Tag: Josh Dobbs

CNN interview reveals Kevin O’Connell leads through love and empathy

In an interview with CNN, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell gave some insights into his journey through the NFL and his mentality

In a recent interview with CNN anchor and Minnesota native Poppy Harlow, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell reflected upon his journey through the NFL ranks and towards becoming a head coach in the league. One of the biggest takeaways from the interview was his mentality on leadership, stating that love and empathy are at the forefront for him.

“It’s really what I view as the standard” is how O’Connell put it when asked by Harlow if it’s fair to say his goal is to lead the team with love and empathy, stating that he believes the players can sense they’re getting the “real, authentic” him and respect him for it.

Perhaps the greatest example of O’Connell putting his words into action came earlier this season through the acquisition of former Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs. Dobbs was acquired in a mid-season trade and was almost immediately thrust into action for the team.

Prior to Dobbs seeing his first action with the team, O’Connell let the quarterback know “No matter what happens these next two-and-a-half hours, I’m gonna be with ya, every step of the way.” That confidence in his quarterback let Dobbs come in and lead the Vikings to two straight victories under incredible circumstances.

The season didn’t end how Dobbs, O’Connell, or Vikings fans would have wanted, but during a season where the team faced extreme adversity, it was O’Connell’s principles of empathy and leadership through vulnerability that kept the team together and in the playoff hunt until the very end.

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2023 Minnesota Vikings by The Numbers

The 2023 season for the Minnesota Vikings was one that can’t be forgotten.

Since 2017, there have been 65 teams that have had a winning streak of five or more in a single season. Only ten failed to make the playoffs, including three from 2023: The Denver Broncos, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota’s run is a bit more impressive due to two of the wins being with a quarterback in Josh Dobbs, who was in the building for less than two weeks. Like the other two teams, however, the Vikings were victims of a crushing late-season collapse that took them out of the playoff race. 

Don’t let the ending take away from another memorable season for the Vikings.

What started as a simple quest for answers for the franchise’s future became an adventure for the ages, littered with twists and turns suitable for the Alex Rider series. While the ride ended disappointingly, the numbers from this season may have helped the front office to their answers after all.

To explain, we will split this season into four quarters and explain the numbers that coincide with each quarter to come to a conclusion for the future of the Vikings.

(All statistics are from Pro-Football-Reference via Stathead or rbsdm.com, unless otherwise stated.)

2023 season: Vikings biggest surprise performance

Which Minnesota Vikings did our staff believe had the biggest surprise performance in 2023?

The 2023 National Football League season is over for the Minnesota Vikings and now it’s time to reflect on what was and what could have been.

The Vikings had quite the roller coaster ride this season. After starting 1-4, they lost wide receiver Justin Jefferson and went on a five-game winning streak and won six out of their next eight games. They ultimately lost their final four to finish the season 7-10.

As we reflect back on the season that was for the Vikings, we as a staff took a look at it in multiple ways by handing out awards in different categories.

Here are the awards for the biggest surprise performance.

Good, bad and ugly from Vikings 30-20 loss vs. Lions

The Minnesota Vikings folded under the pressure of a must-win situation and missed out on the playoffs. Chris Spooner looks at the good, bad, and ugly from the Vikings 30-20 loss against Detroit.

Well folks, we’ve finally reached the end of the season. With the loss today against the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings have missed the playoffs and their season is officially over.

Even if the Vikings had won today, they didn’t get the help they needed to make the playoffs, as both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints won their games, eliminating the Vikings once again for good measure.

It’s been a frustrating season to say the least, but the fact that Minnesota even had a chance at the playoffs in the final game of the season, given all they’ve had to go through this season, is a remarkable feat in and of itself. It’s important to remember that as we reflect upon the season that was and look ahead towards the season that will be.

But before we get into our off-season coverage, let’s take a minute to look back on the final game of the season against Detroit. Despite the loss, there were a number of good things for the Vikings to take into the offseason, as well as a number of issues they’re going to have to correct for 2024.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the good, bad and ugly from the Vikings 30-20 loss to the Lions.

Josh Dobbs replaces Jaren Hall as QB2 vs. Lions

Josh Dobbs replaces Jaren Hall as the backup quarterback for Sunday’s game

After a disastrous performance against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night football, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Jaren Hall has been replaced as the backup quarterback by Josh Dobbs. Head coach Kevin O’Connell announced the news on Friday afternoon during his press conference.

“We’ll have (Josh) Dobbs as the backup, said O’Connell. “I think Dobbs has been able to go about the week and the process of getting a little bit more reps here and there, spending a little bit of time with Chris and Grant making sure he’s dialed in ready to go. Jaren will be in that emergency third (QB) role. A lot of things go into it, just the idea that third guy cannot go in the game unless there’s been injury to the first two guys. I didn’t think it was fair to Jaren to possibly have him in a situation where unless he’s injured he can’t come out of the game. Just long-term development, still a ton of confidence in where he’s at. I love the way he’s attacked this week and I think any good young player with a bright future, that’s the hope. He knows we support him fully and we’re going to use last week as a long-term learning op.”

This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise after the struggles that Hall had on Sunday. He completed just five-of-10 passes for 67 yards, an interception and a strip fack fumble. It does say something that the team still has confidence in Hall.

Dobbs has been the emergency quarterback since he was demoted after the Vikings 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. With the elevation of Dobbs, it could spell a short leash for starting quarterback Nick Mullens.

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With Steelers win vs. Seahawks, Vikings control their own playoff destiny

The Pittsburgh Steelers pull out the win against the Seattle Seahawks. The Minnesota Vikings now hold their playoff fate in their hands once again.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took down the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 30-23. With this win, the Minnesota Vikings once again control their destiny again when it comes to the playoff race.

With a win tonight against the Green Bay Packers and another win next week at Ford Field against the Detroit Lions, the Vikings will clinch their spot in the 2023 NFL playoffs.

The Vikings have had a windy, difficult road to the playoffs as they have been battling life without starting quarterback Kirk Cousins, as he left in week eight with a torn Achilles. With three different starters at quarterback, including a rookie (Jaren Hall) and a veteran forced into the game after only five days to study the playbook (Josh Dobbs), this team has had to face significant adversity to get to this point.

Now, their playoff destiny lies in their own hands, with two all-too-familiar opponents in front of them. Minnesota needed help, and they got it. Now it’s time for them to finish the job.

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Vikings vs. Packers: 4 offensive keys for week 17

Jaren Hall gets the start. What does the offense need to do to be successful with Hall at the helm?

We’ve reached do-or-die time for the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings take on the Green Bay Packers at 7:20 p.m. CST in primetime on Sunday Night Football. The winner gets to sleep peacefully, knowing that they have one more week to make a push for the playoffs. The loser goes home and likely eliminated from contention..

Green Bay’s defense under Joe Barry has been an uninspiring unit. They’re 17th in points allowed, 25th in EPA allowed/play and 30th in defensive DVOA. There has not been much to celebrate. This unit has been one of the more disappointing in the league.

The Vikings are not doing enough to win on the offensive side. They are scoring, averaging just over 24 points a game since Kirk Cousins has been out, but they can’t finish the job. Most of that is because of the lack of consistency at the position.

Josh Dobbs gave the performance of his life for six quarters. After that, he turns into a pumpkin for three straight games, including a game after the bye week. Nick Mullens gave it his best effort, and while the ball was moving, he didn’t perform at the level necessary to keep his job.

Now Minnesota turns to Jaren Hall, the only quarterback with a starting record above .500, to try to spark this offense to the playoffs.

Can he do it? He has the capabilities. He and the rest of this Minnesota offense must follow these four keys to success.

Vikings to start QB Jaren Hall in Week 17 vs. Packers

Hall will get his second start of the season against the Packers

The quarterback conundrum is over…for now.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke to the media on Thursday afternoon and informed the media that the Minnesota Vikings will start quarterback Jaren Hall on Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers.

This comes just days after Nick Mullens threw four interceptions against the Detroit Lions in a performance that wasn’t nearly as bad as the turnovers might have indicated. However, O’Connell did say there would be repercussions for turning the ball over and he is living up to his word.

Hall played relatively well in the small sample size he played this season, going 8-of-10 for 124 yards. This time around, Hall will have Justin Jefferson at his disposal as well as a healthy offensive line. Brian O’Neill looks to be progressing well and is likely going to play on Sunday night after suffering an ankle injury against the Las Vegas Raiders.

O’Connell did say that Mullens was going to be the backup quarterback on Sunday night, making Josh Dobbs will remain as the emergency option.

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5 areas of concern exposed in Vikings 30-24 loss to the Lions

Chris Spooner takes a look at five areas of concern that Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions exposed heading into the final weeks of the season and into the offseason.

Just like that, the Minnesota Vikings hopes of winning the NFC North were dashed. Instead of a Christmas miracle, the Vikings were handed a lump of coal with their 30-24 loss on Christmas Eve to the Detroit Lions. With the loss, Minnesota was eliminated from contention for the division title, and the Lions clinched their first division title since before the NFC North was even in existence.

The Vikings did a lot of things right in this game. Quarterback Nick Mullens was throwing the ball all over the field and notched his first career game with more than 400 yards passing. Minnesota was able to hold the Lions running game largely in check, and they made some big plays throughout the game when they needed it.

Unfortunately, as has been the case for much of the season, it was the unforced errors that ultimately doomed the Vikings. Mullens was doing his best impression of a baker out there, handing out turnovers left and right. He had four interceptions on the day, and could have easily walked out of there with a couple more.

He also had two plays where he narrowly avoided fumbling the ball. A four-turnover game was almost a blessing considering how much worse it could have been.

The turnover issues have been a theme throughout the season, but there were a lot of other areas of concern that this game exposed. Areas that have been a concern all season, but have largely been masked or glossed over in one way or another. Let’s take a look at five of those areas of concern that the loss against the Detroit Lions exposed.

Jaren Hall, Nick Mullens split snaps during Wednesday walkthrough

It appears the starting quarterback job is down to either Nick Mullens or Jaren Hall

The quarterback conundrum continues for the Minnesota Vikings.

According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, both Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens were alternating snaps during drills. This was during the portion of practice that reporters had access to.

This doesn’t tell us a lot about the quarterback situation. What it does signal is that Josh Dobbs is likely not being considered for the starting job on Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise since Dobbs went from starting quarterback to the emergency option.

Who should get the start on Sunday night? There are good arguments for both Hall and Mullens with less of one for Dobbs. We took a look at that on Tuesday.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell revealed that Mullens would be the starter on Wednesday two weeks ago ahead of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals. It remains to be seen if he will do the same this week but a decision will come in time.

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