MINNEAPOLIS — This is what it looks like to have faith, believe something is possible, and then watch it disappear in front of everyone.
Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell watched the play unfold. His eyes widened as rookie receiver Jordan Addison inch by inch past a Chicago Bears defender and galloped down the left side of the field. A deep shot occurred in front of O’Connell, whose eyes turned to his quarterback. Josh Dobbs stepped into the pocket and launched a pass.
As the football sailed toward the left sideline towards the wide-open Addison – but a touch too far and out of bounds – O’Connell fell to his knees. He grimaced as if he had been wronged. In a sense he did.
It wasn’t long ago that Dobbs, signed at the trade deadline to replace injured starter Kirk Cousins, was a brilliant success for these Vikings. Over a two-week period, he shrugged off defenders, acted aggressively and instilled a sense of belief in a desperate fan base.
And now there was this. Disappointment down to my knees. Difficult to decipher inaccuracy. Poor ball security.
The long incompletion between Dobbs and Addison represented the agonizing reality of a 12-10 Minnesota loss on Monday night at US Bank Stadium. Dobbs threw four interceptions and the trust in him was so broken that he was no more on the team’s final drive played aggressively.
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“It’s pretty busy in the locker room at the moment,” O’Connell said afterwards. “We didn’t perform as well as we wanted offensively.”
The result further obscures the Vikings’ future. First, there is the playoff picture. Minnesota (6-6) still holds the seventh seed in the NFC, but the gap has narrowed. Green Bay and Los Angeles are hot on his heels.
Then there’s the talk of which quarterback will lead the Vikings as they try to punch their ticket to the dance. By the end of Monday’s competition, O’Connell was already thinking along those lines. When O’Connell was asked afterward what his plan was as Minnesota approaches its bye week and then travels to Las Vegas, he was noncommittal, saying he and his staff would review Dobbs’ four-game record as Vikings quarterback.
“We’ll look at it,” O’Connell said. “We have Jaren (Hall) available again and Nick Mullens is available as well.”
Although Dobbs completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to TJ Hockenson late in the fourth quarter, the journeyman quarterback known as the “Passtronaut” had dug a deep hole, particularly in the turnover department. After last week’s loss to the Denver Broncos, in which Dobbs threw an interception and fumbled, he shared that he sees maintaining possession as the key to all of his “dreams, hopes and aspirations.”
But those dreams shattered on Monday. Dobbs’ first interception came in the second quarter. Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson reacted as if he was running a short distance in the flat. Dobbs hit a pass over Johnson that he hoped would find Addison in a tiny window near the sideline. Instead, Johnson broke away from his original responsibility, jumped up and grabbed the football.
“I got kicked out,” Dobbs said. “(Johnson) did a good job coming up and then falling.”
Dobbs’ second interception came a few minutes later. Addison was isolated on the left side of the formation on third and fourth near midfield. He avoided the physical cover from the corner and pushed his way to the middle of the field. Dobbs fired the ball into Addison’s path, but it arrived a split second before the receiver could turn his head. The ball bounced off Addison and into the hands of Bears defenseman Jaquan Brisker.
The last two interceptions were also byproducts of tipped passes. Late in the third quarter, Dobbs whipped a pass into a tight window to wide receiver KJ Osborn on a fourth-and-2 situation. The ball landed in the hands of linebacker TJ Edwards. Then, early in the fourth quarter, Dobbs threw a pass to fullback CJ Ham. The ball went in and out of the hands of Bears lineman Justin Jones, but defensive back Kyler Gordon caught it before the ball hit the turf.
“I can’t endanger the ball,” Dobbs said. “It’s a fine line.”
But Minnesota’s lack of accuracy wasn’t just limited to turnovers. O’Connell was looking for a spark early in the third quarter and saw how the Vikings’ defense had limited the Bears’ offense. He rolled a four-and-7 situation near center field. Dobbs dropped back and threw a pass a half-step behind Hockenson on an out route. The tight end pounced on the first-down marker but came up half a yard short.
Recalling the play after the game, O’Connell mentioned Dobbs’ footwork and wondered aloud what the result would have been if Dobbs had gotten to his feet quicker and thrown the pass to Hockenson sooner. O’Connell then repeated what he called a “long foul ball” – the aforementioned missed shot against a charging Addison on the sideline.
“The rhythm and timing of our offense just didn’t feel as crisp as we wanted it to,” O’Connell said.
But once again, Brian Flores’ defense gave the Vikings a chance. The Bears opted for a short passing game, and although quarterback Justin Fields completed 27 of 37 passes for 217 yards, Minnesota largely dictated the game. Edge rusher Danielle Hunter and safety Josh Metellus created opportunities for the Vikings offense by forcing two Fields fumbles in the fourth quarter. The second period, which took place with 3:28 to play, put the Vikings in the best position to secure a win.
At that point, Minnesota led 10-9 and had the ball at the Chicago 43. The Bears only had two timeouts left. O’Connell weighed his options. He looked at Dobbs’ past performance and decided to mitigate the risk. The plan: Try to run the ball, force the Bears to use their timeouts and gain enough yards on third down to get kicker Greg Joseph out for a field goal attempt.
The Vikings ran the ball twice for a total of 1 yard. On third-and-9, Dobbs had the opportunity to change the original play and push the ball down the field depending on what the Bears defense was showing. They adopted deep security measures and persuaded the Vikings to adopt a more conservative stance. Minnesota lost one yard on that play.
Punter Ryan Wright couldn’t pin the Bears down deep. Then Fields used his legs and punished a Flores blitz on third down, leading to the Bears’ victory.
“They have to fight the battle between being aggressive and risking giving them a short field if we turn it around again,” O’Connell said. “And then it was about trusting our defense, which is really what got us to this point in the game the last two weeks.”
That O’Connell was concerned about Dobbs turning the ball over in a critical situation is a sign of uncertainty about the team’s future at the position. It also helps explain his approach to calling during the game.
O’Connell tried to be aggressive early with a deep shot on the first play. He tried to calm Dobbs down as the offense went off track. He also thought about playing more football, but understood that relapse situations would not bode well given the way Dobbs had played.
“It’s a battle,” O’Connell said.
When the fight ended Monday night, Addison leaned forward in his chair and looked at his locker. There was a towel over his head. He sat motionless.
A few feet away, Dobbs sat in full uniform, looking out at the locker room that had celebrated him just a few weeks ago. He stared blankly as all his dreams, hopes and desires hung in the balance.
(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)
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