EAGAN, Minn. — This... is getting good.
Those wondering if newly acquired quarterback Joshua Dobbs was a flash in the pan had at least some of their questions answered with another electric performance, leading the Vikings over the New Orleans Saints 27-19 and capturing imaginations in the process.
Dobbs was seen by many as a desperate, stop-gap acquisition following the season-ending hamstring injury to starter Kirk Cousins, but the 28-year-old NFL journeyman seems to be finding his groove. Yesterday marked his first official start for Minnesota even though Dobbs played most of the game in his initial appearance against Atlanta. In an unlikely and legendary performance, he led the club to a nail-biting 31-28 victory over the Falcons with head coach Kevin O'Connell explaining assignments through Dobbs' earpiece between plays.
“I did pinch myself,” Dobbs said Sunday, just 12 days after he was acquired in an emergency trade with Arizona and two days after he finally moved out of his hotel. “It’s just been really cool being able to take it all in.”
Sunday's win against the Saints lifted the Vikings to 6-4 after a soul-sucking 0-3 start, putting them solidly in position for a playoff spot. They are playing with confidence thanks in large part to their new quarterback, who threw for a career-high 268 yards and one touchdown against the Saints and ran for another on a pulse-pounding field-reversing scramble.
“Sometimes it’s good coverage,” left tackle Christian Darrisaw said. “Josh just has the ability to use his legs, and I guess the defenders forget about it.”
But his story is about more than stats. As has been well-documented, Dobbs graduated from the University of Tennessee in aerospace engineering and interned with NASA, earning him what may be the NFL's coolest nickname, "The Passtronaut."
Dobbs' rare combination of intellect and athleticism is intriguing, his humble, team-first demeanor endearing. He is quickly grasping the complexities of a modern NFL offense after just a week and a half in Minnesota.
“He had a fantastic week of practice,” O'Connell said. “I’m having fun coaching him right now.”
"You show up on Sunday, if you don't play well no one cares what you did last week against Atlanta, they care about what what you did this week in Minnesota," Dobbs told reporters after the game. "So, I thought it was a tremendous job as a team, being able to carry that momentum, just that vibe, but also being able to be locked in on another really good opponent coming into Minnesota. We did a great job, and we have to do that again this upcoming week."
As Dobbs noted in a postgame interview on Fox, the week before the victory over New Orleans was the first time he actually got to throw to the team's starting receivers. He is still in the process of learning the given names of his teammates instead of their nicknames, and a video widely circulated on social media captured Dobbs having to ask a security guard where to find the locker room as he reported for his first home game at U.S. Bank Stadium.
It's not just here in Minnesota where people are taking notice of Dobbs and his unlikely narrative. An X (Twitter) user noted that the NFL had changed the image on its header, swapping out Travis Kelce's beau Taylor Swift to a picture of the Vikings quarterback sipping Gatorade on the sidelines. The caption below is simple, but to the point: "In Dobbs we trust."
That phrase is true for a legion of fans and a roster of Vikings teammates, who will continue the wild ride this Sunday night in Denver against the Broncos. You can catch that game right here on KARE 11.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more coverage of Minnesota sports:
Watch the latest reports from the KARE 11 sports team in our YouTube playlist: