After nearly three hours of a scoreless game against the Las Vegas Raiders, quarterback Josh Dobbs was benched by Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.
After the bye week, the journeyman veteran who had captured the hearts of the Vikings fan base and the locker room by winning his first two games was unable to overcome a recent slump. He was sacked five times while completing 10 of 23 passes for 63 yards.
Nick Mullens entered the game for the final two drives of the Vikings’ play after Dobbs was removed from the game in the fourth quarter. After the game, O’Connell was hesitant to commit to any quarterback, despite Mullens’ heroics in leading Minnesota to a 3-0 victory and out of Las Vegas.
He cited the difficulty of benching Dobbs and stated he will “take a look” at the quarterback position; the same term he employed while mulling a QB switch during the bye week.
Recalling his conversation with Dobbs, O’Connell stated, “I just said, ‘I want to give Nick a chance to get in there.’ I want to communicate and be honest.” “Nick has a great feel for our offense, and he went out here and executed when I could call him up and communicate.”
The Vikings (7-6) avoided calamity and maintained their NFC Wild Card berth thanks to the wise decision. With Sunday’s victory, Minnesota’s chances of qualifying for the postseason are 56%, based on the playoff simulator provided by The Upshot.
On Sunday, Justin Jefferson’s first game back after sustaining a hamstring injury in Week 5 was brief.
The standout wide receiver caught his second reception of the game, but not before taking a hard hit from Raiders defender Marcus Epps.
After going to the locker room, Jefferson was diagnosed with a chest injury and taken to a hospital in the Las Vegas region.
In his news conference following the game, O’Connell made it apparent that Jefferson was free of any worries that would prevent him from returning home with the squad.
With just one week to go before facing the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night, Jefferson is regarded as iffy.
Before the game, right guard Ed Ingram was already ruled out, and right tackle Brian O’Neill sprained his left ankle in the second quarter and was unable to play again. Dalton Risner, a guard, also took a few plays off the field before coming back to play. O’Neill was replaced by David Quessenberry, and Blake Brandel started in Ingram’s stead.
Following the game on Sunday, wide receiver Jalen Nailor is under concussion protocol. It’s improbable he’ll clear protocol in time for the game the following week.
