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After throwing four interceptions in a Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs faced the potential of being benched.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said after the loss that he would “take a look at everything” when considering which quarterback he would start coming out of the bye week.
O’Connell chose to give Dobbs another start this week approaching a road matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders but said backup Nick Mullens will be prepared to play.
Despite being on a short leash and almost losing the starting role, Dobbs was not deterred by his recent slump that followed a heroic Week 9 debut for the journeyman quarterback.
“I prepare the same no matter what my role is, obviously I love the opportunity to start and compete and I plan on making the most of this opportunity and bouncing back from my last time on the field,” Dobbs said in a December 6 news conference. “The communication has been open. I’m excited for another opportunity to put my best foot forward and give this team a chance to win on Sunday.”
Asked about any drastic changes to his approach or the Vikings’ game plan, Dobbs put the onus on himself to make the plays when available and play efficient, clean football.
“It’s just tweaks,” Dobbs said. “There’s no reason to blow it up man, we just got to do what we’re good at — protect the football and make the routine plays when they’re out there. We do that, we’ll play good football. It’s very simple.”
Josh Dobbs Breaks Silence on Evolving Gameplan With Vikings
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell and quarterback Josh Dobbs of the Minnesota Vikings.
While the Bears emphasized keeping Dobbs limited inside the pocket, O’Connell also didn’t make an effort to get his rolling outside the pocket — leading to some scrutiny that the Vikings coach did Dobbs no favors trying to deploy him like a traditional pocket passer.
The head coach and quarterback used the bye week to review the film and discuss the offense moving forward after four weeks of devising game plans on the fly since Dobbs arrived at the October 31 trade deadline.
“I think the communication has been great starting with the coaching staff asking like, ‘Hey, what are you comfortable with? What plays do you like? What concepts are you good at,” Dobbs said. “And for me, sharing things that I like in the game plan and also not being afraid to share things that I don’t feel comfortable with, so that we have a chance to go out and executive play at a high level.”
Vikings Should Keep it Simple With Josh Dobbs
GettyJosh Dobbs
It’s an interesting development that as Dobbs has spent more time in Minnesota his play has declined. Coming in relief of rookie Jaren Hall, who was knocked out of a Week 9 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, Dobbs was fed the play calls and design realtime by O’Connell and led the Viking to a season-high 31 points in a victory over the Falcons.
Dobbs was effective the following week, tallying 268 yards passing and 44 yards on the ground and scored two touchdowns in a 27-19 win over the New Orleans Saints. His combined passer rating in his first two games as a Vikings was 101.4 — well above the league average of 88.8 this season.
But in his past two starts, Dobbs has regressed. He’s turned the ball over six times between the loss to the Bears and a Week 11 loss to the Denver Broncos. His average passer rating in those games was 61.1.
O’Connell may have thrown a bit too much on Dobbs’ plate after the team was riding high on its five-game winning streak. Defenses are also learning how to limit Dobbs’ effectiveness.
What the Vikings offense will look like this week against a vaunted Raiders defense is a wild card considering the highs and lows that have come with Dobbs under center.
But O’Connell would be advised to maximize what Dobbs does well after a game plan against the Bears that looked like it was for Kirk Cousins, who admits it took him a full year to grasp the entirety of the offense.
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Vikings QB Josh Dobbs Gets Brutally Honest on Threat of Being Benched