The Blake Bortles era has begun in Jacksonville.

And in Minnesota, Teddy Bridgewater’s time also has arrived.

An injury to starting quarterback Matt Cassel in Sunday’s 20-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints scuttled the Vikings’ plan to bring Bridgewater along slowly. Cassel broke several bones in his left foot during a second-quarter scramble and is expected to miss up to eight weeks. Head coach Mike Zimmer said Cassel’s return date depends upon the need for surgery.

Now, a team that already doesn’t know how long it will be without Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson, has been placed in the hands of a 21-year-old quarterback. Despite being one of the youngest players in the league, Bridgewater showed poise and confidence in his first NFL action.

“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Bridgewater said. “I mean, this is where I wanted to be. Unfortunately, the way it happened wasn’t the way I expected it to. I was just able to go out there and relax and look at my teammates and have them trust me.”

Bridgewater, the 32nd pick in the NFL draft, did not seem rattled by the boisterous New Orleans crowd. He completed 12 of 20 pass attempts for 150 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown and was not intercepted.

Although he was unable to steer the Vikings into the end zone, a place no Viking has reached in almost two entire games, Bridgewater earned the trust of his coaches, his teammates and even Saints star quarterback, Drew Brees.

“He came up and told me I had a good game,” Bridgewater said of his New Orleans counterpart.

While Bridgewater was thrust into action because of an injury, it was just a matter of time before Jacksonville was going to give Bortles the keys to the car. In the past 30 possessions with Henne under center, the Jaguars managed to score all of one touchdown.

With Indianapolis grabbing a 30-point lead at halftime on Sunday, the Jaguars pulled the plug on Henne and told Bortles his time had come.

Bortles, the third pick in the NFL Draft, completed 14 of 24 passes for 223 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Jaguars’ 44-17 loss to Indianapolis.

Asked to assess his first performance in the regular season, Bortles said he was just average.

“I mean I thought there was some good stuff and there was some bad stuff we need to connect,” he said. “There are definitely some things we’ll see on film I need to work on. You can’t throw two picks.

“It was definitely good to go out there and not be like, ‘Oh my God, what am I doing here?’ It was good to get out there and get that experience.”

Henne acknowledged that Bortles’ time is now and that he will be Bortles’ “biggest cheerleader.”

Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley said he saw some positives — primarily in how the team responded to the rookie.

“I think it lifted everybody up,” Bradley said of Bortles. “When he came in there, things fell into place a little bit better and guys were making plays. Sometimes that happens with a guy that goes in there, regardless of the situation.”

However, Bradley tempered his enthusiasm saying these were just baby steps. Yet, Bortles’ skills and potential definitely were on display.

“I thought Blake did a nice job. He’s going to learn but he made some plays,” Bradley said. “He kept plays alive and he’s got really good instincts and made some really good decisions and some good throws. I just love his mindset, I love the strength that he has. He is a tough, hard-nosed competitor and he will attack.”