Josh Dobbs will be under center for a fifth consecutive game when the Vikings visit the Raiders Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell was noncommittal about his starter after Dobbs threw four interceptions in a home loss to the Chicago Bears before the bye week, and it wasn’t until Wednesday that O’Connell gave Dobbs a public vote of confidence.
“We will be starting Josh Dobbs in the football game on Sunday,” O’Connell said. “Feel great about our bye week process of two layers to it, evaluating where Josh has been as far as immediately providing a spark and helping us win two football games and then transitioning to some tough outcomes where there’s all kinds of things we can do better. We could coach better, Josh’s continued comfort in our offense and how we play, but also our offense and our staff’s ability to evolve and help Josh thrive is our plan. We’re very confident in him.”
For the season, Dobbs has completed 64.0% of his passes for 2,401 yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He’s also rushed for 400 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games between the Cardinals and Vikings.
In five games since being traded to Minnesota, Dobbs has completed 66.4% of his attempts for 832 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions while adding 142 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Dobbs has also fumbled a league most 14 times this season, eight with the Cardinals and six with the Vikings.
Nick Mullens will be the backup quarterback in Vegas and Jaren Hall will likely be the emergency third-string QB.
The Vikings-Raiders game kicks off at 3:05 p.m. Sunday.
