Tennessee Titans signal-caller Joshua Dobbs has shut the door on any quarterback controversy heading into next weekend’s massive AFC South showdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Tennessee product had an impressive outing considering he’s only been on the team for approximately eight days and was making his first career NFL start.
Dobbs finished the day by completing 20-of-39 passes for 232 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
The most impressive and noticeable upgrade the Titans’ new quarterback provided was how decisive and quick he was to get the ball out of his hands. Dobbs also had a few dropped passes from his top two wide receivers that would have undoubtedly resulted in big plays.
The bad came in the form of the two turnovers he committed. Dobbs fumbled twice, losing one, and the sixth-year quarterback also had a sure pick-six that was fortunately dropped by Cowboys corner, Trevon Diggs.
Nevertheless, the 27-year-old was a significant upgrade from what the Titans had been getting out of Malik Willis this season.
To be clear, that’s not some sort of shot at the rookie quarterback, either, but he’s a raw quarterback that’s clearly not ready yet. Throwing him out there prematurely when he’s not equipped to survive just yet is likely to do more damage than good at this point.
Willis could very well become a good quarterback as the years pass, but it’s very clear that he is not capable of elevating this passing offense in any sort of way as of right now.
To further put into perspective just how much of an upgrade Dobbs was, he passed for 44 fewer yards on Thursday alone than Willis has all season long through three starts and some garbage-time opportunities.
More importantly, the former Volunteer allowed the likes of Treylon Burks and Robert Woods to significantly impact the game.
Regardless of the outcome, I'm very intrigued to see what Josh Dobbs can do once he’s complemented by Derrick Henry and the real/fresh #Titans defense.
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) December 30, 2022
Burks finished with a total of 86 yards on five touches, while Woods added 39 yards and one touchdown on five receptions.
There’s no telling how this season will end, but if there’s one thing that is blatantly obvious after Thursday night, it’s that Dobbs gives this team the best chance to go into Jacksonville and snatch a third-straight AFC South crown away from a hated division rival.
