Just before his first play as the Minnesota Vikings' emergency quarterback, Josh Dobbs joined a quick meeting with the offensive line. His new teammates wanted to make sure he knew the five primary cadences they have used this season, a discussion normally handled on the first day of training camp.
Acquired Tuesday from the Arizona Cardinals, Dobbs did not receive a single rep with the Vikings' offense during the practice week. Before Sunday, he hadn't thrown a practice pass to any of their receivers, nor taken a snap from center Garrett Bradbury. He didn't even know most of their full names, he later admitted.
But Dobbs was thrust into action after rookie starter Jaren Hall suffered a first-quarter concussion Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, going on to produce one of the most unique stories of the NFL season. After a slow start, Dobbs led the Vikings to a rousing 31-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
One of those TDs came with just 22 seconds remaining and put the Vikings ahead. Dobbs said the first time he had ever thrown a pass to Brandon Powell, who made the winning catch, was in warmups. No reps in practice he said, but he was able to communicate well with his new teammates even if he didn’t really know them.
Dobbs' resolve is most certainly one of his finest attributes, and it showed when he connected with Alexander Mattison for a 2-yard score that cut the Vikings' deficit to 11-10.
"I know it was a little muddy to start but once we got a rhythm, we were able to go down the field and play really good football," Dobbs said.
It was more of the same roller coaster in the second half when Dobbs lost another fumble on the Vikings' opening drive. Then he responded with a field-goal drive.
Even if the Cardinals were prepared to give Dobbs away, some other team should have offered to give up more than the Vikings did. Many NFL teams simply don’t have a backup quarterback they can win with. Dobbs is a backup quarterback teams can win with, and at some point this season, some team that loses with its backup is going to wish it had traded for Dobbs.
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