The Dobbs Effect: The Vikings Master The Impossible Again in Win Against Falcons
The Vikings found themselves beyond short-handed against the Atlanta Falcons, looking to send off a lost season. Instead, their fourth quarterback secured a win throwing to their fourth receiver.
The Minnesota Vikings were supposed to lose to the Atlanta Falcons. The disastrous injury situation somehow got worse moments before the game when a late-week groin injury to Christian Darrisaw meant that Minnesota lost their three best offensive players, who also happened to play the three most important positions in football.
Entering the game, there weren’t a ton of reasons fans were compelled to watch the game – but the progress of rookie quarterback Jaren Hall was one of them. Tuning in was not an exercise in evaluating the present but perhaps a glimpse into the future.
Two drives in, the Vikings lost even that scant narrative after Hall’s head hit the turf and he was diagnosed with a concussion. After arriving the previous Tuesday, twice-traded quarterback Joshua Dobbs entered the game to lead the offense.
To some Vikings fans, this situation reminded them of the infamous Josh Freeman Game, a Monday night affair against the New York Giants that might have been the sloppiest game the Vikings have ever played after a quarterback who had arrived that week was tabbed to start the game.
The Vikings found themselves relying on their fourth quarterback, who arrived five days prior, behind an offensive line without three of the five linemen who started the season.
Though two of those linemen were theoretically upgrades over who started in the opener, it still presented chemistry problems and the running game couldn’t get going.
Though the running game improved in the second half, the first-half running back duo rushed for one yard. Not on average, but total – over the course of 11 carries.
And things got worse after a nasty concussion to K.J. Osborn, robbing the receiving corps of their second receiver – only second because All-Pro Justin Jefferson wasn’t in the game due to injury.
That meant the Vikings were without their first, second and third quarterbacks, their first and third receivers and without their top tackle. With Oli Udoh on injured reserve, it also meant they were without their top backup at tackle, too. And, later in the game, the only running back to produce a ten-plus yard run in the game, Cam Akers, suffered an Achilles injury, taking him out for the season.
All the excitement had been sapped from the game in the first quarter and that despair was punctuated with the Osborn injury in the second.
Except
Except.
After some initial hurdles – which included a fumble and a safety – Dobbs turned in an electric performance. He wasn’t without missteps, but he also showcased the ability to consistently hit his receivers in the hands even if they, in typical Vikings fashion, couldn’t always reel it in.
The Vikings, down eight points in the third quarter, captured the lead at the beginning of the fourth. Much of it came from improvisational play from Dobbs, characterized by Dobbs’ mobility – either scrambling for rushing yards or moving to buy time behind the line of scrimmage. Both types of plays were critical to putting the ball into the end zone and why the Vikings grabbed the lead.
It’s important not to ignore the defense, either – the first four Falcons scores constituted 62 yards of gain beyond the line of scrimmage. Again, that’s not an average but a total.
Though the Falcons ended up engineering two other scoring drives of over 70 yards, it’s hard to say that the Vikings defense played anything but lights out, especially as they secured two turnovers in the second half to set up offensive scores.
Jordan Hicks and Danielle Hunter had phenomenal games, and Byron Murphy showed up big, too. Josh Metellus, who has established himself as a keystone member of the defense, missed some snaps due to injury but showcased impact play before and after that injury. While there were some ups and downs for Akayleb Evans, he did play an important role after forcing a fumble.
Eventually, the defense gave up a touchdown on a near-seven-minute drive to set up a Dobbs comeback attempt with 2:08 remaining. Given his troubles in the fourth quarter and his complete unfamiliarity with the offense, it seemed like an impossible scenario.
The Doppler Effect describes a phenomenon where sounds change in frequency based on the relative movement of an observer. In other words, things sound different as the sound gets closer. The Dobbs Effect might be the same thing, but with chaos.
Helped in part by an amazing sideline catch from Addison and hurt by a brutal contested catch loss from T.J. Hockenson, Dobbs skied a pass to Brandon Powell on third down just to convert 4th and 7 after breaking multiple tackles behind the line of scrimmage. With his scramble, he ended up as the lead rusher on either team. It seemed truly impossible when it happened.
Dobbs, who trusted Trishton Jackson on a two-point conversion after Jackson lost a key contested catch earlier in the drive, decided to go back to Brandon Powell for the go-ahead touchdown. It worked out.
Instead of reminding Vikings fans of the failure on Monday night in 2013, this performance instead reminded Vikings fans of Case Keenum’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2017.
In some ways, Dobbs’ performance reinforces the fact that the Vikings are not about lost seasons. They are about the stupidest winning seasons imaginable.
Wait.... so, we can have nice things?
For now.