Current:Home > ContactVikings QB Joshua Dobbs didn't know most of his teammates' names. He led them to a win. -AssetBase
Vikings QB Joshua Dobbs didn't know most of his teammates' names. He led them to a win.
View
Date:2025-04-19 02:28:40
Who needs practice − or to know who you are playing with − when you're Joshua Dobbs?
Just five days after he was traded from the Arizona Cardinals to the Minnesota Vikings, the quarterback was thrust into his new team's road game against the Atlanta Falcons after rookie starter Jaren Hall was injured on the team's second possession of the day.
Even without taking a single snap with the offense in the practice leading up to Sunday, Dobbs delivered an incredible come-from-behind performance by completing 20 of 30 passes for 158 yards and two touchdown passes, including the game-winning scoring throw to Brandon Powell with 22 seconds left to lift Minnesota into a 31-28 win. The result moved the Vikings to 5-4 on the season for their fourth-straight victory.
Dobbs was also the leading rusher on the day, with seven carries for 66 yards and a touchdown run, with several runs extending drives and keeping hopes of a win alive.
'He's smart as hell'
Powell and fellow Vikings receiver Jordan Addison both confirmed to reporters postgame that Dobbs didn't throw any passes during practice.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
"He's smart as hell. To be able to come in here and learn that offense that fast and go out there and call them plays, he's smart. That's a smart dude," Powell said. "He was paying attention. Came in the game, never practicing, and we won the game.
"It's hard to go out there and execute when you don't get the reps, but he did it."
Addison added that everyone in the offensive huddle was letting Dobbs know what they'd be doing on each play, and confirming what routes receivers would run. Regardless, Dobbs was at the center of a big celebration with teammates in the locker room after the win.
Dobbs plans on learning teammates' names
Dobbs, who was the Cardinals' starter for eight games after being traded by the Cleveland Browns just before the start of the regular season, described the whirlwind of the week like someone taking a Spanish class for an entire year and then being told they need to take a test in French. He said coaches asked him how comfortable he felt with the playbook in case he needed to play, to which he said, "anything on this call sheet that we installed this week, I got it. I can run it. I got it." He even admitted that going into Sunday, he didn't know the majority of his teammates' full names.
"If we had to pull up a roster of names, I'll be a bad teammate today," Dobbs said.
But the fourth-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft has his next thing to learn, as Minnesota will prepare to face the New Orleans Saints in Week 10.
"Names, that's for this week. That's an assignment for this week," Dobbs said.
veryGood! (522)
Related
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- A pregnant woman sues for the right to an abortion in challenge to Kentucky’s near-total ban
- Mike Tyson has lived a wild life. These 10 big moments have defined his career
- Armie Hammer Says His Mom Gifted Him a Vasectomy for His 38th Birthday
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Nevada Democrats keep legislative control but fall short of veto-proof supermajority
- Spirit Airlines cancels release of Q3 financial results as debt restructuring talks heat up
- 15 new movies you'll want to stream this holiday season, from 'Emilia Perez' to 'Maria'
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Police identify 7-year-old child killed in North Carolina weekend shooting
Ranking
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- Garth Brooks wants to move his sexual assault case to federal court. How that could help the singer.
- Residents urged to shelter in place after apparent explosion at Louisville business
- Nevada Democrats keep legislative control but fall short of veto-proof supermajority
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- DWTS' Gleb Savchenko Shares Why He Ended Brooks Nader Romance Through Text Message
- US inflation may have picked up in October after months of easing
- When is 'The Golden Bachelorette' finale? Date, time, where to watch Joan Vassos' big decision
Recommendation
Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
Ben Foster Files for Divorce From Laura Prepon After 6 Years of Marriage
Homes of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce burglarized, per reports
Justice Department sues to block UnitedHealth Group’s $3.3 billion purchase of Amedisys
The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
Target will be closed on Thanksgiving: Here’s when stores open on Black Friday
Spirit Airlines cancels release of Q3 financial results as debt restructuring talks heat up
Mike Tyson has lived a wild life. These 10 big moments have defined his career