Nick Mullens, the Minnesota Vikings’ fourth quarterback of the season, is set to make his season debut, though some doubt his time as the starter will last long.
On Monday, December 11, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk speculated that head coach Kevin O’Connell will bench Mullens in favor of youngster Jaren Hall sooner rather than later.
“It’s done, Josh Dobbs. “Nick Mullens, it might be starting, but I don’t think it’ll last long,” Florio remarked. “I think Jaren Hall is gonna be in there eventually.”
Florio went on to criticize Dobbs’ performance, which resulted in his benching.
“The Dobbs candle has burned out in Minnesota,” Florio observed. “Just a little too frenetic, a little too much thinking, taking a lot of big hits, holding the ball too long.”
Florio’s podcast companion on Monday, Chris Simms, also weighed in on Dobbs.
“A little too much last-play-of-the-game type of ‘I’m breaking a tackle, I’m gonna try to throw it here,’” Simms said. “It’s a lot right now.”
Mullens entered the Vikings’ Week 14 game against the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 0-0. He completed 9-of-13 passes for 83 yards and led the Vikings on a game-winning field goal drive.
As such, Mullens has earned the right to start in Week 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, it was Hall whom Minnesota chose to start following the season-ending Achilles injury suffered by Kirk Cousins in late October.
Hall sustained a concussion during the first quarter of that start against the Atlanta Falcons, at which point Dobbs replaced him and began a whirlwind run that ended in relative disappointment.
Mullens was recovering from a back injury he suffered in early October and was not ready to go in Atlanta on November 5. Because of that, it is impossible to know whether O’Connell would have chosen Hall or Mullens to start had both been healthy.
Barring further injuries, Minnesota will go with whichever QB gives the team the best chance to win its final four games. With a 5-12 career record across stints with the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns, it is pretty clear what the Vikings can expect from Mullens. Hall offers the hope of more upside; however, he has far less experience than the six professional seasons under the belt of his counterpart.
Minnesota brought Mullens back over the offseason on a two-year deal worth $4 million, while the team spent a fifth-round draft pick to select Hall before signing him to a four-year rookie contract worth $4.1 million in total.
Vikings Still in Play to Win NFC North Division Over Lions
Despite all of the bad injury luck Minnesota has endured and the lackluster performance of its offense over the last three games (33 total points scored), the team still has a legitimate shot not only to make the playoffs but to win the NFC North, Florio said.
“The Vikings play the [Detroit] Lions twice. The Vikings control their destiny,” Florio said. “Not that the Vikings are gonna beat the Bengals in Cincinnati because I don’t think they will. But if they should, they get the Lions and [Green Bay] Packers at home, then [play] at Detroit. They can still win that division, somehow, which is ludicrous to think they even have a chance, especially the way their offense performed [against the Raiders].”
Detroit is 9-4, while the Vikings are 7-6 and the Packers are 6-7. The Chicago Bears are currently in last place at 5-8 but have won three of their previous four games. Minnesota is 1-0 against Green Bay this year and split the season series with Chicago.
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