Vikings, Raiders Rebound with New Leadership Toward Playoff Hopes Despite Midseason Chaos

Vikings rally with newly-acquired QB Joshua Dobbs, while Raiders see victory under interim head coach Antonio Pierce after midseason firings.

After the Vikings acquired Joshua Dobbs from Arizona, he was quickly thrust into action due to a concussion injury to rookie QB Jaren Hall. Despite having joined the team mid-campaign, Dobbs managed to lead the Vikings to a 31-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Vikings, having won four straight games under Dobbs' leadership, are now strongly in the running for the NFC playoffs, in spite of the new QB still getting acclimatized to his new team members.
Raiders' interim head coach Antonio Pierce made a victorious debut after significant midseason changes, including the firing of coach Josh McDaniels, indicating a resurrected hope for the Raiders' season, now standing with a 4-5 record.
The Raiders' locker room showed a noticeably relaxed atmosphere under the leadership of Antonio Pierce, translating into a victorious outcome against the New York Giants in the latest match, indicating a positive shift after a series of challenging events in the season.
The midseason firing of Josh McDaniels showed a continuation of the pattern that assistants to Bill Belichick often struggle to succeed as head coaches, with McDaniels' failure at Las Vegas marking his second firing within two seasons as a non-interim NFL head coach.