The Vikings have officially made a quarterback change.
After replacing Josh Dobbs during Sunday’s win at Las Vegas, the Vikings announced Tuesday that Nick Mullens will start at QB on Saturday when they take on the Bengals in Cincinnati.
Dobbs led the Vikings to wins over the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, but fell back down to Earth in a loss to the Denver Broncos and fell apart entirely in a loss to the Chicago Bears, in which he threw four interceptions.
After the Vikings made little happen on offense through three quarters against the Raiders on Sunday, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell turned to Mullens, who led Minnesota to its only scoring drive of the game — good enough for a 3-0 victory.
Mullens, who was previously the No. 2 backup to Kirk Cousins, was on injured reserve at the time of Cousins’ Achilles injury, and Jaren Hall started the next game at Atlanta.
Hall suffered a concussion during the first quarter, which thrust Dobbs into the lineup, and the Vikings stuck with him after he shined in his first couple games in purple.
But after the loss to the Bears, O’Connell declined to name a starter before eventually deciding to stick with Dobbs. O’Connell again declined to name a starter after Sunday’s game, but it was expected that Mullens would take the helm.
Mullens has thrown for 5,168 yards with 27 touchdowns and 23 interceptions while completing 65.4% of his passes over his six-year career in which he’s mostly served as a backup.
