The honeymoon for the Minnesota Vikings and quarterback Joshua Dobbs seems to have come to an abrupt end. Dobbs, who was acquired from the Arizona Cardinals ahead of the trade deadline, was the talk of the town during his first few weeks with his new team.
In Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons, he was pressed into duty after Jaren Hall suffered a concussion. Without taking a single practice rep, Dobbs helped the Vikings to a victory, their fourth in a row. The winning streak continued in Week 10 when he started and defeated the New Orleans Saints with another strong performance to get the Vikings to 6-4 on the season.
However, after a disastrous performance in Week 12 on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears, the Vikings are now 6-6. Dobbs hasn’t played well in the two losses, throwing one interception and fumbling three times against the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football.
This week, against the Bears, Dobbs threw four interceptions as the offense sputtered throughout the evening. According to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, Dobbs was nearly pulled from action.
“We definitely had started to get to the point where I was just trying to think, almost, what would give us a spark.” But ultimately, according to O’Connell, Dobbs “battled, no flinch, and just kept playing and competing to try to help us win.”
As a result of the poor performance, a quarterback change could be on the horizon. O’Connell said he would spend the team’s bye week evaluating the quarterback position to see what the best path forward is for the franchise.
“We’re going to take a look and really evaluate the inventory of plays we have of Josh,” O’Connell said. “We got healthy. We got Jaren back available to us, and then Nick Mullens is available as well.”
Hall has recovered from the concussion he suffered in Week 9 and will be considered. Nick Mullens was on injured reserve because of a back injury when Dobbs made his team debut, but is now available to play.
With the Vikings, turnovers have been an issue for Dobbs. Despite being 2-2 in the games he has appeared in, he has turned the ball over eight times, throwing five interceptions and losing three fumbles. That isn’t a sustainable way to win games, as everything is under consideration for the Vikings heading into the bye.
A playoff spot is certainly still within reach for the Vikings, who are 6-6 and hold the No. 7 seed in the NFC. But, their hold on that position is shaky, as the multi-game lead they built during their winning streak has been whittled down to half a game.
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