Week 8 brought significant misfortune for the Minnesota Vikings, losing their veteran starter Kirk Cousins to a season-ending injury. They swiftly replaced him with Joshua Dobbs, and the team appeared to find a good rhythm with Dobbs, securing wins in Weeks 8 and 10.
However, fortunes shifted dramatically in the subsequent weeks, resulting in narrow losses in two consecutive games. Of particular note was the starter’s final play against the Chicago Bears, prompting the Bears team to reconsider his future with the franchise.
Josh Dobbs faces criticism after losing to Bears
Just a few weeks ago, Josh Dobbs was making headlines for his remarkable plays in the NFL, but the narrative took a sharp turn in his recent performance. After two standout starts for Minnesota, Dobbs faced a challenging night as his team struggled offensively. The Bears secured a solid 12-10 victory against the Vikings, marking the first time this season a team won without scoring a touchdown. To compound the nightmare, Dobbs threw four interceptions during the game.
Although Dobbs claimed to be dedicated to learning from his mistakes following the Week 11 game, it seems that his progress is slower than expected, leading to increasing impatience among fans. According to a Yahoo Sports analyst, it has been suggested that Dobbs might be facing some challenges as he becomes more familiar with his teammates, which could be affecting his performance in a negative way.
A co-host on Eyes on B1GPods added insult to injury by mocking Joshua’s impressive academic background as an aeronautical engineer, adding fuel to the fire of criticism.
Dobbs has acknowledged the challenges he’s facing since joining the Vikings, and now we are beginning to grasp the frustration that the starting quarterback is experiencing.
Vikings contemplated benching Dobbs on Monday night
Following the Vikings’ disappointing defeat against the Bears on Monday night, head coach Kevin O’Connell refrained from definitively naming Dobbs as the starting quarterback for their upcoming game against the Las Vegas Raiders after the bye week.
Instead, he expressed the intention to thoroughly evaluate Josh’s play inventory before making a decision. Josh Dobbs stepped into action for the Vikings in Week 9 after Hall suffered a concussion against the Atlanta Falcons. Now Dobbs is at risk of losing his position to Hall and Mullens.
“We’re going to take a look, really evaluate the inventory of plays we have of Josh,” he said, per SI.com.
As of now, no definitive statement can be made. The head coach emphasized that they have substantial work ahead during the bye week to reach a final decision, aiming to keep the 6-6 Viking playoff hopes alive.
Stay tuned to get the latest update.
