Kevin O’Connell started his post-game press conference on Sunday with the following quote, and nothing could be more indicative of the spectacle we witnessed.
“I don’t know [if] I’ve been a part of one like that…when you think about all the things you talk about every single day in your organization. That people matter, that culture matters. Building the type of football team we want to have. What’s inside of each and every guy in that locker room, and the feelings they have towards one another. These are the days that cement why you believe what you believe as a coach. I’ll quite honestly remember this one for a long time.”
There aren’t many times when the football world can’t believe that a phenomenon occurred. The game has been played for over 150 years, so it’s tough to surprise most fans and analysts.
But even so, Josh Dobbs and this Minnesota Vikings team found a way to surprise the entire football world by beating the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Everyone knows the story.
Dobbs had not taken any practice snaps due to the need to prepare rookie Jaren Hall at all costs. So, when Hall became concussed after only the second drive of the game, Dobbs was thrown into the fires of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, just 30 minutes away from his hometown of Alpharetta, Georgia.
Dobbs had his faults as he traversed his new reality of being thrown into a new scheme, with new terminology in just five days. But with the help of Kevin O’Connell and the rest of this coaching staff, Minnesota pulled off a victory with enough magnitude to potentially define a season.
A defining part of our season.#Skol pic.twitter.com/YJsH2eQsir
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 7, 2023
Dobbs and his performance has taken on a life of its own very quickly. This is a perfect time to review how we got to this moment.
Let’s take a quick look at the difficult hike it took to get back to playoff aspirations for the 2023 Vikings.