Cardinals QB Joshua Dobbs reveals how team handled talk of tanking

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Joshua Dobbs had a simple response regarding how often he and his teammates discussed chatter about the club possibly punting on the 2023 season. 

"We don't," Dobbs directly told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated coming off Arizona's surprising 28-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys this past Sunday afternoon. "I haven't even seen it. This profession, there's so many outside people that have their projections or opinions about each individual in this locker room's play, the coaching staff, the front office. There's always outside opinions thrown at you. As a team, you just have to stay in the locker room, trust in each other, find your support system, but go out and play good football."

The Cardinals only officially acquired Dobbs from the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 24 but nevertheless made him their Week 1 starter, and some viewed that decision from head coach Jonathan Gannon as the latest sign that the franchise was actively tanking this season so it could land the rights to draft star signal-caller Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans next spring. 

Don't look now, but Dobbs and the Cardinals could and possibly should be 3-0 heading into this coming Sunday's game at the 3-0 San Francisco 49ers. Arizona held a 16-10 lead at the start of the fourth quarter before the club fell to the Washington Commanders 20-16 in Week 1 and then squandered advantages of 20-0 and 28-7 in what became a Week 2 31-28 loss to the New York Giants. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Cardinals as massive underdogs (+625, +14) for the upcoming clash in San Francisco.

"People are going to have their opinions," Dobbs continued during his conversation with Breer. "Everyone has them, but at the end of the day, we just have to go out, stay together as a team and keep playing good football."

Per ESPN stats, Dobbs ended Week 3 of the campaign ranked 10th in the NFL among qualified players with a 61.2 adjusted QBR and ninth overall with a 98.1 passer rating. He's thrown just two touchdown passes serving as the latest replacement for the injured Kyler Murray but will look to change that when the Cardinals attempt to stun the football world at Levi's Stadium this coming Sunday afternoon.