Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell decided to bench quarterback Josh Dobbs nearly three hours into a scoreless battle with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The journeyman veteran who earned the hearts of the Vikings’ fan base and locker room by winning his first two games couldn’t shake a recent downturn after the bye week. He was sacked five times while completing 10 of 23 passes for 63 yards.
Dobbs was replaced in the fourth quarter, bringing in Nick Mullens for the Vikings’ last two drives. Mullens led Minnesota to a 3-0 victory in Las Vegas, but O’Connell was uncommitted to any quarterback after the game.
He stated that benching Dobbs was a difficult choice and that he will “take a look” at the quarterback position – a similar statement he used when mulling a QB move during the bye week.
“I want to communicate and be honest, and I just said, ‘I want to give Nick a chance to get in there,'” O’Connell recalled of his conversation with Dobbs. “Nick has a great feel for our offense and when I could call up for him and communicate, he went out here and executed.”
The judgment was correct, as the Vikings (7-6) avoided calamity and retained their NFC Wild Card place. According to The Upshot’s playoff model, Minnesota has a 56% probability of making the playoffs with a win on Sunday.
Justin Jefferson Avoids Injuries, Returns Home With Team
On Sunday, Justin Jefferson’s first game back since sustaining a hamstring injury in Week 5 was cut short.
The star wide receiver caught his second pass of the game but was struck hard by Raiders defender Marcus Epps in the process.
Jefferson went to the locker room and was sent to a hospital in the Las Vegas region with a chest ailment.
In his postgame news conference, O’Connell clarified that Jefferson was free of any concerns that would prevent him from coming home with the team.
Jefferson is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals due to a short week.
Injuries to Vikings players continue to mount.
On Sunday, the Vikings offense suffered a slew of injuries, reducing the team’s effectiveness.
Right guard Ed Ingram was already declared out prior to the game, and right tackle Brian O’Neill sprained his left ankle in the second quarter and did not return. Guard Dalton Risner also left the field for a few plays but returned. O’Neill was replaced by David Quessenberry, while Ingram was replaced by Blake Brandel.
Alexander Mattison, the starting running back, suffered a right ankle sprain in the second half and did not return. Ty Chandler took over as the starting running back, with Kene Nwangwu and C.J. Ham providing some relief.
Jalen Nailor, a wide receiver, was placed in concussion protocol following Sunday’s game. He’s unlikely to be cleared for next week’s game.
The Vikings have six players on the injured reserve list who started the season on the 53-man roster: quarterback Kirk Cousins, running back Cam Akers, swing tackle Oli Udoh, edge rusher Marcus Davenport, defensive tackle Dean Lowry, and linebacker Jordan Hicks.
