“What’s up, y’all? I’m Josh Dobbs. Honored to be in Minnesota and introduce myself,” a smiling, victorious Vikings quarterback said after his new team defeated the Falcons 31-28 Sunday on the road at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Dobbs was acquired in a trade last week with the Arizona Cardinals after the Vikings’ No. 1 quarterback Kirk Cousins was declared out for the season with an Achilles injury.
On Sunday, Dobbs, in his seventh season but just his 17th game, replaced rookie Jaren Hall, who left the game in the first quarter due to a concussion.
“This one was kind of learn as you go, hair’s on fire, hold onto your seat, but guys were able to respond,” Dobbs told reporters after going 20-for-30 and throwing for 158 yards with two touchdowns in the air and one on the ground.
One of those TDs came with just 22 seconds remaining and put the Vikings ahead. Dobbs said the first time he had ever thrown a pass to Brandon Powell, who made the winning catch, was in warmups. No reps in practice he said, but he was able to communicate well with his new teammates even if he didn’t really know them.
Dobbs said if he was to try to match the names of Vikings players to the roster “I would be a bad teammate today.”
“I knew a lot of first names,” he admitted. “And I know a lot of nicknames, per se. But names, that’s … an assignment for this week.”
Before the game, the coaches asked him about his comfort level with the playbook and he said as far as the plays put in for the Falcons’ game, “I got it.”
Although at first, it didn’t look like he had it: On his first series, he was sacked for a safety, then fumbled on his second possession.
But he and the team got into a rhythm, and the offense began to produce. Even when the former University of Tennessee quarterback didn’t have a receiver open, he was effective with his feet, rushing seven times for 66 yards and one touchdown.
Dobbs has had quite a past 12 months – signing with the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions, the Tennessee Titans, the Browns again, then being traded to the Cardinals in August and to the Vikings on Halloween.
“I’m excited to see what the future holds,” Dobbs told reporters following Sunday’s win.
