The Vikings’ QB1 Debate Has Been Settled. Who Belongs at QB2, Though, Remains Wide Open
The Vikings’ QB1 debate doesn’t offer much suspense. Nick Mullens is going to be the starter in Week 15.
True, Kevin O’Connell wouldn’t commit to him in the post-game press conference, but the decision is clear. In less than a quarter of football, Mullens easily surpassed Josh Dobbs’ passing output. Mullens finished his day having gone 9/13 for 83 yards. Meanwhile, Dobbs had gone 10/23 for 63 yards. One QB had an 86.4 QB rating while the other had a 50.8 QB rating.
Most importantly, Mullens picked up the victory. The case has been closed for Week 15. Nick Mullens is going to be the starter when the Vikings begin the Bengals battle.
The only remaining QB question is who will take over as the QB2. The offense comes to a screeching halt when Dobbs is under center. Yes, he offers mobility, but the rushing yards have been largely absent in recent weeks. Should he be the main backup going into Week 15?
The Vikings’ QB1 Debate Isn’t Difficult. What about QB2?
At this point, the Vikings would be foolish not to prepare for the worst case scenario.
Health has been fleeting for Minnesota. Brian O’Neill left and didn’t return; so too did Alexander Mattison need to miss the rest of the game after leaving. Jalen Nailor is in the concussion protocol and Dalton Risner got dinged up, as well. Most cruel of all is that Justin Jefferson had to leave the game and go to the hospital (though there are signs of optimism).
Inserting Mullens as the starter and then not having enough foresight to wonder about who belongs at QB2 would be very misguided. After all, Mullens is coming off of a back injury that put him on the IR for several weeks. Minnesota must prepare itself for the worst case as they hope for the best case.
The team’s injury troubles help to explain why the offense underwhelmed in Las Vegas — which is to say nothing of the drops from the receivers — but Dobbs had a horrendous game. He completed just 43% of his passes and each completion went for just 6.3 yards. Mattison’s 10 carries for 66 yards actually outgained Dobbs’ 10 completions for 63 yards. Not good, folks.
The last time Dobbs played strong football was in the second quarter of the Saints game in Week 10. Since then, he has offered Minnesota some poor football at the game’s most important position.
Coming into the game, O’Connell made an effort to point out that Nick Mullens would be ready to go in if needed: “Nick Mullens will be ready to go. We’ll prepare Nick like we always do. He’s one of the most professional guys I’ve been around, always ready to roll. And our entire team knows that they can count on Nick when called upon.”
O’Connell’s words ended up being prophetic. Mullens was needed; Mullens was ready. The win was ugly, but the new quarterback did enough to get Minnesota up to 7-6.
The head coach certainly put a lot of effort into articulating his confidence in Dobbs before the game. However, we know that the confidence hasn’t always been there. Following the Bears defeat in Week 12, O’Connell admitted that he was more conservative in his play calling on the final drive because there was concern about turning the ball over, a legitimate fear given that Dobbs had thrown 4 interceptions.
One wonders, then, if there will be confidence in the possibility of keeping Dobbs as the QB2. The backup quarterback is, by definition, just a single snap away from getting into the game. An injury to the starter means the QB2 will need to jump into the action. Should that man be Dobbs or Hall?
The Brian Flores defense has been playing marvellous football. Lately, Minnesota’s offense has only needed to be average to win football games. Nailing the QB spot, of course, is the most consequential part of getting into that modest category.
Expect Nick Mullens to be the main man on Saturday when the Vikings get into their showdown with the Bengals, and don’t be at all surprised if Jaren Hall is the main backup.
8 Reactions to the Vikings’ Defensive Victory over the Raiders
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.