The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Atlanta Falcons 31-28 thanks to quarterback Josh Dobbs’ incredible show of resiliency and flexibility. After rookie starter Jaren Hall was injured, the Arizona Cardinals traded for Dobbs, who was drafted into the game. Despite his lack of practice and unfamiliarity with the squad, Dobbs put on a performance that will go down in history.
It was quite the whirlwind, Dobbs’s introduction to the Viking system. Dobbs was left to rely on a hastily called meeting with the offensive line to absorb the key cadences—a basic element of gameplay usually covered in the offseason—without having played a single offensive snap with the offense or knowing the habits of his receivers.
Despite these challenges, Dobbs persevered, and in the closing seconds, he connected with Brandon Powell for a spectacular 6-yard touchdown pass to win the game. Dobbs’s personal 22-yard scamper on a pivotal fourth-and-7, which demonstrated his dynamic ability to lead and perform under pressure, set the tone for this pivotal moment, which was part of an 11-play, 75-yard drive.
Dobbs did not have an ordinary path to this point. Due to a run of injuries, he filled in for the Vikings, who had just one healthy quarterback on the roster. His training was compared to the hectic schedule of an NFL short week. Nothing compared to this spontaneous challenge, even though he had been a journeyman on multiple teams and had only managed one start with the Tennessee Titans the year before.
Dobbs never ran plays, but his ability to perform them after only watching them in practice is credited to his intelligence and tenacity. Coach Kevin O’Connell, who relied on central Garrett Bradbury to help make sure protection calls were made, adjusted the offense to a no-huddle style, making the most of the little time available for communication to provide Dobbs critical teaching points.
The Vikings’ coaching staff showed a mastery of strategy when they aligned their tactics right before the game-winning toss, taking a cue from a play the Detroit Lions had executed well against the Falcons earlier in the season.
Even though Dobbs lost two fumbles and suffered a safety, his stats were impressive: he completed 20 of 30 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns, and he had the most rushing yards (66) on the team. He succeeded in this even though the team lacked important players because of injury.
As he reflected on the event, Dobbs summed up the abrupt and drastic change in his responsibilities by comparing it to studying for one AP test and then being instructed to take another in a foreign language.
The win gave the story a level of personal meaning since it was achieved in Dobbs’ hometown and front of his former high school classmates. To further highlight the rapid nature of Dobbs’s incorporation into the team, Coach O’Connell was initially unaware of this knowledge, having only recently met Dobbs a few days before.
For Dobbs, the game was both “ugly” and “awesome,” as Bradbury put it, and his performance went beyond the numbers to represent the exhilarating and unexpected character of the NFL. His accomplishment will surely go down as a career high point and a monument to the spirit of the game, given the difficult circumstances he faced and the fact that he was not officially recognized in the record books as a backup.