Joshua Dobbs led Vikings to win despite not knowing team's plays, teammates' full names
When the Minnesota Vikings lost starting quarterback Kirk Cousins for the season they made the decision to trade for Joshua Dobbs this past week to provide some depth behind rookie Jaren Hall.
The plan was for Hall to start against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday and for Dobbs be the backup.
That plan went out the window very quickly when Hall exited the game with a concussion, forcing Dobbs into the lineup just days after joining the roster.
It took Dobbs one game to make the trade completely worth it as he helped lead the Vikings to a 31-28 win over the Falcons, complete with a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minute.
But this was not just another example of a backup quarterback coming off the bench and leading his team to a victory.
This was a backup quarterback who just joined the team less than a week ago, had taken zero practice reps with his new teammates, had never taken a live snap from his new center, had never thrown a pass to any of his new wide receivers, did not know the team's playbook and did not even know all of his new teammate's fuill names.
As if that is not impressive enough, head coach Kevin O'Connell was literally mapping out plays for Dobbs in the huddle as the play clock was ticking down.
It is at this point that it is worth noting that Dobbs might be the smartest quarterback – and probably player – in the entire NFL. The man is literally a rocket scientist after studying aerospace engineering at the University of Tennessee. All of this might have been overwhelming for most people, but it was probably a walk in the park for Dobbs. He finished the day completing 20-of-30 passes for 158 yards, two touchdown passes and zero interceptions. He also ran the ball seven times for a team-leading 66 yards and a touchdown.
His biggest run of the day was this incredible fourth-down scramble on the game-winning drive to keep it alive.
That play looked like it was going to result in a sack more than once, but Dobbs was able to keep the play going. That was his longest run of the game.
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