Former Steelers QB Leads Vikings to Wild Win in First Game

On Monday, Josh Dobbs was a member of the Arizona Cardinals and the starter. But on Sunday, he led the Minnesota Vikings to a wild 31-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Dobbs got traded to the Vikings mid-week after starter Kirk Cousins was ruled out for the season with a torn Achilles. But backup rookie Jaren Hall suffered a concussion on a brutal hit at the goal line. That led Dobbs into action, which he did at a high level. The former Steelers quarterback keeps finding ways to make plays.

Dobbs finished the game 20 of 30 for 158 yards and two touchdowns through the air while adding seven carries for 66 yards and a touchdown in relief of Hall. Leading a game-winning drive down the field, Dobbs found Brandon Powell for a six-yard touchdown pass to give them the win.

Before heading to the Vikings, Dobbs started eight games in Arizona. In eight games, Dobbs is 167 for 266, completing 62.8% of his passes for 1,569 yards — a 5.9 yards per attempt average. He has thrown eight touchdowns and five interceptions and has an 81.2 passer rating. He ranks 19th with a QBR of 46.6, just behind Joe Burrow.

The former Steelers quarterback did all he could do for the Vikings with just four days in the playbook. That’s mighty impressive, but it’s not a surprise given how smart Dobbs is, showcasing his ability to learn a playbook and play at a high level quickly.

Dobbs was the Steelers’ fourth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Tennessee and spent most of the next five seasons as the Steelers’ third-string quarterback.

He spent all of 2017 as the third-stringer behind Ben Roethlisberger and Landry Jones, and then backed up Roethlisberger in 2018, playing in five games of relief. He completed six of 12 passes for 43 yards.

In 2019, the Steelers traded Dobbs to the Jacksonville Jaguars, as he had fallen behind Mason Rudolph on the depth chart. Dobbs spent that season in Jacksonville as the Steelers struggled with Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at quarterback.