What has been a dramatic climb for Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs appears to be finally collapsing around this feet this week. After he was acquired by Minnesota, Dobbs has managed to win three of five games as the team continues to fight for a playoff spot. In Dobbs’ defense, the team has also been missing All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson for most of that span. It appears that today was just the latest in a long line of career beatdowns obtained by the former Tennessee Volunteer.
Josh Dobbs’ Suffers from A Tough Spell of Form
Effective Thursday, Minnesota will officially downgrade Dobbs to the third string as quarterback Jaren Hall will immediately rise to the post of backup quarterback behind career backup Nick Mullens. The third string quarterback typically doesn’t even dress for the games so this in effect relegates the 28-year-old quarterback to the practice squad. Over the course of the season, Dobbs has a combined record 4-9 as he also went 1-7 as the quarterback for the tanking Arizona Cardinals and improved to 3-2 as the Vikings starter.
Dobbs was traded to Minnesota following the season following the season-ending Achilles tendon tear suffered by starting quarterback Kirk Cousins.
While he has made a solid string of appearances with teams missing their starting quarterback in the past two seasons including Tennessee, Arizona and now Minnesota, Dobbs failed to make a good impression on the Minnesota faithful. So far this season, Dobbs sports a quarterback rating of 76.4 (qualifying for 28th best in the NFL) in his combined stints in Arizona and Minnesota. Considering he played extraordinarily well with Arizona in big games including a resounding victory over the Dallas Cowboys, that is a poultry value for a full-time quarterback as he has regressed over the past few weeks.
While he was once considered one of the best trades of the season, Dobbs’ struggling performance since has included one 10-point performance against the perennial cellar team Chicago Bears and 3-0 win to the waffling Las Vegas Raiders. Dobbs was benched halfway through the game against the Raiders and it appears head coach Kevin O’Connell isn’t going to let go of that traumatizing offensive display.
It stands to be seen whether this is a tactic by O’Connell to demonstrate the importance of the remaining four games to his journeyman quarterback. The New York Jets attempted a similar maneuver recently by demoting starting quarterback Zach Wilson to third string only to move him back into the starting lineup a week later. It also is important to note that Wilson responded well to the maneuver as he was the offensive player of the week this past week with his resounding win over the Houston Texans.
The Vikings will look to close out the season against the Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers and two games against the division leading Detroit Lions. Although a rough string of offensive form, the Vikings are still the 6th overall seed (second wildcard) in the NFC and have an good opportunity to win the division crown as they trail the Lions by two games. If Minnesota wins both games against Detroit, they’ll put themselves on a great trajectory for another strong playoff push.
For More Football News:
Follow me on Twitter at @Super_Squatch76. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in college and NFL news, click here! If there is a topic you’d like me to cover or a question you’d like to ask, feel free to contact me at m email timothy.mcbride76@gmail.com.