Sam Bradford at times looked a little rusty, and he and his receivers seemed out of synch, but the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback returned after a nearly one-month layoff to lead the 19th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to a 33-7 win over Baylor on Saturday in Norman, Okla.Bradford, who had missed three games after spraining the AC joint in his (right) throwing shoulder in the first half of the season opener, passed for 389 yards and a touchdown in a relatively easy Big 12 opener. The real test comes next Saturday when the Sooners take on No. 2 Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry in Dallas.
"It's extremely gratifying just to get back out on the field," Bradford said. "Just to be out there with the guys that I have put in so much work with in the offseason and just the simple things like handoffs. Everything out there, it's just exciting to be back."
But if there were any doubts Saturday about the stamina of Bradford's shoulder after such an injury and lengthy rehab process, they were quickly erased when he attempted 49 passes -- the second-most of his career -- against the Bears. Bradford completed 27 of those passes while not throwing an interception.
"It feels good," Bradford said when asked about how his shoulder felt. "It's felt a lot better this week compared to last week."
All was not smooth as several of Bradford's passes were dropped by receivers, while on at least a few other occasions the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner was off the mark, either overthrowing or underthrowing his receivers.
"He played really well. To have been off as much as he has and to go out there for his first go at it and to play as well as he did, I thought he played great," said OU coach Bob Stoops, whose team improved to 3-2 overall, 1-0 in the Big 12. "He stays away from the negative plays, the bad plays. He had a great night with seven, eight or nine drops. You can cut that and say there were five legitimate drops that were in their hands, he had an incredible night. He is a great competitor and talking to him in the locker afterwards,
"I asked him how if felt and he said it felt great. Right now, he doesn't have any discomfort and that is encouraging. He will only get better from this. In practicing, he will trust it more and I think in another week he will get stronger with his throws and he will continue to get better."
There was a scary moment early in the first quarter when Bradford appeared to tweak his knee while throwing an incomplete pass. He was seem grimacing on the sideline immediately after and backup Landry Jones, who started the previous three games in his absence, began to warm up on the sideline.
Bradford, however, did not miss a snap until being pulled from the game in the fourth quarter with the outcome all but decided.
The Sooners' offense produced 592 yards of total offense and had 34 first downs and no turnovers in Bradford's return.
"Obviously, like Coach (Stoops) said, it was important to get back but at the same time I wanted to make sure I was ready," Bradford said. "Going through the week, I felt like I had a good week of preparation and I felt like I was ready. To get out there and make some of the throws that I made today, it really does give me confidence."
