Vikings HC: Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall All Options as QB1 vs. Raiders

Adam Bettcher/

Josh Dobbs had a brutal outing on Monday night, finishing 22-of-32 for 185 yards, one touchdowns, four interceptions and two sacks taken in the Minnesota Vikings' 12-10 loss to the Chicago Bears.

And that has created a quarterback controversy in Minnesota.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters there was "no timeline" to decide between Dobbs, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall with the Vikings in their bye week, and that all three would be "evaluated to see what gives us the best chance to win."

The head coach noted that a big part of whoever earns the gig will be understanding the importance of getting Justin Jefferson heavily involved upon his return from hamstring injury, which has kept him out of the past seven games:

"We're going to make sure that whoever is playing quarterback is aware and understands the intent behind plays where either Justin is the primary, or—based upon coverage, based upon the defensive look—how to quickly and efficiently get to the right place to go with the football. In the end that's what the NFL passing game is about: rhythm, timing, understanding that the defense can and will take some things away, but progressing in rhythm."

Dobbs, 28, had been good in his first two starts after being a midseason trade acquisition, leading Minnesota to back-to-back wins over the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. But the Vikings have since lost to the Denver Broncos and Bears, dropping them to 6-6 and just hanging on to the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoff picture.

It's hard to imagine Mullens or Jaren Hall being much of an upgrade, however.

The former has made 17 starts in his career (24 total appearances) with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and Vikings, throwing for 5,085 yards, 27 touchdowns and 23 interceptions while completing 65.3 percent of his passes. His teams are just 5-12 in his starts.

Hall, meanwhile, was a fifth-round pick of the team in the 2023 NFL draft and has thrown all of 10 passes in his career, though he did complete eight of them for 101 yards without a touchdown or interception. The Vikings went 1-0 in his lone start.

"We're going to take a look and really evaluate the inventory of plays we have of Josh," O'Connell noted . "We got healthy. We got Jaren back available to us, and then Nick is available as well."

Such is life for Minnesota without Kirk Cousins, lost for the year due to a torn Achilles.

Having a bye week to evaluate the trio will be helpful before the final stretch of the season, which includes matchups against the revitalized Las Vegas Raiders, Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Benglas, NFC North-leading Detroit Lions (twice) and a Green Bay Packers team currently on a two-game winning streak.