Vikings' Joshua Dobbs deserves at least one more chance

The Minnesota Vikings once again find themselves at a crossroads. In a season in which they lost their starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, to an Achilles injury and have been without their top wide receiver, Justin Jefferson, for the last seven weeks, they have managed to remain competitive enough to sit in the wild-card slot in the NFC. 

The Vikings' resilience has been impressive, but many fans are concerned that they are beginning to show their true colors at the QB position after consecutive losses - including an ugly 12-10 loss to the Bears on "Monday Night Football."

There is a burning question going into their bye week: who will be the starting quarterback against the Raiders?

The Vikings essentially have three options right now for starting QB - incumbent Joshua Dobbs, journeyman Nick Mullens or rookie Jaren Hall.

The decision will factor in their desire to compete for the remainder of this season, what the future looks like and if Kirk Cousins will re-sign as a Viking in the offseason. 

After Joshua Dobbs performed exceptionally in his first two appearances in the purple, it seemed as though the Vikings had their answer - at least for this season. It was followed by two consecutive losses - including a disastrous four-interception start against the Bears.

The concern with Dobbs is legitimate - his stats and results are undoubtedly trending in the wrong direction. It seems almost counterintuitive that he has played better with less knowledge of the playbook and offensive system. There is plenty of rhetoric out there that this is the reason that he has played for seven teams in four years - ultimately his performance diminishes to the point of benching and moving on to a new organization.

Although Dobbs hasn't yet found his groove with one NFL franchise, there is still potential that the Vikings could be that fit. Despite the four turnovers against the Bears, there were still glimmers of hope of what fans witnessed in the previous three games - albeit very brief glimpses. Dobbs ended up rushing just twice for 11 yards against the Bears, but he seemed to look more like his old self when he would roll out.

It has become clear in his short stint with the Vikings that creating opportunity and space with his legs is vital to his success - and that has been almost non-existent the past two weeks.

Thankfully for the Vikings, they will be getting a big boost when they return to action - Jefferson will likely return on Dec. 10. game against the Raiders. Dobbs and Jefferson have not yet played together, so it's possible that this combination can spark this offense.