly last year under Chip Kelly, and different too from the Andy Reid/Doug Pederson controlled passing offense.

All of these things are true. I don’t want to take that away from Bradford. But it’s been one game in the purple and gold. Maybe he’s great now. Maybe he’s finally where he’s supposed to be. Maybe the ghost of Prince was leading the passes of his beloved Vikings in their first game in Minnesota since he died. WHO KNOWS? But even as King points out, Bradford went from super-hype, to super-hurt, to traded, to understandably maligned, to cast aside (for a shocking return), to now re-anointed savior. There may not be another QB in NFL history who has been crowned and dethroned so many times.

“When I think about it,” Bradford told King, “what I’ve gone through has given me perspective I never have had—perspective I didn’t have when I was younger. Four years ago I couldn’t have handled this and been ready for a night like this. Last year, going through all that stuff in Philadelphia, I’m not sure I would have handled this well.”

Bradford always seemed to lack mental toughness, but maybe now he’s come through the other side of his ups and downs with a newfound stamina. Maybe this is where he is supposed to be. Or maybe, as always, we’ll have an article in week five about how Sam Bradford is Sam Bradford again.