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Nick Mullens replaces Josh Dobbs at quarterback, leads Vikings to 3-0 win over Raiders

dane mizutani, pioneer press
·5 min read

LAS VEGAS — The stage was set for the Vikings to prove to everybody — including themselves — that the nasty loss heading into the bye week was a fluke. It came in the form of a brief residency in Las Vegas, which, fittingly, featured thousands upon thousands of Vikings fans making road trip from Minnesota.

Instead, after a 12-10 loss to the Chicago Bears the last time out, the Vikings did very little to instill confidence in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.

It’s hard to feel too good about the Vikings as they prep to play the Cincinnati Bengals, the Detroit Lions (twice), and the Green Bay Packers over the next month.

The offense was once again nonexistent with journeyman quarterback Josh Dobbs leading the charge. It got so bad that the Vikings turned to veteran quarterback Nick Mullens down the stretch.

The defense was the only reason the Vikings were in position to win the game at all. It’s been a common theme as of late, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores continued the trend, drawing up a perfect game plan to make life miserable for the Raiders.

That wasn’t lost on head coach Kevin O’Connell postgame as he reflected on how the Vikings were somehow able to walk away from a win despite never really sniffing the end zone.

“I want to first and foremost talk about our defense and what they were able to do for our organization today,” O’Connell said. “We really leaned on them and I thought they were huge and gave us a chance.”

You can say that again. The struggles for the offense started early with the defense likely realizing shortly after kickoff that it was going to have to be the heartbeat of the team. The only time the Vikings were able to move the ball on offense with any sort of consistency came when O’Connell finally decided to bench Dobbs in favor of Mullens.

“It’s difficult,” O’Connell said of he decision to turn to Mullens with Dobbs struggling. “I always want to communicate and be honest, and I just said to Josh, at this point in time, I want to give Nick a chance to get in there. He’s got a great feel for our offense, and when I was able to call it for him, and kind of communicate with him a little bit, he went out there and executed.”

It was a nice moment for Mullens considering he’s suffered through a back injury for a good chunk of this season. He was activated from injured reserve last month and continued to work behind the scenes to make sure he was ready if the Vikings ever handed him the keys.

“You never know when your name is going to be called,” Mullens said. “You just prepare and work as hard as you can and trust there’s a plan out there.”

There was indeed a plan and it featured Mullens at the forefront. His presence provided the Vikings with the spark they needed, as Mullens finished 9 of 13 passing for 83 yards, which included a big throw to rookie receiver Jordan Addison late in the game.

That connection set up kicker Greg Joseph for a 36-yard field goal that went down as the only points of the game for either team. After the Vikings took the lead in the final minutes, rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. intercepted rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell to seal the deal, putting the finishing touches on a masterful performance from the defense in the process.

“It was only field goal,” Mullens said. “Sometimes that’s all it takes. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. A win is a win.”

As for Dobbs, he remained a good teammate postgame, saying all the right things after he finished 10 of 23 passing for 63 yards.

“I thought he did a tremendous job of coming in and giving us a chance to win,” Dobbs said. “That’s ultimately all that matters at the end of the day in this league.”

Though the win improves the record to 7-6, and keeps the Vikings above the playoff cut line, perhaps the biggest storyline from the game had nothing to do with the final score.

In his highly anticipated return to the lineup, star receiver Justin Jefferson left the game with a chest injury and had to be taken to a local hospital for precautionary reasons. Fortunately, he was discharged, and the plan was for him to fly home with the team. Additionally, right tackle Brian O’Neill and running back Alexander Mattison both left the game with ankle injuries and did not return.

The fact that injuries continue to pile up is something the Vikings are going to have to confront in short order. They also no doubt have to take a look in the mirror as an offense and figure out how to help their defense. In the meantime, they are also going to enjoy the win, even if it wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world by any stretch of the imagination.

“It feels good,” Mullens said. “Obviously there’s so much room to improve across the board. You’ve also got to enjoy it. It’s hard to win in the NFL.”

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