The Minnesota quarterback, who has shocked NFL observers with his ability to learn on the fly, is also a man of faith who believes his relationship with Christ is “all that really matters.”
Josh Dobbs was traded from the Arizona Cardinals to Minnesota late last month after starting Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins suffered an injury that not only ended his season but also seemed to end Minnesota’s playoff hopes.
Dobbs arrived on a Tuesday and barely had time to learn his teammate’s names when he was thrust into action five days later thanks to another injury -- this time, to starting quarterback Jaren Hall -- in a road game at Atlanta. Dobbs, the scheduled backup that day, subsequently passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another, leading the Vikings to a 31-28 upset -- even though he had yet to learn the playbook.
A week later, Dobbs and the Vikings defeated New Orleans 27-19.
Minnesota has now won four straight games, including two with Dobbs.
The journeyman quarterback has played for seven NFL teams. He majored in aerospace engineering at the University of Tennessee.
This summer, Dobbs told a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event in Jackson, Tenn., that his faith is more important than wins and losses. He was baptized, he said, on the weekend of his 16th birthday -- the same weekend his high school basketball team won a state title.
“With every great memory we made that weekend, all of that pales in comparison to that,” Dobbs said, referencing his baptism, according to The Jackson Post. “That was the time I publicly proclaimed my faith in Jesus Christ, and at the end of the day and end of our lives is all that really matters. He’s been faithful to me, so I aim to be faithful to Him in everything I do as a man.”
His X (formerly Twitter) bio reads, “Live by ‘Be strong and courageous’ … Joshua 1:9.”
Dobbs’ football skills have impressed the beat writers in Minnesota.
“Josh Dobbs was a superhero,” beat writer Alec Lewis of The Athletic wrote after Dobbs’ first win. “Wore all the capes. Had all the answers. How they did this, how they had the fortitude through it all with five days of game planning, is beyond anything I've experienced.”
The Vikings just beat the Falcons, 31-28.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) November 5, 2023
Josh Dobbs was a superhero. Wore all the capes. Had all the answers. How they did this, how they had the fortitude through it all with five days game planning, is beyond anything I've experienced.
The record is 5-4.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Stephen Maturen / Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.