Inside The Vikings

Vikings Bench Dobbs For Mullens in Win Over Raiders: Who Starts Next Week?

Mullens seems like the most likely candidate to get the nod in Cincinnati.

Will Ragatz

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With 9:10 left in the fourth quarter of a scoreless game on Sunday, Kevin O'Connell decided to make a quarterback change. He benched Josh Dobbs — whose eight possessions had resulted in seven punts, a missed field goal, and 16 net passing yards — and turned to veteran Nick Mullens.

It was an overdue decision. Dobbs didn't get much help from his banged-up offensive line or his pass-catching corps, but he also clearly didn't have it. He was inaccurate, struggled to execute within the rhythm and timing of the offense, and was once again limited as a scrambler. He finished 10 of 23 for 63 passing yards and 21 rushing yards, getting sacked five times. It was a high throw from Dobbs that resulted in Justin Jefferson taking a huge hit and getting knocked out of the game in the second quarter.

Mullens came in and immediately gave the Vikings a spark with somewhat-fortunate deflected pass to T.J. Hockenson that was their longest play of the day at 26 yards. That possession still ended in another punt; it was the next series where the offense finally got going a little bit. Mullens converted three key third downs on a 13-play drive, including a 20-yard chunk to Jordan Addison to get the Vikings in range for the go-ahead field goal in their bizarre 3-0 victory.

"(We) did decide in the second half that Nick would provide us not only with a spark, but just knowing that we would probably have to have two, three, or four third down conversions," O'Connell said. "I felt like my trust in Nick, with his preparation, could be called upon. He had some reps last week to make sure that he was ready to go, and he did exactly that. He went in and made some critical plays to move the chains and ultimately get us in range for the very limited amount of points that we got today offensively, but enough to win the football game."

Mullens' final line was 9 of 13 for 83 yards with no rushing attempts or sacks. He's a backup-caliber quarterback, which showed up on a couple of his misses, but he was at least able to operate the offense at a level Dobbs couldn't on Sunday. Mullens made quicker decisions and converted several key throws with the proper timing. And unlike Dobbs, who likes to bail out of the pocket against pressure, Mullens had a couple reps where he hung in the pocket against the Raiders' pass rush and made the throw.

After the game, O'Connell declined to announce his starting quarterback for this Saturday's matchup with the Bengals. Mullens seems like the most likely and logical option, by far. Rookie Jaren Hall could theoretically be a candidate, but that would be surprising given that he was inactive in Vegas. And for as fun as Dobbs' first two games were, it would also be quite surprising if the Vikings went back to him in Cincinnati. The Linsanity run appears to be over for Dobbs, at least for now.

"I credit Josh for his preparation," O'Connell said. "I credit him for coming out and giving our offense some chances in the first half. There's probably plenty of guys in (our locker room) thinking back on a few plays that will tell you that they can make that play when given the opportunity. And then just as the game went on, just a couple plays here and there that probably Josh would love to have back. I felt like they were going to make it tough for him to try to really get up and out (of the pocket) and attack. He got us an early first down there with his legs, and then it kind of dried up from there."

O'Connell should've turned to Mullens earlier than he did, but those decisions are never easy.

"It's difficult," he said. "I always want to communicate and be honest, and I just said at this point in time, I want to give Nick a chance to get in there. Nick's got a great feel for our offense and when I was able to call it for him and kind of communicate with him a little bit, he went out there and executed. So, we'll take a look at it. I don't want to get into declaring anything for next week right now with the type of injuries and the way it's been on offense this season. We're a week-to-week offense at this point. We're going to find out who we're going to have available, figure out the best possible plan we can put together against a really good (Bengals) team at their place. And we'll let you guys know as the week goes on."

Will Nick Mullens be the Vikings' starter next Saturday against the Bengals? / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

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Will Ragatz
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