Joshua Dobbs takes center stage for the Vikings by playing football like chess

Joshua Dobbs studied aerospace engineering at Tennessee and earned a 4.0 GPA while playing quarterback. He has every right to answer every football question by sneering, "It's not rocket science."

Playing quarterback in the NFL requires intelligence, but there are different shades of smart, and not all of them translate into reading a defense or ducking a forearm. Otherwise, Bill Gates would be the first pick in every fantasy football draft.

Playing chess requires strategic awareness. Being an NFL quarterback means playing a form of chess in which the opposing pieces move at high speed while threatening violence.

What has catapulted Dobbs from benched journeyman in Arizona to scrambling savior in Minnesota is the ability to blend both types of brainpower. He's smart during the week and before the snap. He's also smart, in a more instinctive way, when running.

Dobbs' various flavors of intelligence have allowed him to enter a game last weekend in Atlanta with a bare-bones understanding of the Vikings offense and his teammates' names, to start against a Saints defense that had studied his tendencies all week and to thrive in both situations.

On Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, Dobbs helped the Vikings defeat the Saints 27-19 by producing a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown. Through a little more than a game and a half in the Vikings lineup, he has produced five touchdowns and a two-point conversion without throwing an interception.

He didn't play a full first half against the Falcons, and the Vikings offense turned cautious with a big lead in the second half against the Saints. Here's what Dobbs did in consecutive halves (the second half against Atlanta and the first half against New Orleans) in which the offense was motivated to score:

He completed 33 of 55 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed 11 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

That kind of play, extrapolated over a full season, would earn Dobbs about $3 billion in free agency, especially when considering that he has thrived without Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson.

If the Vikings rebounding from 1-4 to win five straight games without Jefferson isn't the best story in the NFL, it's only because Dobbs has claimed the top spot.

"For him to throw strikes with all the pressure he's had on him, it's just special to watch and be a part of," tight end T.J. Hockenson said.

"We've got play calls that are a paragraph long," receiver Brandon Powell said. "If he can get the playbook down in two weeks, we should go out and make plays for him."

"He's my locker mate,'' said cornerback Mekhi Blackmon. "I get to see him go about his business, and, man, he is smart. Crazy smart."

Dobbs said he had cause to pinch himself on Friday afternoon. He had moved out of the hotel adjacent to the practice facility, run into a few Vikings legends and completed his first full week of preparation as the Vikings starter.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell lauded Dobbs for "living" at the facility all week.

"I'm not paid by the hour," Dobbs said with a smile. "I have nowhere else to be. I spent a lot of time at the facility. I probably ate every meal there, which is fine, man. I'm blessed to be in the position I'm in."

Dobbs puts himself in some wild positions, dipping between defenders, spinning 360 degrees to escape pressure, tight-roping along the sideline to score. Does intelligence help him sprint and scramble, or does he have to shut off his brain when in motion?

"You've still got to be smart," he said. "There are some headhunters out there. You've got to get down and protect yourself and understand when I've gotten the most out of this run … or I haven't and I can go and try to make another guy miss.

"Whether you're in the pocket, throwing the ball, picking apart defenses or using your legs, you've always got to play that game of chess."