Vikings Rally to Beat Falcons Behind Heroic Performance From Josh Dobbs
Four days after his first practice with the Vikings, Josh Dobbs just led his new team to an improbable victory with an incredible performance that won't be forgotten for a very long time.
Dobbs was active as the backup quarterback for Sunday's game against the Falcons despite having been acquired from the Falcons just five days earlier. With Kirk Cousins out for the season, this was supposed to be a big opportunity for rookie Jaren Hall. Then, moving forward, maybe Dobbs and Nick Mullens would be options for head coach Kevin O'Connell if Hall wasn't playing well.
Life had other plans. At the end of an impressive drive in the first quarter, Hall suffered a concussion on a big hit near the goal line. He was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. Enter Dobbs, whose head had to be swimming with all kinds of new information and terminology.
Things got off to a slow start, as Dobbs was sacked for a safety and lost two fumbles within his first four possessions, mixing in a touchdown pass to Alexander Mattison that was set up by a ridiculous scramble on third down. But he settled into a rhythm and led four scoring drives in the second half, capped by throwing the game-winning touchdown to Brandon Powell with 22 seconds on the clock.
Somehow, someway, Dobbs scored three total TDs and led the Vikings to a thrilling 31-28 win over the Falcons. It's the fourth consecutive victory for a team that is now above .500 for the first time all season at 5-4 — despite using three different quarterbacks in the last two contests.
This was truly an unbelievable team win for the Vikings, who battled through all kinds of adversity. They were down their top three quarterbacks in Cousins, Nick Mullens, and Hall. They were without two of their superstars in Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw. In addition to losing Hall during the game, both K.J. Osborn and Cam Akers got hurt. T.J. Hockenson was playing through pain.
The Vikings were down 11-3, 21-13, and 28-24. And they just kept battling. Dobbs made some big throws from the pocket and some massive plays with his legs, scrambling to make things happen and extend drives. Brian Flores' defense came up with takeaways on two consecutive Falcons plays from scrimmage in the third quarter, helping make up for the two Dobbs fumbles. In the end, when the Vikings had to have it, Dobbs scrambled for a conversion on fourth down and then found Powell for the game-winning score.
This was a back-and-forth game all afternoon long. The Falcons went back up by eight points in the second half when Taylor Heinicke hit Jonnu Smith for a 60-yard touchdown on a screen pass. Then the Vikings responded with an 18-yard touchdown scramble by Dobbs and took their first lead on a Greg Joseph field goal early in the fourth quarter. After the Falcons took a 28-24 lead just before the two-minute warning, Dobbs seized the moment and put together a drive that will go down in Vikings history.
Next up for the Vikings is a home game against the Saints next Sunday.
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