ATLANTA — A number of days in the past, a person walked into the locker room on the Minnesota Vikings’ follow facility carrying a hanger with a pink No. 15 jersey dangling off it like he simply grabbed it from a reduction rack at an area sporting items retailer. Garrett Bradbury, the Vikings’ heart, observed this man and determined to introduce himself. He stood up and prolonged his hand.
“Garrett,” he stated.
“Josh Dobbs,” the person replied.
“Welcome, man,” Bradbury stated.
“Pumped to be right here,” Dobbs responded.
There was a pause. Then Dobbs put two and two collectively: This was the Vikings’ heart, a teammate of some significance for a quarterback simply starting to get his bearings in a brand new metropolis, a brand new workforce, a brand new offense.
“I’ve truly obtained some cadence questions for you once you’ve obtained a while,” he stated.
“Any time!” Bradbury stated, whereas privately questioning how on this planet Dobbs had already thought of cadences. “Simply hit me up on it at any time when.”
Neither man may know then what we all know now. {That a} mere 78 hours after that introduction, Dobbs would have his arms between Bradbury’s legs whereas 71,000 enemy followers and 11 Atlanta Falcons defenders had been respiration down their necks. 5 days after he was acquired in a commerce with the Arizona Cardinals, Dobbs wouldn’t solely be working the Vikings offense, however he would even be improvising on the fly, making performs together with his legs and commanding the unit as if he had been working it for years to spur Minnesota to an unbelievable and enthralling 31-28 victory Sunday over the Falcons. He completed with 158 yards by way of the air on 20-of-30 passing. He additionally ran for 66 yards on seven carries. On the time of that preliminary dialog, Dobbs was simply looking for his method round.
After assembly Bradbury, he meandered to his locker. Reporters crowded round him. Cameras zoomed in on his bewildered face. He talked in regards to the commerce. About how, within the 36-hour span that adopted final weekend’s Cardinals loss, he had transitioned from starter to backup to studying the Vikings had added him within the aftermath of Kirk Cousins’ ruptured proper Achilles tendon. The information shocked him. Actually? After beginning the primary eight video games of the season? After lastly discovering a spot to reside? He needed to transfer once more?
By no means hand over. pic.twitter.com/2YBhXrx55s
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 5, 2023
He had been residing out of the identical suitcase for the primary six weeks of the 2023 season. That is what occurs when the Cleveland Browns commerce you late in coaching camp. Lastly, his furnishings arrived final week. To rejoice, his dad and mom flew from their house in Alpharetta, Ga., to stick with him and watch him play. They loved the weekend, Dobbs stated, and even when he was unhappy together with his play, they all appreciated the temporary second of stability.
In actuality, the one factor secure in his younger NFL profession has been the colour of the jersey he wears in follow. Quarterbacks nearly at all times put on pink, irrespective of if the sport day model is Steeler black, Titan blue, Cardinal pink or, now, Viking purple. The 28-year-old has appeared in video games for 4 groups in 3 1/2 years and been rostered on three extra, a dizzying journey that he likes to name “an exquisite journey.” Ending the introductory interview Thursday, he scanned the Vikings’ locker room, seemed to the left, then the correct. He blinked exhausting. His eyes flickered with what gave the impression to be oncoming tears.
“That is going to be an incredible story to inform,” he stated.
The person stands at a lectern within the bowels of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Vikings have gained. The locker room is vibrating. In an adjoining interview room, the person grabs the microphone together with his proper hand, seems to be up on the media members seated earlier than him and says: “What’s up, y’all. I’m Josh Dobbs. Honored to be in Minnesota. (Needed to) introduce myself.”
Mission achieved.
Dobbs had simply commandeered the Vikings on an 11-play, 75-yard game-winning drive with 2 minutes, 8 seconds remaining. The momentum constructed like a tidal wave, and Vikings common supervisor Kwesi Adofo-Mensah paced within the press field as he watched all of it.
Josh Dobbs and Kevin O’Connell embrace after the @Vikings go-ahead landing! pic.twitter.com/l0JthGBpow
— FOX Sports activities: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 5, 2023
Adofo-Mensah was antsy, nervous and unquestionably entertained amid a day that had been gut-wrenching. The workforce’s beginning quarterback, rookie Jaren Corridor, exited with a concussion after a collision on the purpose line on his second drive of the sport. One of many workforce’s beginning broad receivers, Ok.J. Osborn, was carted off after a vicious hit over the center. Backup working again Cam Akers had been taken to the locker room with an Achilles harm. Famous person broad receiver Justin Jefferson watched from the sideline for the fourth straight sport and ascending left deal with Christian Darrisaw was a late scratch with a groin harm.
Due to a valiant effort by Brian Flores’ defensive unit, and a gutsy offensive effort, the Vikings had an opportunity that lay within the arms of the person Adofo-Mensah had simply acquired. On the time of the deal, the Vikings had been sure about one factor: Dobbs may study an offense on a whim. Not memorize an offensive playbook or name sheet — however study it. Dobbs’ faculty coach at Tennessee, Butch Jones, described this high quality as Dobbs’ useful intelligence.
“It’s not simply ebook good,” Jones stated. “He’s capable of apply what he learns and take it over on the sphere. The good factor is you solely have to inform him one time.”
By now, you most likely know that Dobbs is legitimately a rocket scientist. His faculty coursework at Tennessee consisted of mastering engineering equations. That keenness derives from a childhood fascination with house. The maths background doesn’t translate on to soccer, however as Dobbs has stated, there are extra similarities between quarterbacks and engineers than you would possibly assume.
“Defenses are giving me completely different issues, the place you’re taking the evaluation of information from movie, and it’s a must to assess these issues and remedy them rapidly to place your workforce in environment friendly conditions,” he stated in a video detailing an externship he had with NASA. Sure, you learn that proper.
Having Dobbs achieve this Sunday was by no means the Vikings’ plan, however then once more, Dobbs’ path has not often gone to plan. If he seemed comfy within the warmth of crunchtime Sunday in opposition to the Falcons, it’s only as a result of he is aware of what it feels prefer to be thrown into the hearth. The primary time Dobbs took the sphere in faculty on the College of Tennessee got here as a real freshman. Towards Alabama. At Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Tennessee starter Justin Worley exited with an harm, and Dobbs got here in and led the Volunteers on their solely two scoring drives of the sport in a 45-10 loss. Dobbs was nonetheless backing up Worley within the first seven video games of his second season. When Worley suffered an harm, Jones gave Dobbs his first begin of the season in opposition to a well-recognized foe: Alabama.
“We requested him to have the ability to have run-pass checks, run-run checks, run RPOs, designed quarterback runs, nakeds,” Jones stated Sunday. “Every little thing you would ask of a quarterback, we requested of him. He didn’t blink. He was very poised. He executed it.”
The Vikings hoped these traits would present up for Corridor, which is why they constructed their total week of prep across the rookie. Corridor participated in the entire first-team reps in follow. He met incessantly with quarterbacks coach Chris O’Hara. Minnesota believed he may handle the operation, and Corridor was off to a promising begin earlier than his head bounced off the turf on a deal with by Falcons cornerback Jeff Okudah on the second drive of the sport.
Dobbs noticed the hit and initially nervous for his new teammate. Realizing the severity, he stood and commenced to throw. He circled up with the Vikings offensive linemen to go over their 5 most oft-used cadences. He practiced snaps with Bradbury for the primary time. He reviewed a few of the Vikings’ precedence play calls with O’Hara.
Time blurred, and earlier than he knew it, he was on the sphere, shrugging off tacklers, escaping pockets and listening to Kevin O’Connell map out performs in his ear. By the crackling microphones, O’Connell described how Dobbs wanted to drop again, the place the first reads had been going to be, which routes can be occurring on the left and which routes receivers can be working on the correct. In truth, Dobbs stated, the coach was utilizing language that Dobbs had turn into accustomed to in earlier methods to translate into what was mandatory Sunday.
“It’s like in case you had been taking AP Spanish all yr and also you confirmed up and on Wednesday any person stated you had an AP French examination on Sunday,” Dobbs stated. “Someone goes to speak to you in Spanish and translate it to the French. That’s kinda what was happening on the market.”
The operation was disjointed at first. The Falcons sacked Dobbs for a security on his first possession. He fumbled on the following. However within the spirit of the workforce for which he’s now enjoying, a workforce that has taken punches by way of the primary 9 weeks within the type of accidents to stars like Jefferson and Cousins, Dobbs responded.
Following a fumble on the Vikings’ first possession within the second half, Dobbs began to discover a rhythm. He scrambled for first downs, disposing of linebackers as if he’d hit a sport breaker. He climbed the pocket and positioned the ball precisely down the sphere. He managed the sport effectively, successfully, confidently. He threw a 2-yard landing to Alexander Mattison within the second quarter, scrambled 18 yards for a landing within the third and likewise led two discipline purpose drives within the second half. Every profitable drive constructed perception in Dobbs and his teammates that their fourth straight victory was inside attain, even after Atlanta scored to go up 28-24 simply earlier than the two-minute warning.
On third & 10, Joshua Dobbs scrambled 55.6 yards to choose up 11, sufficient for a @Vikings first down.
🔹 Anticipated Rush Yards: 4
🔹 Rush Yards Over Anticipated: +7
🔹 First Down Likelihood: 7.6%Alexander Mattison discovered the top zone on a 2-yard rec TD two performs later.#MINvsATL | #SKOL pic.twitter.com/S74YXmqrux
— Subsequent Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 5, 2023
It doesn’t matter what was occurring round him — safeties, fumbles, defensive breakdowns — Dobbs wasn’t shaken. He had been sacked earlier than. He had turned the ball over earlier than. He had been traded earlier than. He had additionally engineered game-winning drives earlier than, together with one that may reside ceaselessly in Tennessee lore when he accomplished a 43-yard Hail Mary to Jauan Jennings to win at Georgia in 2016.
Going through a fourth-and-7 Sunday, with the pocket collapsing, Dobbs teleported his method by way of the our bodies and scampered for a primary down. After which, within the pink zone, with O’Connell feeding him data in his helmet in regards to the Falcons’ tendency to play Cowl 4 within the pink zone, Dobbs shifted his eyes to the correct, then discovered broad receiver Brandon Powell ultimately zone for the go-ahead rating.
Powell spiked the soccer in celebration. O’Connell fist-pumped aggressively, then spiked his headset in glee. Dobbs flexed, screamed, absorbed the vitality of all of it.
“I do know he’s very, very good,” O’Connell stated. “However I can inform you that what he was capable of do in 5 days time was as spectacular of what I’ve seen a quarterback do to return right here in opposition to that protection and discover a method.”
When reached Sunday evening at his workplace at Arkansas State College, Jones knowledgeable a caller that he had not seen the sport, however that his telephone had not stopped buzzing all day. When he was knowledgeable of the small print of Dobbs’ heroics, Jones chuckled and stated he was not stunned one bit.
“The factor we found early with Josh is the true type of Josh Dobbs comes out once you make him reside, when he’s in sport settings,” Jones stated. “That’s the place his pure instincts kick in.”
O’Connell may barely communicate at his information convention. His voice sounded prefer it was made from gravel, strained to the bounds by his on-the-fly, in-game set up periods as Dobbs moved from one play to the following.
“As you possibly can hear, I (used) this fairly a bit,” he stated, pointing to his throat.
He talked about Dobbs. In regards to the command, in regards to the athleticism, in regards to the effectivity. A neighborhood reporter then requested a query about what O’Connell thought it meant to Dobbs to carry out like this almost half-hour from the place he grew up.
“This will shock you,” O’Connell interjected, “however I simply met him a couple of days in the past and I didn’t even know that. You simply gave me one thing to speak to our new quarterback about.”
“He’s from Alpharetta Excessive,” the reporter responded.
“Nicely, there you go,” O’Connell stated.
Dobbs’ dad and mom attended Sunday’s sport, and in the case of Dobbs’ story, Jones stated it begins there — with Robert and Stephanie — who supported their youngster’s goals. Who poured gasoline on the hearth of the child who needed to pursue aerospace engineering and quarterback on the identical time. Who’ve watched their son transfer from workforce to workforce, metropolis to metropolis, alternative to alternative with a perception that he may constantly enhance.
Jacob Nichols, who coached Dobbs in highschool, was prepping for a forthcoming Georgia highschool playoff sport when his telephone started blowing up about what his former participant had carried out to the native workforce.
When he heard, he couldn’t assist however take into consideration the primary time he actually understood what the person may turn into. Dobbs had been competing for the beginning job, however coaches opted to begin one other participant. Needing a spark late within the sport, they thrust within the heady junior, who marched the workforce down the sphere, accomplished a game-winning crossing route and by no means seemed again.
The Vikings wanted greater than a spark Sunday. They wanted a savior. By the point the person was carried out working his magic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, everybody within the Vikings locker room and everybody watching within the latest place he calls house knew his identify.
His identify is Josh Dobbs. He’s the quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.
(Photograph: Alex Slitz / Getty Photographs)
