Should Josh Dobbs be benched? Vikings Head Coach says he will assess everything after the 4 INT game before making a call.
Dobbs stunned Coach Kevin O’Connell and swiftly rose to the top of the fan base, but it looks like he undid all of his hard work in one awful game on Tuesday.
One of the worst NFL games of the season, a 12-10 home loss to the Chicago Bears, saw the veteran quarterback throw four interceptions.
Following Kirk Cousins’ injury, Dobbs made headlines in the NFL by leading Minnesota to exciting wins. However, on a night when the Bears prevailed without a touchdown, the Vikings offense managed just 242 yards.
“It starts with me and taking care of the football with my decision-making because turners really control the game,”
stated Dobbs.
“It’s about getting the ball to the receiver in a position where it needs to be in relation to the coverage, regardless of what transpires on the other end. I’m aware of it. I’m annoyed with myself.
Nick Mullens, a veteran, and rookie Jaren Hall are two more quarterback options Minnesota has.
Just before the deadline, Dobbs was traded to the Vikings after beginning the season with Arizona. Dobbs’s mid-game substitution contributed to a narrative theme that dominated social media and even led the NFL to promote the Passtronaut, making it one of Minnesota’s victories.
“What Josh Dobbs has really done, entering the game so late and going 2-2 in a stretch where many would have assumed the odds were stacked against us,”
stated O’Connell.
The Vikings lost to a strong Bears team 6-6, and after watching his most recent quarterback throw four interceptions, the head coach of Minnesota was on the verge of benching Dobbs.
“We had reached a stage where I was merely attempting to imagine what would ignite us,” the speaker said.
stated O’Connell.
The Minnesota Vikings faced the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football with a sense of confidence. They felt that Josh Dobbs would keep them on a winning track after they had won two of their previous three games. But the outcome of this game wasn’t quite what the Vikings or their supporters had anticipated.
Even elite quarterbacks find it difficult to recover from throwing four interceptions, a statistic that he achieved. After the Vikings return from their bye, Kevin O’Connell was evasive regarding the team’s quarterback, according to Vikings reporter Kevin Seifert.
An additional week will be given to O’Connell and his staff to discuss the situation in an effort to determine the best quarterback moving forward.
If the Vikings continue to have concerns about Dobbs, they may start Nick Mullens in Week 14.
Joshua Dobbs’ happy ending could come to an end following a terrible home loss to the Bears in Head coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings did not pledge to start QB Josh Dobbs after the team’s Week 13 bye because of his disastrous four interceptions in the team’s 12-10 loss to the Bears on “Monday Night Football.”
Additionally, O’Connell admitted that he thought about benching Dobbs in favor of backup Nick Mullens during the contest.
“We’re going to examine and assess the plays that we currently have of Josh,”
O’Connell stated following the Vikings’ 6-6 loss.
After losing quarterback Kirk Cousins for the season, the Vikings acquired Dobbs from the Cardinals, and he helped them defeat the Falcons and Saints back-to-back.
During those two victories, Dobbs completed three touchdown passes, added two rushing scores, and did not turn the ball over.
Prior to his troubles on Monday night, Dobbs turned the ball over twice in a Week 11 road defeat to the Broncos, 21-20.
Even though Josh has accomplished a lot for us, he is still growing accustomed to our pass-pass strategy.
stated O’Connell.
“I believe that three of the interceptions were due to tipped balls; our offense’s rhythm and timing aren’t feeling as precise as we would like them to be.”
He continued, saying:
“We need to start playing football at a faster pace without turning the ball over, especially offensively.”
“In actuality, turners dominate the game,”
stated Dobbs.
“Every single one of them tonight has taught me something, and we’ll use that to build momentum for the next opportunity.”
The Vikings could turn to veteran Mullens, who entered Monday as Dobbs’ backup, when they visit the Raiders in Week 14 after their bye week.
The advantage of throwing to Justin Jefferson, who is anticipated to rejoin the team when they play in Las Vegas, will go to whoever the Vikings start.
“To be honest, I believe that was a coaching decision.”
stated Dobbs.
At the most crucial times, Josh Dobbs gave the Minnesota Vikings season new life. taking Jaren Hall’s place in an Atlanta game during Week 9.
Just a few days had passed since Dobbs was acquired from the Arizona Cardinals in a desperate deadline trade prompted by Kirk Cousins’ season-ending Achilles injury.
With 22 seconds remaining, he completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Powell to cap off the winning drive in a 31-28 victory, with coach Kevin O’Connell providing play calls through the headset.
The next Sunday, Dobbs’ Madness persisted as the Vikings defeated the Saints at home, extending their winning run to five games.
Dobbs demonstrated on Monday night why the Vikings are his sixth stop in a seven-year career and why Nick Mullens is probably going to start when the Vikings return from their bye week to play the Raiders in Las Vegas on December 10. This comes after a poor showing in a loss to Denver a week ago Sunday.
Even though the Vikings were unable to hold onto the lead after Dobbs’ 17-yard touchdown pass to T. Hockenson in the fourth quarter, Dobbs’ poor performance for a team that leads by half a game for the seventh and final NFC playoff spot could not be overshadowed.
“We’re going to examine and assess the plays that we currently have of Josh,”
stated O’Connell.
“Jaren is back available to us, and Nick Mullens is also available.”
Additionally, O’Connell mentioned that he considered playing Mullens on Monday.
Due to the Vikings’ late bye week, O’Connell will have plenty of time to think through his options.
O’Connell will probably feel at ease relying on Mullens, 28, who has started 17 of the 24 games he has played for San Francisco, Cleveland, and Minnesota since his return two weeks ago.
One of Dobbs’ problems is that he has appeared more uneasy and like his coach wants to keep him in the pocket more frequently the longer he has been a part of O’Connell’s offense.
In addition to how well the Dobbs-O’Connell combination performed against the Falcons, it appeared on Monday night that O’Connell was pressuring Dobbs to perform like a quarterback he isn’t.
While Dobbs should be held accountable for his actions, it was unexpected that the agile quarterback, who had run for 142 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns in his first three games in Minnesota, would only carry the ball twice for 11 yards.
Mullens is the guy O’Connell should turn to if he wants his quarterback to operate out of the pocket.
Including his eight starts with the Cardinals this season, Dobbs has thrown 10 interceptions and lost seven of his 14 fumbles.
The Vikings had a 10-9 lead in the fourth quarter despite their appalling offensive performance, thanks to a fumble by Bears quarterback Justin Fields while he was being sacked by Danielle Hunter.
With eight plays and 77 yards, Dobbs led the Vikings to a respectable drive.
Now that they are back at.500, the Vikings will have a week to reflect on what went wrong in their previous two games.
O’Connell will also get an opportunity to think about his quarterbacking alternatives.