The Minnesota Vikings announced a major lineup change earlier this week. Nick Mullens would be taking over as the team’s starting quarterback, as they were opting to bench Joshua Dobbs. Anyone who followed along in their Week 14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders would likely agree with the move.
Dobbs and the Vikings’ offense struggled mightily. He completed only 10-of-23 passes for 63 yards through three quarters before he was benched. Many fans of the team likely wanted to see him removed after he threw a hospital ball to star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson was playing for the first time since Week 5 when he injured his hamstring and was promptly sidelined again with a chest injury, absorbing a hard hit from Raiders’ safety Marcus Epps on that target. A pass like that is enough to warrant a change.
NFL News & Rumors: Kevin O’Connell, Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, Minnesota Vikings Updates
In the fourth quarter, Mullens took over for Dobbs and led the team on their only scoring drive of the game. Shockingly, it was enough for the win, as Minnesota won 3-0 in the lowest-scoring game in 16 years.
While a majority of people won’t vault Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell for making the move, some don’t believe it is the correct decision. One of those people opposed to it is Hall of Fame quarterback, Kurt Warner.
Warner watched the tape again and took to X, formerly Twitter, to share his opinion. From what he saw, Dobbs’ performance didn’t warrant being benched, as the players around him struggled to capitalize.
“Just watched (the) Vikings tape, and I feel for Josh Dobbs being benched. So important to watch each play and not just see the results… I feel he played well, dropped passes all over, some things didn’t work and of course missed some, but far from a ‘benching’ performance in my opinion!”
NFL News & Rumors: Kevin O’Connell, Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, Minnesota Vikings Updates
Some of the numbers from the game do back up what Warner has said. While Dobbs’s stat line in the box score wasn’t pretty, Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 68.5 in Week 14. That was better than what Mullens produced, as he earned a 59.3.
Dobbs, who was acquired from the Arizona Cardinals ahead of the trade deadline, was in a tough spot with the Vikings. He had to learn a new offense on the fly for the second time in three months and was on the field with very little preparation time.
With the team’s bye in Week 13, he was afforded some time to adjust, but he evidently didn’t do enough in the eyes of the coaching staff. The Vikings will now rely on Mullens to lead them to the playoffs with Dobbs as his backup.
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