Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell benched Dobbs in the fourth quarter of his team's win over the Las Vegas Raiders and put Nick Mullens in amid the Vikings' offensive struggles.

Now that move has been made permanent, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network:

“The #Vikings are making a QB change: Nick Mullens will replace Joshua Dobbs as the starter Saturday at Cincinnati, sources tell me and @RapSheet. Mullens has 17 NFL starts, knows the system and is fully healthy after an IR stint in October. Now he takes over in a playoff race.”

It's no big surprise after the Vikings found themselves in a scoreless stalemate against the Raiders headed into the final quarter. Clearly, the team needed some change on the offensive end. The Vikings ended up winning that game by a final score of 3-0.

Before he was benched, Dobbs threw for just 63 yards on 10-of-23 pass completion. While he took care of the ball well, that just won't cut it in a showdown that they really need to win. The Vikings enter the week at 7-6 and snapped a two-game losing streak with their win over the Raiders, so they can't afford to continue to lose if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Josh Dobbs also struggled in their Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears before their bye, throwing for just one touchdown along with a shocking four interceptions. He completed 22 of his 32 passes for 185 yards, but those turnovers were costly.

Kevin O'Connell said he hasn't decided yet whether Josh Dobbs or Jaren Hall will be the No. 2 behind Nick Mullens on Saturday, according to Kevin Siefert of ESPN. Both will be in uniform, though.

The Vikings visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, Dec 16.